Marrakesh is another Moroccan restaurant every Washingtonian should give it a try at least once in their life time. It is one or two blocks from Convention Center in NY Ave in Washington, DC. I’ve been there six or seven times since I moved to DC back in 1985, most times with a large group of ~10 people on a Friday or Saturday night.

Make sure to bring your appetite as I predict you won’t have enough room for lots of food. There’s NO MENU other than vegetarian/non so you take what you get. Plan on staying a while. Seven courses makes for a long, full evening! We had a reservation at 8:00 and didn’t leave until 11:30. The service is sometimes slow at times, but not in a way that makes you feel forgotten; the servers simply ran off to… prepare a birthday processional! Or a bachelorette processional! Or build a platform for the belly dancer to perform on!

Good place to go for a large group of people/celebration – particularly birthday parties. Its not often that you find a restaurant that combines a cultural experience (eating with your hands), wonderful service, communal eating- and great vegetarian options.

At first Marrakesh is hard to spot, because the name is written on a small sign in Arabic in front of a nondescript building with no windows which makes it look like a bomb shelter from the outside. You have to knock in order to be let in the door, which I thought was interesting. The inside is nicer than you expect from the outdoor facade. Inside, you sit amongst all the patrons in an open room that fits a seemingly endless quantity of people.

The decor is very true to what I imagine a real Moroccan restaurant would be like. There are beautiful rugs on the floor and guests are seated on little couches with a small table for everyone to share. No plates here at Marrakesh, though.

It’s sort of pricey — there were four of us and I ended up paying about $188 including tip for the meal and four glasses of red wine. A good thing to remember is your ATM card, because though they don’t take credit cards, there is a cash machine on the premises.

The meal consists of about seven dishes, including:
1: Roasted eggplant salad + cucumber, tomato, & carrot salad
2. B’ stella [sweet flaky pastry filled with chicken, egg, nuts, etc.]

BELLY DANCER INTERMISSION

3. Chicken and olives – It is amazingly tender
4. Lehma/ lamb and honey
5. Veggie cous- cous
6. Fresh fruit & nuts
7. Mint tea

The servers do a great job of explaining how to do the ritual hand washing and the other parts of the meal that aren’t typical in restaurants.

We walked back through the main dining room to “the club”. The club has it’s own bar and own dining area. It also has a dance floor. So, after waiting for a few more parties to arrive, a belly dancer came out and did her thing. She even took people from each table to dance with her. Many of the belly dancer are tattooed, but it’s the closest I’ve gotten to forgetting my troubles and feeling far away from Middle East.

Be careful in the neighborhood when you get out, unless you’ve valeted your car. It’s in a somewhat “transitioning” neighborhood but is still a little scary. Marrakesh is close to the Convention Center metro stop.

The entire experience is about 3 hours long and well worth it. It is a unique way to hang with friends and especially good for people who are tired of traditional restaurants. It is really fun and delicious and I would definitely go back.

Marrakesh
617 New York Ave NW
(between N 6th St & N 7th St)
Washington, DC 20001
(202) 393-9393
map

Nearest Transit:
Mt Vernon Sq – 7th St|Convention Center (Green, Yellow)
Gallery Pl-Chinatown (Red, Green, Yellow)
Attire: Casual

Oh, it’s good.

Ingredients:

• Pork Tenderloin
• Salt
• Black Pepper
• Thyme
• Garlic
• Red Wine
• Shallot
• Mushrooms
• Parsley
• Cabernet Sauvignon
• Cous Cous
• Saffron
• Green Olive with pimento
• 2 tbsp. butter
• Water
• Annatto Oil
• Special blend of spices

Procedure:

1. Rub tenderloin with salt and pepper then sear all sides on high heat
2. Place wine, parsley, garlic, mushrooms, shallot, and pepper in pan with tenderloin then place pot in oven
3. In a small sauce pan bring water to a boil then add cous cous, green olive, annatto, and special blend of spices
4. Cover when water reaches top cous cous then cover and steam out
5. Stir in saffron and butter once the cous cous is done
6. Remove tenderloin from oven and let rest
7. Strain juice from pot then place in a small sauce pot and add a little more wine, black pepper, and salt
8. Reduce by 1/4 then slice tenderloin and pour sauce over tenderloin
9. Serve cous cous with tenderloin…..as shown above.
10. Enjoy

Eric

In Britain we have a long tradition of fishing and rightly so, we are completely surrounded by some of the richest fishing waters in the world. There has been lots of coverage in the news over the past few years highlighting sea fishing regulations and what we can catch and what we should try to avoid. We have a duty to buy responsibly and try to keep our fish stocks at a safe level or we’re going to be in danger of losing some of our most well known species: turbot, monkfish, cod and haddock.

