Curried Couscous Salad

Brent made tonight’s dinner because I was upstairs in bed passed out in some kind of weird fugue state. I went to the gym and did an hour of cardio cross-training, came home and went to the pool for a while, and then got a headache. I blame sweat and sun. I accidentally passed out in bed when I got home and woke up confused and extremely out of it. The good part of all of this is that my master plan to get Brent to cook dinner and clean the kitchen worked. 😉

Brent went to a beer festival last weekend and mentioned that Whole Foods had a stand there and he enjoyed some sort of “curried couscous thing” from them. I Googled “whole foods curried couscous” and found this recipe and told Brent to make it. The dish was pretty good, and reminded me of fall, maybe because curry is so warming.

We used Israeli couscous, because it is infinitely better than the little couscous. At least we think so. Brent forgot the peas, but I forgave him because that’s what marriage is all about. But, I think the peas would have been a very good addition. I have no idea what our plans for the rest of the evening are, but I’m hoping to regain consciousness at some point. Hope everyone has a great start to the weekend!

Israeli Couscous Salad with Tomatoes, Mozzarella & Basil

I’m done with school…. for the summer anyway. One more semester and in a few months I’ll be ready to take my boards! Thursday was my last day at the hospital for the summer, and I took my lecture final this morning. This morning, while I was looking through my notes one final time, Brent looked at me and said “Geez honey, I’m glad today’s your last day because I don’t think you could make it much longer.” Truer words have never been spoken. After my exam, I went out for margaritas with a few of my friends from class, and then got home and passed out in bed for a much-needed nap. It was glorious.

The point of this post was not to detail my exhaustion. We all have things that keep us busy. I did, however, want to tell you about this super simple salad I made Wednesday night. Good thing it was practically no-cook because our power went out for 5 hours that night! I had already cooked a cup of couscous, and then added 2 diced tomatoes, 1/3 a cup of diced fresh mozzarella, and 1/2 a cup of chopped basil. I coated with a tablespoon of olive oil and 1/2 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar.

Ignore the weird faux marble shelf. I had to take the photo right next to the window to have any light at all. I really loved this. Brent thought it was OK (quite picky, isn’t he?). Apparently he does not enjoy the texture of fresh mozzarella. He thinks it’s too much like uncooked tofu.

Tonight’s dinner was just some two buck chuck from Trader Joe’s, goat cheese, a french baguette and a hand full of olives. Really, my ideal dinner. We have plans to go out to dinner for a friend’s birthday tomorrow night, then Brent’s birthday is Monday, and my birthday is Thursday. So excited! 🙂

Gotta go watch Invictus with Brent. Enjoy your weekend!

A Throw-Together

Tonight’s dinner was one of those “well at least I didn’t resort to ordering pizza” kind of meals. I spent 8 straight hours reading up on such exciting topics as “Interpreting intracranial waveforms” and “New Advents in Neurological Monitoring” and I just really had no desire to make dinner when the time came.

Aware that I had just been grocery shopping the day prior and spent a fair chunk of change, I just looked around blankly for inspiration and started throwing things in a saute pan. I sautéed some shallots in olive oil, then I added some sweet italian chicken sausage until browned, then a drained and rinsed can of chickpeas, and in the final moments, a big handful of grape tomatoes. Meanwhile, I boiled water and made some Parmesan couscous (from a box). I served everything together and actually had it ready when Brent got home from work.

Well, it only took 15 minutes, but it was actually super delicious. Sauteing the chickpeas really brought out their flavor and I loved them in this. This sausage was really tasty too, and not super salty or greasy, which was nice. I thought the couscous had a processed “flavoring” taste, but that’s sort of to be expected from a box, and it was totally fine when mixed with everything else.

I am now about to enjoy a glass of wine and head to bed within the hour. I am just too damn exciting for my own good.