Food Lush

Cooking with Couscous (Yay Alliteration!)

By Dani

In college, I studied abroad in Oxford for a semester. While the rest of us were eating PB&J and Magnum Bars, one of my housemates would emerge from the kitchen (after a whopping five minutes over a hot stove) with a steaming bowl of couscous, laden with fresh goodies and smelling fabulous.

Needless to say, I just watched in jealousy and went back to munching on my sad little sandwich, because I was 19. NOW, however, I'm older and wiser and in pursuit of tastiness, so when I saw Whole Wheat Couscous at my grocery store, I remembered my housemate and realized that I too could pursue a fast and delcious weeknight meal.

But, to do so, I needed some recipes, and my good friend, the Internet, did not let me down. YOU GUYS, coucous might be one of the most fun ingredients EVER. It cooks in a jiffy, it goes with anything and it's actually healthy. I'm still expirimenting, but here are a few of my favorite recipes so far:

Source: thekitchn.com via Dani on Pinterest

 

Chili, lemon and basil shrimp with Israeli Couscous

Couscous and feta-stuffed peppers

Toasted Israeli couscous with pine nuts and parsley

Chicken apple sausage couscous

Toasted Israeli couscous with grilled summer vegetables

I know, right? Such a simple ingredient with such a world of flavor. I'm smitten. Also, just for fun, a video on how to make couscous, in case you're directionally challenged, like yours truly.

Do you have a favorite couscous recipe to share?

Kitchen Trick: An Easy Way to Trim and Cut Your Greens

by Caitlin

I love eating greens, but I don't always love preparing them. I've noticed packages of washed, trimmed greens showing up in my store the past few years, but they're more expensive and not always available, so I do have to resort to the Big Ole Bunch a lot of the time. I find trimming stems and thicker veins from chad and kale to be a bit tedious, but I think I've found a trick to more quickly get your beautiful bunch of chard from this:

Photo from summertomato.com

to this:

 
(Photo: me!)

Dig out your pizza peel, and make sure it's sharp. Take a leaf of chard and zip the peel up and down the stem, cutting it out. Do the same for any large veins you don't want included. Once you've done this to all your leaves, stack several in a pile and use the wheel to slice them into strips and pieces. 

Throw your cleaned and trimmed greens into your salad spinner to clean them and voila. That's it. You're done.

I'd only recommend this for greens you're going to cook or use right away, as the leaves can get a little bruised. But then again, the same thing can happen when using a dull knife. For me it's easier than using a knife, and it's a bit more fun too!

Do you have a trick for trimming your greens?

Feed Me: Fried Avocado Taco

By Elisabeth

Have you ever tried a fried avocado taco? 

I hadn't until this past weekend while I was in Austin, Texas for the third annual Blathering. On Saturday, a group of girls went to Austin's Gypsy Picnic. Basically, it's a trailer food festival in the heart of Austin. We happened upon Torchy's Taco booth right as we got into the festival. Their fried avocado taco was, hands down, my favorite item I tried the entire day.

Just imagine a hand-battered avocado fried with refried beans topped with pico, lettuce and cheese. Served in a corn tortilla with a poblano sauce.

IS YOUR MOUTH WATERING YET? (Mine definitely is and I just ate lunch!)

If you are nowhere near Austin or Dallas and are craving this amazing taco, then check out Erica from Unemployed Lawyer Mom's recipe for fried avocados! I am going to try this myself as soon as I can get to the store. Must solve this continual drooling problem I'm currently having. 

{photo credit: maguidhir}

Everyday to Entertaining Giveaway Winner

By Jennie

Thanks for the comments on our Everyday to Entertaining cookbook givewaway post last week. We hope you enjoy cooking for a crowd with this fun title.

So, the winner is...

Sharon, who I'll email soon for an address!

Salmon review and a Giveaway!

By Sarah

My father-in-law works for a seafood importer, Aqua Star, and is always introducing us to their new products when he comes to visit. Crab! Shrimp! Fish! It's like a seafood feast every time he's here.

This time was no different, as he brought down a marinated Smoky Peppercorn Salmon fillet for us to try. He billed it as "the product for someone who likes fish but doesn't know quite what to do with it." Umm, so, me? I love fish, but find myself in a rut a lot of the time. Lemon and garlic? Again? Okay.