But while all this is going on have we missed the fact that we have a massive stock of fresh water fish that’s just waiting to be brought into the spotlight. By doing this it could ease the pressure on sea fish stocks, all we need to do is to try and encourage and educate people towards these fish which are exceptionally good for eating. Brown trout, carp, zander and pike are all fish that can be caught during the winter months and are perfect for eating. Pike is one fish that can be caught throughout the whole of winter and I think it can be an exceptional fish to eat, if caught from fast flowing rivers, with its dense white flesh and earthy flavour. There is a perception that pike is a dirty tasting fish but that’s only if it’s not caught in clean fast flowing waters.

If you are fishing in a lake then the best way to ensure that your pike tastes earthy and not muddy is to purge the fish in fresh water for a day. But you will find that the flavour isn’t as strong later on towards the end of the year. I have done a little dish that will hopefully help change your minds about pike. Enjoy.

Roast fillet of pike with cauliflower, baby leeks and clams.  Serves 4.

Ingredients:

1 large pike filleted

250g of manila clams

100ml chicken stock

100ml white wine

1 cauliflower

8 baby leeks

1 packet of beech mushrooms

2 banana shallots

1 clove of garlic

1 dessert spoon of crème fraiche

1 bunch of chives

1 lemon for juicing

Olive oil, salt and pepper

Method:

Cut each fillet into four making sure that all pin bones are removed. Take the cauliflower and separate the florets, some of the cauliflower is for puree and the rest is for a cauliflower “cous cous”. For the puree, chop one shallot and ½ a clove of garlic finely, chop the cauliflower stalk and some of the florets, sweat in a pan for 3-4 minutes and add a splash of white wine, chicken stock and salt and pepper. Cook for a further 5 minutes until almost all the liquid has evaporated, blitz to a smooth puree with a blender.

For the “cous cous” cut the cauliflower florets into small pieces, blitz in a blender until the cauliflower starts to look like cous cous grains, add half a finely chopped shallot and the other half clove of garlic, 1 spoon of crème fraiche, chopped chives, salt and pepper and a squeeze of lemon juice. Leave at room temperature. You want the “cous cous” to be crunchy as it helps give the dish texture.

Now dust the skin of the pike in seasoned flour, pan fry on a medium high heat, as the skin starts to crisp up chuck in the clams, baby leeks and mushrooms, turn the fish over and add a splash of white wine and chicken stock and cook for a further 2-3 minutes until the clams start to open. Season with salt and pepper, a squeeze of lemon juice and some finely chopped chives. This liquid will help keep the fish moist and also form your sauce. If your cauliflower has leaves then don’t throw them away. Cut the stalks out and chuck them in with the baby leeks.

By Gordon Jones

Serves 4
8 syns for entire recipe
2 syns per portion on extra easy

Ingredients
For the crab and potato cakes
225g of crab meat
250g of cooked mashed potato
4 spring onions, sliced lengthways and finely chopped
120ml of extra light mayonnaise
Salt and Pepper to season
1/2 cup of plain cooked cous cous

For the side mayo

120ml of extra light mayo
1 teaspoon of orange zest
1 teaspoon of lemon juice (squeezed from a fresh lemon)
2 tablespoon of finely chopped fresh mint.

Method

For the crab and potato cakes

In a bowl, mix together the  crab, 120ml of mayo,  potato and spring onion.
Form into 8 equal sized patties.
Pour the cooked cous cous onto a plate and season with salt and pepper.
Dredge the patties into the cous cous to evenly coat and set aside. You can make the patties in advance and refrigerate until ready to cook if you prefer.
Spray a frying pan with frylight and cook each side on a medium heat until golden brown.

For the side mayo

In a bowl mix together the mayo, orange zest, lemon juice and 2 tablespoons of finely chopped fresh mint.

Serve the crab and potato cakes on a bed of salad, each with a dollop of the mayo on top.

