HOW TO MAKE COUS COUS INTERESTING

For about as long as I've been cooking for myself, I've been making grain-based salads, with tons of little veggies and herbs I have lingering around my fridge. As a vegetarian, this type of hearty, nutrient-dense meal, is an essential in the repertoire. When my darling old friend, T, asked me months ago, "So how do you make cous cous interesting?" I gave her a laundry list of flavorful ingredients to add to her cous cous, probably tiring her in the process. Yet, I never wrote it down and these things, sometimes, are hard to remember.

So, this idea is long over due, but very useful, especially in the winter months when I'm craving hearty, filling, carbohydrates.

This is my current riff on cous cous salad, but any grain and bean combination will do. Additionally, there are many many different items to add to a salad of this sort -- listed here is my current combination.

Cous Cous Chickpea Salad

1 cup cous cous

1 cup water (or vegetable stock)

1 can garbanzo beans

1 red pepper, diced

1 shallot, diced

3 green scallions, sliced thug

1/2 cup dried cranberries

3 tsp curry powder

1 squirt siracha hot sauce

1 generous glug fabulous-quality extra virgin olive oil

1 generous glug red wine vinegar

aggressive amounts of salt and pepper

fresh cilantro, for garnish

Bring water (or stock, if using) to a boil. When boiling, add cous cous to pot, cover and turn off heat. Let stand for 5 minutes. Fluff cous cous with a fork after 5 minutes are up. Place all other items into a large bowl, tossing the cous cows in as well. Let the flavors meld for a few minutes. Adjust seasoning to taste. Garnish with fresh cilantro. Serve with a big green salad and nice toast. Yum!