roasted tomato couscous salad

This salad is based on a memory of a tomato salad I remember making from101 cookbooks that involved toasted capers and half raw, half oven-roasted tomatoes. Instead of a green salad, I used an Israeli (pearl) couscous. It's a really tasty combination of flavors. If you had them on-hand, you could use more fresh herbs (parsley, mint, thyme), and/or olives instead of the capers for some saltiness. 

ingredients:

1 lb heirloom tomatoes – mix of colors

balsamic vinegar and olive oil

1 cup couscous (I used Israeli/pearl couscous)

1 T capers

1 garlic clove, crushed or fine minced

salt and pepper

fresh basil

Heat oven to 425-450. Cut the tomatoes into chunks. If using cherry tomatoes, cut in half. Line the baking sheet with parchment if you want to spare some mess. Roast about half of the tomatoes with a splash of olive oil and balsamic vinegar (and a sprinkle of salt and pepper) until they burst and soften (about 20 minutes), and save the other half to use raw in the salad. Meanwhile, make the couscous according to directions. While that's going, fry the capers in a 1 tsp of oil (careful – they splatter!), until some of the moisture evaporates and you can see them start to brown (they will smell good, too). Mince or crush/press a clove of garlic into the salad, and top with fresh basil.  Mix everything together! It might seem a bit wet at first, but the couscous absorbs the liquid, and the leftovers are good the next day, too! 

couscous with broccolini and spiced chicken sausage

This recipe is proof we are up and running in the new apartment - the gas stove and all. I made this dinner by first cooking and browning the chicken sausage, then making the couscous, throwing the broccolini in at the end to steam the last few minutes, and mixing it all together. Pretty quick and easy and lots of good flavors, which mostly came from the really good sausage. I got the chicken sausages from the meat counter at Whole Foods, one garlic and herb, and one spicy italian. They were uncooked, so I first cooked them, then removed them from the pan to the cutting board, sliced them and put them back in the pan to brown.

2 chicken sausages (uncooked or cooked), use 1 spicy and 1 milder
1 bunch broccolini
1 cup Israeli couscous (I used a blend, like the Trader Joe's Harvest Grains Blend, which has quinoa and orzo mixed in)
season with a bit more salt and pepper

I thought the recipe would be good with some tomatoes mixed in, too. If it's summer, use fresh, or maybe even a can of diced tomatoes.

two quick carrot recipes: carrot-egg cake and carrot couscous

These two recipes are both inspired by Mark Bittman's Kitchen Express, "inspired seasonal recipes in 20 minutes or less." This was a tip from Jennie and Hirak, who have the cookbook. I like how he describes the recipes, instead of listing exact ingredients and measurements, he gives you a short paragraph about how to throw it all together.  The first is an Egg and Carrot Cake with Soy. I found it a bit bland, but I luckily had a jar of The Brinery's kimchi at home, and with the kimchi it was a good simple lunch. The second is a Carrot and Couscous Salad, which is great and has endless variations. Perfect for throwing in a tupperware and taking for lunch.