Potatoes are a healthy part of any diet, so long as you don’t use them to bulk up your meal.  As I have said before, I am not following a specific diet, it’s a case of reducing your portion sizes and this goes for the amount of potatoes you eat.  So for example, instead of eating potatoes with every meal, I have been eating alternatives, such as cous cous, rice, noodles, pasta and spaghetti.  I’ve also eaten sweet potatoes, which are less of a carbohydrate than normal potatoes, such as maris pipers and they also taste absolutely amazing. 

Other alternatives to potatoes that I haven’t yet tried are butternut squash and turnip.  Although I must admit to enjoying butternut squash soup and roasted butternut squash with a good roast dinner.  I can’t say that I have specifically thought of replacing potatoes with butternut squash, although I am happy to give it a go. 

I’ll look to try over the next few weeks and report back on my opinion.

To summarise, potatoes are a healthy part of any diet, so long as you eat a balanced meal.  Don’t fill your plate with potatoes.  Make sure that you have enough vegetables and meat.  After all it is about portion size and this is where you should concentrate your effort.  You’ll be surprised at how easy it is to cut down on the amount you eat and if you still crave a snack in the evening then cut up a raw carrott or eat a piece of fruit – these are far better alternatives to a packet of crisps or chocolate !

Last night I prepared a cous cous for my old mate Giacomo talking about boats, as usual.

Bye

This looks fancy, but if you’ve already prepared the pomegranate it only takes about 5 minutes!

Serves 2

2 un-breaded vegetarian chicken cutlets

2 oz goat cheese

1/2 cup cous cous (the cous cous pictured is Isralei cous cous so it’s large)

1/4 cup pomegranate seeds

olive oil

black pepper

1. Microwave the chicken patty for half of the time specified in the package’s cooking directions.

2. Microwave the cous cous with an equal amount of water in a covered bowl for about 2 minutes.

3. While the cous cous is cooking, cut each chicken in half so you have two thin pieces and spread the goat cheese in between the two pieces.

4. Take the cous cous out and let it stand covered while microwaving the chicken/goat cheese for the rest of the cooking time.

5. Assemble the chicken on top of a bed of cous cous, season with pepper, drizzle with olive oil, and sprinkle with pomegranate seeds.

So I thought I would share a recipe I absolutely love. I had seen a recipe for something with currants and almonds before, and thought I would incorporate the duo in a future dish. I stumbled upon a craving for cous cous one night and the thought occurred to me to try the almond-currant combination! The rich flavor of the currants combined with the almonds was magnificent!! I’m a huge fan of “I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter”, so the butter mixed well with the two other ingredients, and it’s probably the quickest recipe for something that sounds pretty sophisticated.

The recipe is as follows:

Almond & Currant Cous Cous

Needed:

1 c water

1 c dry cous cous

1/2 c dried currants

1/4 c sliced almond

1 tbs butter/margarine

Bring water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Pour the dry cous cous into the saucepan and remove from heat. Add the currants, almonds, and butter to the cous cous and fluff. When the butter has melted, serve!

The currants will soften from the heat, and the almonds are actually best when slightly crunchy.  I have attempted to make a risotto out of the same ingredients, but the risotto actually tasted more like an oatmeal of sorts. I may attempt to add a spice like cinnamon w/ a dash of vanilla and make it an actual dessert. I’ll keep you all posted on that concoction! Enjoy!!

These are quick and easy to make. A less fatty alternative to pork, but are still moist and tender. Great for making a head and freezing, perfect served with and alfredo or marinara sauce.

1 pound ground chicken

2/3 cup  cooked cous cous

1/2 large white onion

2 garlic cloves

2 rashers of thick cut bacon

3 tablespoons tomato paste

3 tablespoons dried oregano

1 tablespoon dried jalepeno flakes

Salt and Pepper

Heat the over to 350°

First I get my cous cous going, so that it can cool a little before I need it. I use Near East brand  for a couple of reasons, It cooks up  super fast and it comes in a lot of flavours. I like the herbed chicken in this recipe because it layers the chicken flavour and gives the meatballs more depth. Which is the same reason I make it with chicken stock instead of water. I  prefer cous cous to bread crumbs as  I think it results in a moister ball.

