Weeknight Couscous Bowl
Came home at 4:30 yesterday, cooked dinner for my family, then left again at 5:45 for an evening meeting. For you non-city-dwellers, that’s a lot of driving in Seattle. At the worst times. Yancey could have easily fed himself and the kids, and I could have gone out for sushi or tacos by myself. But then I would have missed our chaotic little foursome–kids complaining about vegetables, Loretta spilling her bubble water, and me gushing with news about my iPhone (believe all the good things you hear).
Here’s the sort of thing I cook on those nights. Some chopping, a tiny bit of cooking, a lot of nourishment. Made possible by a trip to the produce stand last weekend where I stocked up on several random things without a plan.
P.S. Loved all your tips and cautions about counting calories. I ran into a reader at the gym this morning. She said, “So, will you be all about diet recipes now?” An emphatic “NO!” My philosophy and style isn’t changing, and I don’t plan on counting calories forever. It has been very instructive, though, to start recognizing the mindless morsels that end up in my mouth throughout the day.
Weeknight Couscous Bowl
Scrounge in your fridge for anything that might taste good atop a bowl of warm couscous. I did julienned yellow peppers, crumbled feta, sunflower seeds, red jalapéno rings, zucchini quickly sauteed in garlic and olive oil, baked tofu, shredded carrots, green onions, and lemon slices. Then I mixed up a little yogurt dressing–1 c. plain yogurt, 1 minced garlic clove, a squeeze of lemon, salt, red pepper flakes. You could also add some tahini if you have it. Put all the toppings in the middle of the table and give everyone a bowl of couscous. (For 4 people, boil 3 c. water with a bit of salt and butter. Once water has boiled, take off heat. Add 3 c. whole wheat couscous, stir, cover, and let sit for 5 minutes. Take lid off, fluff with a fork.)
I love this idea. I want to eat almost everything on that platter.
… and it’ll never happen in this house.
(sobs)
mmmm - this might make it at our house…we had two no meat meals last week - wait, no, THREE. And he did just fine. Amazing. One was Orangette’s chana masala. Mmm. Was that ever good - right up with there with your Tikki.
hey, one thing might be just around the corner for us though. Yes. Really. There is a very important meeting tomorrow at 10am that just might change our lives. 
Will keep you posted, either way. God is God and is all works out. Take care!! Beth
Sarah - update. The placement fell through. Oh well. It is good, in a way - a family member stepped up to the plate. We would rather have that sooner, than later. Like I said earlier - God is GOOD and we are looking forward to what works out.
That looks nourishing indeed. I’m going to make my kids love their veggies =]
Inspired! Thank you for a GREAT idea! And beautiful!
so simple, yet just the sort of dinner ideas i love. thanks!
It looks excellent! Wonderful idea and I’d love to sample it right now! Thanks!
I LOVE this idea!! Great for a picky family (and I have one of those)! Thanks for sharing!
Why have I never thought of this? You are a much better mom than me. I would have taken that opportunity to eat by myself and run!
I love that you’d pick a chaotic mess filled with chatter of loved ones, over sushi in silence.
You’re a women after my own heart.
Genius, this — both the reality of cooking and life and kids (and Seattle traffic, the one thing I don’t miss). And the flexibility of this as a family meal, allowing each his/her own, but still bundles of whole goodness. Lovely.
Oh, how I wish I would’ve read this before I settled for my boring ‘ol couscous and shrimp tonight…is there anything that isn’t better with feta? Seriously.
After our first child was born, my colleagues organized two months worth of delivered meals for us (2-3 times/week, often including wine and dessert–how great was that?!). One of my favorites as a hummus platter that looked a lot like this. Mmm … maybe we need to have another baby.
You had me at red jalapeno rings and crushed red pepper! Love everything about that dinner. Sadly, if I put that down in my house, a quick call to Rosati’s Pizza would be made!
The Leftoverist at her finest! This is brilliant …. My mom would do something like this for chicken fajitas or tortilla pizzas when we were growing up, but never thought of cousous as the centerpiece. So cool, and SO MANY possible variations…. You have a lucky family!
What a great idea! No whining from the kids about what they don’t like!