This was great because it took all the guesswork out of cooking.

It came frozen, and per the seafood master himself, it's best to cook it straight from frozen. I know, can you believe that? Apparently when you let it defrost first, it causes the marinade to sort of fall off.

We -- and I use that word very loosely, as I sat on the couch the entire time -- cooked the salmon on the grill, but you could certainly cook it in the oven. Another note from the seafood master: The skin is kept on the bottom of the fish, so before you eat it, you have to sort of shimmy the skin off the fish.

So, how was it? It was really tasty. The marinade packed a lot of flavor, without being too salty (although one of us thought it was too garlicky. That one was not me). That's always my concern with these pre-marinated foods, but this was not bad. It doesn't contain any funky ingredients and comes from a Marine Stewardship Council-certified sustainable fishery.

It's available at various Wal-Marts throughout the country, as well as Giant Eagle, and it retails for around ten bucks.

And! Because the seafood master likes to spread the love, he's offering up a Smoky Peppercorn Salmon fillet to one of you! If you want to win a free meal, just comment on this post and tell me what you'd serve this with.

We served ours with a salad of avocado, tomato, blue cheese, and croutons.

I'll pick a winner at random on Wednesday, November 2, 2011 and announce the winner on Thursday. It should go without saying, but the fish will be shipped to you via FedEx and on dry ice. No food poisoning here. Also, sorry our neighbors to the north, south, and abroad, but it can only be shipped to the 48 contiguous states.

So go! Enter! And happy fishing!

{Photo credit: Me}

Help me feed my toddler!

by Elsha

I have two kids, and my daughter (who is 3) is a great eater. She's not picky, she'll eat what you stick in front of her, and she especially loves fish and steamed veggies. (I know, I'm spoiled there.)

However, my son is a different story. He's almost 2, and he's on a pretty typical toddler diet. He'll eat anything, as long as it's carbohydrates. Noodles, bread, cereal, crackers, potatoes, and you know, anything sweet. He has a few exceptions to this rule: eggs (which he loves in any form), yogurt, and steamed broccoli (random right?). He doesn't like cheese unless it's in the form of "macaroni and." I am at a loss for what to do to get him to eat other things.  

Mealtime at our house works like this: I cook, set food in front of the kids, and they eat or not. I feed them whatever we're eating, and I don't take requests. So, he gets a variety of food served to him, but he just doesn't eat it. I can't even fault him for not trying because often he sticks something in his mouth, and then takes it out and declares it "Ucky." I've done the "mix it in with something he likes," which results in him picking around the mixed-in items, or accidentally getting them in his mouth and then looking at me like I'm the cruelest person on earth that I would ruin his favorite food like that.

So where do I go from here? Is this a phase he'll just grow out of?  

What are your best tips for getting a toddler to eat new things?  

My Favorite Coffee Cup

By Ariel

I never thought I'd write about a coffee cup, let alone having fond feelings for one. Is it common to have such an attachment to a beverage holder? I'm not ashamed. 

{Image from Amazon.com}

Let my introduce you to my Smart Planet Eco Coffee Cup. I was one of those people who used the paper variety at work. For every cup. I'm deeply sorry, Earth. I'm not exactly a super environmentalist, but I do try to keep my carbon footprint at a minimum, and for me and my coffee addiction this was really the obvious choice.

This cup is great for a couple reasons. One, it's cute. I'm shallow enough to care that if I buy something it should be functional and pretty and not necessarily in that order. They have a variety of styles if you're inclined to shop around (I actually scored mine at TJ Maxx) and it's just another way to let your style shine through. My second reason for loving it is that I can't have stainless steel coffee cups where I work. I have to go through a metal detector, and sadly a cup of coffee would not survive the x-ray scanner you have to put all your stuff through before going in, so my options were limited to paper, plastic, or, in the case of the Eco Cup, porcelain. Third; it washes like a dream. I'm not kidding. I might have let the real washing go on for awhile, and was just rinsing out the cup every day (or, ahem, every other day ... or so ... or more). The white porcelain seemed beyond stained but as soon as I hit it with hot water and a paper towel it was shiny and new again. 