The chicken stocked and flavour packet came to a boil, I added in the cous cous, gave a quick stir, removed it from the heat, put the lid on and left it for 5 minutes. Now fluff and loosen the cous cous with  a fork while it’s still warm and put it one side.

Next cut the bacon into lardons and brown in a pan until crisp. While they are cooking, get everything else together

Put the ground chicken into a bowl

Chop the onion half and add in to the chicken

Crush the garlic cloves and add

Sprinkle on the seasonings and squeeze in the tomato paste

On goes the bacon…

…And the warm cous cous. Now’s the time to get messy or use a fork to thoroughly combine everything. After all the ingredients have been mixed I take a little bit and fry it up to check the seasoning.

Once I know it tastes good I…

I roll them into balls, each ball is about 2 tablespoons worth of mix. A cookie dough scoop is great for this job

In a couple of teaspoons of olive oil I brown the meatballs in a pan on the stove top. Then I transfer them into a baking dish, cover them with foil and bake for about 15 minutes, to make sure they are cooked all the way through.

When you take them out of the oven you can either serve them or let them cool and freeze them.

Tonight for dinner I felt like Cous Cous. And apple. I don’t know why, that’s just how it is. So I made a chilled cous cous salad. I wasn’t going to post it here, but it was so delicious that I decided to plate it nicely and share the recipe. This recipe should make 5-6 portions, so it’s good for leftovers in the fridge. Here’s how I made it.

Ingredients

1 cup Israeli cous cous (I know I know, Israel - it’s like buying your chickpeas direct from Hamas)

1/4 each red repper, orange pepper, diced

6 sundried tomatoes, diced

1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

1/4 cucumber, diced

1/4 cup pine nuts

1 apple, diced

1 carrot, diced

Juice of 1 lemon*

1/4 cup mint, minced*

1/4 cup basil, minced*

3 tbsp olive oil*

1 tbsp champagne vinegar or apple cider vinegar*

3 tbsp mustard*

Salt and pepper to taste*

*These are for the dressing

Balsamic reduction (make this by heating balsamic vinegar until it reduces by 1/2 or buy it)**

Sprouts**

Avocado**

Cherry tomatoes, cut in half**

**These are for garnishing

Method

To cook the Israeli cous cous rinse several times under cold water then bring to a boil in double the volume of lightly salted water. Once it has reached a full boil, reduce heat to a simmer. Remove the lid, stir quickly, replace lid and cook for 10-15 minutes longer, until Al Dente. Do not overcook this, it becomes a starchy mush fairly quickly. Once it is done take the cous cous off the heat and transfer into a strainer. Run cold water over the cous cous to instantly stop the cooking. Set aside to drain.

Combine the ingredients for your dressing in a small cup.

Combine all the other ingredients, your chilled cous cous included, in a large mixing bowl.

Pour the dressing over the ingredients in the bowl and mix thoroughly. Let sit for 15-30 minutes in your fridge for the flavours to combine and for the cous cous to absorb some of the liquid of the dressing.

Plate and garnish with cherry tomatoes, avocado, and sprouts, then lightly drizzle balsamic reduction over everything.

You can also make this a little more Mediterranean by adding things like olives, capers, or caper berries.

Living in South Africa, we are all so accustomed to our normal “steak, wors and chop” braai.  What I love to do to add a bit of difference is a stuffed snoek on the braai with fresh herby salads and pesto garlic rolls.  Now this may sound like a lot of work, but in actual fact its not and its just something different that your guests are sure to love!

As usual with my recipes, remember that you can play around with flavours.  That’s what makes cooking so much fun!

Right, now firstly you need a whole fish cleaned.  I like to use Snoek but whatever you fancy really.  Then for the stuffing I chop up some onions, lemon leaves, flat-leaf parsley, green peppers,spring onions, thyme, garlic, salt, ground pepper and dill for stuffing.  In a separate bowl I mix about 3tbl spoons of apricot jam and equivalent mayonnaise, and pour over the stuffing which is now in the centre of the fish.  Then take string and tie the fish closed.( normally about four equal spaces) and wrap in tin foil.  Then place on the braai for about 20min depending on size.  You have to be careful not to over cook the fish as it will become dry.  Just before it is ready, open up the foil and pour over a little more of the apricot/mayo mix and allow about 5 more min of cooking.  Once cooked remove from the braai, open up the foil, untie and serve!  The flavours in this are absolutely stunning and makes for a divine summers evening!

