We had our first snowstorm this weekend, and it was kind of fun! I drove home, and it was nice to see the snow covering all of the trees. I think I’m ready for more snow after Christmas… I just need to get through the next three weeks so that I can get my shopping done.

Yesterday was a madhouse out shopping.  People were everywhere, and the sales were actually pretty good. What wasn’t good was the amount of money I spent… it was painful. It seems as though my list of people to buy for continues to get bigger and bigger, and I found myself getting upset with the fact that I was trying to find just something to buy for people.

After talking with people about what the best gift ideas are for big crown, I decided that giving people something that I love, that I also knew they would love, would be the best route. Food, it is! Maybe I’ll make people cookies, or fun dishes and things they can freeze and enjoy later. I haven’t quite decided what I want to do, but I do have a few ideas… They’re a surprise.

This past Friday, my best friend and her old roommate came out to my house for reading. It wasn’t meant to be anything grand or spectacular, but I knew there be people to feed and I was excited to throw something together. I made some delicious vegan garlic bread and a salad with some tasty pomegranate Dijon dressing, but the best part about the dinner was the dish that I just threw together with whatever was in the cabinet. I had couscous, a can of beans, and as I dug through my freezer I found some frozen spinach. With my endless supply of onions on hand, I decided to throw it all in a pan and see what happened. Delicious!

Throw-Together Curry-Spiced Couscous (Vegan)

Prep time: 20 min

Cook time: 20 min

Serves 5-6

Ingredients:

• 1 cup couscous
• 1 cup vegetable broth
• 2 tbsp oil, divided
• 2 tsp salt, divided
• 1 can white beans, rinsed and thoroughly drained
• 1 large yellow onion, finely chopped
• 1 package frozen spinach
• ½ cup golden raisins
• 1 tbsp curry powder
• 2 cloves garlic
• ½ tsp paprika
• ½ tsp black pepper

Directions:

1. In a frying pan, heat 1 tbsp olive oil over medium high heat. Add onions and sauté until they start to become translucent – about 5-6 minutes. Add garlic, and continue to stir for another 2-3 minutes until fragrant.
2. Once the onion begins to brown, add spinach to pan. If it hasn’t thawed, lower heat so as to not scorch the spinach as it cooks. Break apart with a spoon and continue to cook, allowing the water to cook out, turning the heat back up once the spinach is completely broken up. Cook for 10-12 minutes, until most of water from spinach is gone.
3. Meanwhile, in a separate medium sized sauce pot, heat vegetable broth and other tbsp of olive oil over high heat. Once brought to a boil, add couscous and allow to cook per directions. Stir to fluff and set aside.
4. Back to the frying pan – add beans and raisins to the pan and mix. Gently stir in the couscous and continue to mix. Add curry powder, paprika, salt and pepper and stir. Continue to sauté for another 5 minutes, until couscous starts to brown. If your mixture starts to dry out, add in a tsp of olive oil while stirring. Feel free to add additional salt, to taste (I find the other flavors mix nicely with this amount of salt, but feel free to add).

Enjoy with some thing light – like my Garlic Tahini Kale Salad!

-S