I've started to see these cups pop up in the hands of co-workers, and I think this is a trend that will (hopefully) start to replace the use of paper cups. I'm one of those people who needs a steady coffee IV drip throughout the day and I do feel guilty it took me this long to make a switch. I got this cup about 6 months ago and wanted to wait before writing so I could give it an honest review and I would absolutely recommend this to any coffee or tea (or cider! It's that time of year!) lover. It has held up incredibly well and I have used it just about every day since I got it. They're also available for well under $10, and with the holidays coming up they would make a terrific gift paired with fancy coffee or tea for the office secret santa. Wait, is it too early to start talking Christmas presents?

Any other coffee junkies out there? My favorite cup and I are always on the look out for coffee recommendations, so share yours!

No-Boil Pasta Bake: Easiest Dinner Ever

by Carrie

I came home from work the other night and really wanted some warm, comforting pasta. I remembered this recipe for No-Boil Pasta Bake I had seen recently on The Kitchn, so I adapted it to fit what I had on hand.

 

I used a 15-oz can of tomato sauce instead of a 28-oz can of diced tomatoes and used about half a cup more milk than the original recipe just to have a little more liquid. I also threw in two chopped tomatoes and a chopped red pepper. I baked it in a cast-iron skillet and the pasta was done in about 45 minutes. It tasted great and I barely had to think about it. Amazing. 

Food-related Halloween Costumes for the Desperate Procrastinator

by Katie

So! Almost Halloween! Anyone still hemming and hawing about a costume? Might I recommend some food-related options for you?

I have a long and storied history of pun-based Halloween costumes.  Here, my best friend and I model our "cocktail costume" phase back in the early aughts.  (Can you guess what we were? Answer at the bottom!)

If Cocktail Couture ain't your thing, some other food-related suggestions:

The Gorton's Fisherman: buy a So'Wester hat and a cheap yellow slicker, draw on a gray beard and you're good to go!

Image: discovergloucester.com

Paula Deen: buy a crazy feathered white wig, get some thrift store pearls and a matronly blouse (bonus points for shoulder pads!) put on heavy black eyeliner, and tote a container of Jello or Cool Whip. Bonus points if you whiten your teeth.

Image: vromansbooks.com

Morton Salt Girl: Yellow dress, blue umbrella, mary janes, carry a container of salt.

Image: wikipedia.com

Chiquita Banana Lady: Buy a kiddie set of plastic fruit and a thrift store hat, go nuts with your hot glue gun. Finish with big hoop earrings and a flirty dress.

Devilled Egg- Wear a white shirt (or cut out a large white circle for a sandwich board) cut out a yellow circle for the yolk, wear devil horns.  Evaluate who to talk to at a party based on gives you a knowing laugh and who looks at you blankly.

Image: Teamdenise.com

Cereal Killer: For the truly lazy pun lover, you don't even need to dress up at all.  Simply stab a box of cereal with a fake knife.  Revel in your punniness.

(Oh, and our cocktail costumes up there?  Also puns.  You can't really tell, but there's a celery stick in my friend's hair- she was a "Bloody Mary," - and there's a construction paper olive glued to my hat to make me a "dirty martini."  Straight classy, right there.  My only excuse is that we were young, and at least we're not dressed as sexy [insert things here]!)

Storing Coffee at Home

By Leslie

I've always stored coffee in its orignal bag or canister in the freezer.  We go through it pretty quickly, so I had never really considered anything else.  I've heard a few times from some reliable and some not so reliable sources that the freezer is actually one of the worst places to store coffee.  According to the National Coffee Association, "it is important not to refrigerate or freeze your daily supply of coffee because contact with moisture will cause it to deteriorate."  

Interesting.  

Also, you aren't supposed to put it in a cute decorative container on your counter top.  The website suggests storing coffee in an airtight,opaque, non-reactive container and in a dark and cool area like a pantry or cabinet.  I like coffee and I like it to taste great, so I think I'll need to get my hands on something better, right?  I'm thinking something simple like these basic canisters from Target would work.

But I'm also in the mood for something a little more fun and festive, like these from Sur la Table:

Do you have any tricks on keeping coffee beans extra-fresh?  Or suggestions for pretty, but also functional, storage containers?

(Photo credits - target.com and surlatable.com)