What I find goes so well with this is a lovely cous cous salad, and here are just two ideas you can play with.

Ingredients:

• 1 3/4 c plain cous cous
• 2 c chicken broth
• 1 T olive oil
• 1/2 t salt
• 1/4 black pepper

Procedure:

• In a medium saucepan with a lid, bring the chicken broth to a boil with the olive oil, salt and pepper. As soon as the liquid begins to boil, remove from heat and add in the cous cous. Stir to completely incorporate, and cover saucepan. Let stand for 5 minutes to allow the cous cous to absorb the broth and stir lightly with a fork to fluff. Then add the following:

• 1/4 can sun dried tomatoes, chopped
• 2 green onions, sliced on the diagonal, white and green part
• 3 T pine nuts, lightly toasted
• 1/2 t fresh oregano, chopped
• 2 T fresh basil leaves, chopped

Add in the ingredients to the prepared cous cous and serve!

Happy Braaiing!!!!

A little Taste of Morocco

Cous Cous with Beans

Baked Sweet Potato Chips

Hey, friends.

This week has been ridiculously busy. We squeezed in a trip to Chattanooga, TN, to see my sister play some soccer in the state tournament!!

It is pretty hard to stay healthy in the midst of a busy schedule. Working at the clinic this week has been intense! So many sick kids! I know one of the best ways to stay healthy is for me to keep moving and planning meals in advance, if possible!

A grainy breakfast is the perfect opportunity to secure a healthy dose of goodness first thing in the morning.

Stovetop oats, cooked the night before, with granola and frozen blueberries.

I usually have my oats with almond milk and sprinkle on some flax seeds for extra Omega-3s. This morning, however, I got crazy and tried something different.
Breakfast quinoa. Impeccable.

Quinoa takes about 15 minutes to cook stovetop, so it can be prepared in advance and refrigerated, or cooked the morning of consumption . It’s done with each grain has a little band around it, like the planet Saturn. I poured some amazing peach kefir over my little Saturns and sprinkled ground flax seed on top.Sometimes meal preparation just happens serendipitously! I went to work this week and in the break room was a bag full of ripe green bell peppers from a patient’s garden. I stocked up! Of course, I didn’t keep my coworkers from having their fill either! Have you had a serenditpitous meal lately where everything just fell into place?

Roasted Bell Pepper Plate

I roasted the peppers in the oven at 350 for about 15 minutes, turning them once. I cleaned them (removed all the seeds) and got cous cous cooking on the stove. I sauteed onions and mushrooms and added the cooked cous cous and a sprinkle of chili powder. A sprinkle of colby cheese and tomato later and done! Not the prettiest, but oh so good!

As you can see, I sorta splayed the pepper on the plate and piled on the toppings. So. Good. Try. This. Tonight.

Next, I have a review to share with you! I saw Nutridel cookies on many of my favorite blogs, and they just looked fantastic. I got a few in the mail along with their impressive nutritional facts recently. One of their flaxseed cookies has 57 calories, 3g of protein and 3g of fiber! One thing I didn’t know until I sampled them was that they are very thin and crunchy! I dug this, but wasn’t expecting it. Their sweet taste comes from molasses – no other sweeteners! I really enjoyed the cookies, finding them a very healthy indulgence. They are also vegan-friendly and I can see kids loving these as a snack! Thanks for sending these, Nutridel! I brought them to work and my coworkers were very curious!

All in all, I’m just thankful to have a rest day today! What are you up to today?

Thanks for reading. Have a fabulous Saturday!

My mom’s picadillo (or as I call it, peek-a-dealio) recipe is one of my favorites, so I thought I would try it when we had a friend over to visit! The interesting blend of cinnamon, chili powder, and raisins is DELICIOUS!

1 lb ground turkey

1 large onion, chopped

1 medium green pepper, chopped

1 clove garlic

1 can tomatoes

1/2 cup raisins

1 tsp. each of chili powder and cinnamon

1/4 tsp cloves (chopped)

1/8 tsp pepper

1/4 cup sliced almonds

1 tablespoon olive oil

For just the picadillo:

In a large saucepan, cook turkey with onion and garlic until turkey is brown and the onion is tender. (Chop/mix it with a spatula until there is no more pink.) Drain off the excess fat. Stir in the tomatoes, raisins, chili powder, cinnamon, cloves and pepper. Bring to a boil, and then reduce the heat to medium-low. Simmer uncovered, stirring occasionally for 15 minutes. Transfer to serving platter. Wipe skillet clean and pour in almonds and oil. Saute until lightly browned. Sprinkle on top of mixture. Serve.

