barefoot thursday: curried couscous

as a college student with limited access to a grocery store and even more limited access to time, i became quite a fan of one-pot rice dishes this year. many, many of my dinners consisted of putting some sort of grain or pasta on the stove and adding in whatever ingredients i could gather up in the time it took to boil (which is longer than you think when your electric burners are crooked and from 1600 A.D.) this month's first barefoot recipe, curried couscous chosen by ellyn of recipe collector and tester, was a happy reminder of the comfy food i'd eaten all year and a nice break from the grill/bbq/drinking fest i've been on since moving down here:

not that such a fest (see more at silver spring foodies) hasn't been enjoyable, but sometimes all the effort and time of making an elaborate meal is lost on me. most of yesterday was spent staring at the computer converting pdf tables into excel and trying to act casual when i walk past the same person's desk for the 15th time because i've gotten lost in the maze of the 7th floor again. by the time i got home, i just wanted something warm, cozy, and immediately on my plate.


enter curried couscous. the recipe (found on ellyn's blog, here, or on p. 94 of the barefoot contessa cookbook) is simple and quick. i managed to make the whole thing while V and A re-heated up the stir-fry from tuesday. i down-sized it to make a single serving, but a large quantity would keep nicely for lunchtime leftovers. i added in some baby zucchini from saturday's farmers' market trip and used dried apricots instead of raisins. the sweetness from the dried fruit is key.

it's also convenient that my favorite color is yellow =)


ciao,
j