Don’t let backyard veggies spoil, make Garden Couscous
Author: Brandia Deatherage | Published: August 23rd, 2010
This summer I was surprised by the number of people who had taken to gardening. I suppose that one positive effect of the recession is that it’s teaching us to consume less and produce more. My parents have grown vegetables before, but this year they planted produce in nearly every natural area in their yard. It seemed like every other day that they were sending me home with squash, zucchini, okra and peppers. And just when I thought I might actually need to visit the grocery store for tomatoes and cucumbers, two young children from my neighborhood were on my porch selling them to me for a quarter. In fact, even though I live on a city block, I’d bet that every three out of four of my neighbors have a garden. As their vines started to proliferate, they no longer asked for quarters, but started thrusting the overflow into my arms every time we made eye contact on the street.
For their bounty and generosity I have been very thankful, but have struggled to not let any of their gifted groceries waste. At this point, I’ve tired of fried zucchini, squash casserole, the Southern favorite ‘Fire and Ice’ and stir fry. I’m on to coming up with ideas for fun and fresh salads that can adapt to whatever veggies I have available at the moment. My favorite salad right now is Garden Couscous, because it’s cheap to make; it’s light, but filling; it tastes good the next day; and it’s so versatile that I never feel as if in a culinary rut.
I’m sharing my latest Garden Couscous recipe; but, truthfully, you can really add whatever you want to couscous and veggies, and it should be delicious. With olives, capers, different cheeses, red-wine vinegar, anchovies, salmon, parsley, etc. you can reinvent this recipe one hundred times!
It took me a while to locate couscous in Beaufort County. After having the Food Lion store manager insist that his store doesn’t carry couscous, I finally found the Near East brand among the rice (though couscous is, in fact, pasta) at Food Lion on HWY 264 East in Washington. This is understandable, as ‘couscous’ is not the most familiar word around Eastern North Carolina. It is a North African and Middle Eastern creation, most often served with salmon, chicken or lamb. Also, like a grain, it takes on the flavors of whatever it is prepared with, which might explain its misplacement on the rice isle. Because of its receptive nature, couscous is much more suitable for a salad than its cousin, orzo, which behaves like traditional pasta.
Garden Couscous
Tip: I recommend buying a whole block of plain feta cheese and crumbling it yourself. Not only is store-bought crumbled feta much more expensive per ounce, but it is also packaged with preservatives, whereas the block of feta is preservative-free.
Ingredients
5.8 oz. couscous
2 t. olive oil
Handful of fresh basil, chopped
Half a lemon
¼ c. chopped red onion
½ c. crumbled plain feta
Chopped garden vegetables, such as tomatoes, cucumbers, squash and/or zucchini –whatever you have available
Directions
Prepare couscous following instructions on the box. The Near East brand only takes 5 minutes.
Pour cooked couscous in mixing bowl. Cool in refrigerator for 30 minutes while you wash and chop the veggies and clean up.
Add chopped basil, onion, garden veggies, crumbled feta and the juice from half a lemon.
Mix together and enjoy!
This article provided courtesy of our sister site: Beaufort County Now
For their bounty and generosity I have been very thankful, but have struggled to not let any of their gifted groceries waste. At this point, I’ve tired of fried zucchini, squash casserole, the Southern favorite ‘Fire and Ice’ and stir fry. I’m on to coming up with ideas for fun and fresh salads that can adapt to whatever veggies I have available at the moment. My favorite salad right now is Garden Couscous, because it’s cheap to make; it’s light, but filling; it tastes good the next day; and it’s so versatile that I never feel as if in a culinary rut.
I’m sharing my latest Garden Couscous recipe; but, truthfully, you can really add whatever you want to couscous and veggies, and it should be delicious. With olives, capers, different cheeses, red-wine vinegar, anchovies, salmon, parsley, etc. you can reinvent this recipe one hundred times!
It took me a while to locate couscous in Beaufort County. After having the Food Lion store manager insist that his store doesn’t carry couscous, I finally found the Near East brand among the rice (though couscous is, in fact, pasta) at Food Lion on HWY 264 East in Washington. This is understandable, as ‘couscous’ is not the most familiar word around Eastern North Carolina. It is a North African and Middle Eastern creation, most often served with salmon, chicken or lamb. Also, like a grain, it takes on the flavors of whatever it is prepared with, which might explain its misplacement on the rice isle. Because of its receptive nature, couscous is much more suitable for a salad than its cousin, orzo, which behaves like traditional pasta.
Tip: I recommend buying a whole block of plain feta cheese and crumbling it yourself. Not only is store-bought crumbled feta much more expensive per ounce, but it is also packaged with preservatives, whereas the block of feta is preservative-free.
Ingredients
5.8 oz. couscous
2 t. olive oil
Handful of fresh basil, chopped
Half a lemon
¼ c. chopped red onion
½ c. crumbled plain feta
Chopped garden vegetables, such as tomatoes, cucumbers, squash and/or zucchini –whatever you have available
Directions
Prepare couscous following instructions on the box. The Near East brand only takes 5 minutes.
Pour cooked couscous in mixing bowl. Cool in refrigerator for 30 minutes while you wash and chop the veggies and clean up.
Add chopped basil, onion, garden veggies, crumbled feta and the juice from half a lemon.
Mix together and enjoy!
This article provided courtesy of our sister site: Beaufort County Now
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