For picadillo in peppers:

Instead of letting it simmer, pour the mixture evenly into 6 hollowed out green bell peppers. Put in the oven and bake for a half hour at 350 degrees. When almost done, wipe skillet clean and pour in almonds and oil. Saute until lightly browned. Sprinkle on top of peppers when you pull them out of the oven.

Couscous:

1 box whole wheat cous cous

1 handful chopped cilantro

1 box cherry tomatoes, halved

Follow directions on box of Trader Joe’s Whole Wheat couscous. When finished, mix in tomatoes and cilantro.

Thanks, mom! : )
.m

För någon månad sedan eller så hittade vi en dipp från 2005 längst ner under våra köksskåp, eftersom de inte har någon baksida och saker lätt ramlar ner. Idag fann Micke ett hemligt fack ovanför ugnen och fiskade ut plastfilm och cous cous från 2004. Sen hittade vi ännu ett hemligt utrymme under spisen men det var tomt. Man vet liksom aldrig vad som kan dyka upp härnäst.

We’ve already had our first official snow storm here in the valley – and thank goodness I had the day off!  It’s warmed up a bit however, we’ve been at a steady 60-70 degrees this week so far.  The other week though, it looked like this…

Mother Nature wasn’t the only one hard at work.  Matt and I retreated into the kitchen to bake up yummy treats.  First we made lemon lavender poppyseed scones…

…the poppy seeds and lavender we harvested from the garden.  First time trying to grow poppy seeds and I’ve got to say, it’s a lot easier than it says on the packet.  Then we made chocolate trifecta cookies with almonds – using white, milk and bittersweet El Rey baking chocolate.

The next thing we made was a candied/spiced nut recipe I found on Smitten Kitchen’s blog while researching for my SFF Newsletter (that’ll have to be another entry!)  It was easy to make and we LOVED it!

Last but not least, a savory treat for the carnivores out there.  Rack of lamb with sweet pepper and cumin cous cous and Tibar spice braised endive.

More cooking to come now that the temps are gradually sliding and there’s nothing more fun to do than bake on a cold day.  =]  And Thanksgiving’s just around the corner!  This year it’ll be at Robin’s (my mother in law) house.  The deal is that hosting house does the turkey and fixins while the visitors bring sides and desserts.  So far we’re planning on bringing garlic mashed potatoes – that she loves so much – cauliflower gratin and pumpkin pie.  More to come with that later!

one of the most versatile and screw-up proof side dishes ever is the little pelleted bits of wheat sold as cous cous.  as the wiki page tells us, the stuff readily available in the western grocery store is basically instant – just boil some water, add a bit of the dry wheat bits, cover and remove from heat, ready to fork-fluff and eat in 5 minutes.  the pretty tri-color variety i get at the store comes in a canister large enough to contain several meals’ worth, is pretty cheap, and works just as easily as the package claims.  with just a little butter and salt in the boiling water (as described on the package), cous cous is a nice change of pace from standard rice or pasta or potato side dishes.

the great thing about it, though, is that it’s very much a blank slate.  add anything you feel like and flavor the heck out of that stuff from sweet to savory; it’s very forgiving of experimentation.

garlic veggie cous cous:

in a medium-sized sauce pan, heat a pat of butter until melted and sizzling.  add a generous spoonful of diced garlic, some chopped onion, and whatever vegetables you have on hand (bell peppers + shredded carrots +  pine nuts is a fave combo of mine).  cook until the veggies are done but not mushy – ideally, there is a little bit of char in the pan.  remove the veggies and set aside in a bowl.  put the same pan back on the stove without cleaning it.  add water, butter, and salt as per the package instructions to make the desired number of servings.  when the water has come to a boil, turn off the stove, add the dry cous cous and stir.  stir in the veggies as well, then cover for 5 minutes.  done!

if you want something a little sweeter, add gold raisins or craisins.

if you want something more savory, add stock or fat from some meat you’ve cooked.

cous cous is light and fluffy, so don’t add anything too heavy (i.e., chunks of meat served ON it are good, but mixed IN it during cooking, not so much).  any available veggies, and even plenty of fruits, do wonderfully in this, so boldly experiment with what you have on hand.

No time for lunch…heck I don’t even have time to write about lunch this week let alone make it! It’s our last week at the farmers’ markets so I’m all about eating fresh, fast and flying out the front door! Here are my top 3 fave meals on-the-go:

1. Quickie Burrito: Now this is no Tacos El Asador -but it’s cheap, cheesy and cheers you up in an instant.

Ingredients

1 whole wheat or corn tortilla

1 spoonful organic refried beans (Amy’s are good!)

1 Ontario hothouse tomato – diced

1 handful organic arugula

1/4 onion – diced

1 spoonful sliced black olives

1/4 cup shredded organic cheese (Culinarium has great cheeses!)

hot sauce to taste

Preparation:

Lay tortilla out on a plate. Fill the left-middle section with beans etc, leaving a border. Top with cheese and hot sauce. Fold top and bottom together and roll from left to right. Microwave for 30 seconds on med-high or bake in oven on baking sheet for 10 minutes (my preference…but if pressed for time nuking is sometimes necessary…at least it’s better than processed fast food!) Enjoy…quickly!

2. Move over Cup-a-Soup and make room for Miso in a Mug– a  high-protein lunch in just minutes!

Ingredients

 2 cups water

1/2 onion – diced

1 carrot – chopped

3 radished – chopped

2 mushrooms – sliced

1 tbsp miso

1 tsp tamari or soy sauce

Preparation

Boil water in kettle. Add veggies to favourite soup cup, bowl or travellers mug . Pour boiling water over veggies and add miso & tamari. Let stand 5 minutes. Enjoy!

3. Lastly is my newest “on the run” creation. I love it so much I’ve actually had it for lunch 3 days in a row!

Hugs n Cous Cous XPRESS!

Ingredients

1 1/3 cup water

1 cup whole-wheat cous cous

1 tomato – diced

1 carrot – chopped

1/4 onion – diced

5 florets broccoli

1 tbsp miso

1 tsp tamari

hot sauce to taste

Preparation

Boil water and veggies in small pot for one on stove. Once boiling add miso and dissolve. Remove from heat and add cous cous. Cover and let stand 5 minutes. Fluff with fork and drizzle with tamari & hot sauce. Eat right out of the pot and be out the door in no time at all!

No time for slow food today? Fast and fresh is the next best thing!

Bon appetit.

Lesley

Well today I am depressed.  The film I am set to review could not have disappointed me more.  12:08 East of Bucharest had been a film I had been looking forward to watching  all week. I had read excellent reviews of the film and was particularly excited when I discovered that it had won the Camera D’or at the Cannes Film Festival.  This is clearly a film that is championed by critics because it has a certain quality (in a similar way to Denzel Washington’s Training Day, probably one of the finest examples of critics over hyping of films) but is in fact an hour twenty minutes of your life that you will never see again.  I won’t rip it to pieces in the usual FilmWipe style as I am also seduced by the qualities that the film does have.  But I will warn you now dear reader that this is a horrible film and is about as enjoyable as finding out that you have got syphilis.  So read on and discover why you should take it of your DVD rental priority list and try and pretend that you never heard of this film or Romania.

The film is set on the 22nd of December sixteen years after the revolution.  In this small town a local television channel owner, Jderescu, and debtae show rpesenter decides that the show should focus on whether their community had a revolution.  He invites two members from the local community who had been involved with the revolution.  One a local history teacher, Manescu, who is heavily in debt due to his spiralling alcoholism and Piscoci a retired old man whose wife died leaving him very lonely.  Before the show we get an insight into their depressing lifes and the problems thy face.  Once the show starts and the guests have told their story the film comes to life.  As members of the local community call in they reveal that Manescu has been lying about his involvement in the destruction of Ceauşescu’s government.  This leads to alarming questions about the town and Manescu.

One of the core problems with the film is that it feels like two films mixed together.  The first half where you find out about the background to the TV show is unbearably dull.  Because the characters have not been explained to you it is a mess of people arguing with one another, this is similar to the French hit Cous Cous but without anything interesting.  After wishing for 40 minutes that someone will break into your house and shoot you to put an end to the misery the film suddenly comes to life.  The scenes at the TV studio are excellent.  The debate with the two members of the community is funny, moving and leads to many questions over memory and people interpretation of their own past as well as collective memory.  The great trouble is after 40 minutes of enjoying a different take on a traumatic event, you are then thrust into a position of questioning what was the point of what you have just watched.  As nothing is resolved in anyway shape or form.  It is not that I am begging for a Hollywood ending, but I do believe in things having a point and this simply did not.

The direction is bleak.  Corneliu Porumboiu presents a very depressing vision of modern Romania.  Even people who you would expect to be slightly better off are not.  While this may be an accurate reflection of the state of modern Romania his take on it is very depressing.  The TV show is so cheap it makes a tramps underwear look as if it was made be Chritian Dior.  It is terrible.  While I can believe that improvisation goes on in independent regional TV stations in Romania, this type of improvisation looks so cheap and poor it is difficult to watch.  Again I am not asking for the film to make Romanian TV look like the Fox Channel.  However, the film starts to cross a line of deliberately being bad and instead starts to give the feeling that it just a very cheap production.

Overall this is worth watching if your interested in memory and the fall of communism.  However, if not avoid at all costs you would probably get more out of licking an electric fence for three hours than watching this.

4/10 Un-revolutionary

Potremmo dire che tutto ciò è stato ispirato da uno stile di vita “cheap & chic”, tanto adatto ai nostri tempi…Che abbiamo voluto omaggiare i sapori e gli alimenti semplici di una volta…pesce azzurro, semola…bla bla bla….

Certo, potremmo. Ma la verità è che è un piatto gustoso e veloce che a casa faccio spessissimo, ma capirete che,  dovendo presentarlo nel blog, bisognava  dargli un minimo di tono…”azzizzarlo” per dirlo alla palermitana.

E allora vai di stampino e di alici imbizzarrite…et voilà! Sembra un piatto serio!!!! (…E lo è).

ingredienti

500 gr di alici

300 gr di cous cous precotto

1 cipolla media

2/3 carote

1 spicchio d’aglio

3 pomodori

50gr di granella di mandorle tostate

scorza di 1 limone

1/2 bicchiere di vino bianco

olio sale & pepe

Affettare carote e cipolla e trasferirle in un tegame. Ricopritele con un velo d’acqua e fatele cuocere a lungo schiacciandole di tanto in tanto con una forchetta finché non si riducono ad una crema. Fare asciugare l’acqua residua, ed aggiungere abbondante olio. Unire l’aglio e farlo imbiondire. A questo punto aggiungere il pomodoro a pezzetti e far cuocere per qualche minuto. Aggiungere ora le alici lavate e decapitate. Sfumare con il vino e coprire il tutto con l’acqua. Aggiustare di sale, chiudere col coperchio e far cuocere ancora per 5 minuti circa.

Nel frattempo preparate il cous cous (precotto) secondo le istruzioni riportate sulla confezione sostituendo però ¼ dell’acqua necessaria con il brodo del pesce. Quando il cous cous sarà cotto, aggiungere il pepe, la granella di mandorle tostate e la scorza grattugiata di  un limone.Riempire gli stampini premendo per bene e sformare sul piatto. Aggiungere il brodo e le alici.

Ingredients:

• 2 carbassons
• mig pebrot vermell
• 1 ceba
• cous cous
• oli
• parmesà

Per començar es renten els carbassons i es tallen verticalment en dues meitats i es posen en una olla que sigui especial per fer menjar al vapor. Mentre es fa el carbassó, es fa un sofregit amb el pebrot i la ceba. Quan ja estigui fet el carbassó se li treu la polpa i se li afegeix al sofregit. Quan ja estigui fet el sofregit se li afegeix mig got de caldo vegetal i quan comenci a bullir se li afegeix el cous cous i es para el foc. Es deixa 3 minuts reposant i es torna a encendre el foc i es remena una mica el cous cous. Així, ja tindrem fet el farcit. Ara només caldrà posar-ho dins de cada tros de carbassó.

Jo li he posat una mica de formatge parmesà per sobre i ho he posat al forn i ha quedat molt bo.

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De los matorrales – Los Delinquentes