Creating a comfortable life one moment at a time
Today the kids and I headed to downtown Minneapolis for an international culinary adventure. I’ve always wanted to visit a food truck, so when I read about World Street Kitchen it seemed like a perfect way to blend a fun summer outing with our Country of the Week.
[Read more…] about Country of the Week: Egypt / World Street Kitchen
The good news is that the Couscous with Beef and Vegetables that I’d been planning to make for Egypt Week contains turnips, which serendipitously came in our CSA box this week. The bad news is that when I googled couscous for more information, I discovered that this dish is actually popular in the Maghreb, which is the area of North Africa west of Egypt. Nuts.
In the spirit of Live and Learn, here’s our recipe for Couscous with Beef and Vegetables. I’m happy to report that everyone here liked it, which is quite miraculous. It tastes even better if you play Putumayo’s Arabic Groove in the background.
Couscous with Beef and Vegetables
{ modified from whats4eats }
Ingredients:
1/4 cup butter or oil
1 pound beef for stewing (optional)
onion, chopped
2 teaspoons ground ginger
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
2 cups tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and chopped
4 carrots, peeled and chopped into 1-inch chunks
2 turnips, peeled and chopped into 1-inch chunks
1 potato, peeled and chopped into 1-inch chunks
1 15-ounce can chickpeas, drained
1 16-ounce package couscous (I used 2 cups of unprepared couscous)
salt and pepper to taste
Directions
Heat the butter or oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Brown the meat, then set aside. Add the onions and sauté until softened, about 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in the ginger, cumin, coriander, and turmeric and sauté for another 3 to 4 minutes.
Stir in the tomatoes, meat, and 2 cups of water and simmer for another 3 to 4 minutes to reduce the liquid a little. Then stir in the carrots, turnips, and potatoes. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low. Cover and simmer for about 20 minutes.
Add the chickpeas, salt, and pepper and continue to simmer until the vegetables are softened, 30–40 minutes.
Prepare the couscous according to the package directions. When you’re ready to serve, pile the couscous in a large serving dish. Using a slotted spoon, arrange the vegetables and beef around the couscous. Pour the juices around the dish and serve immediately.
The other day I made Christina’s turtle candies for Grandpa Tony’s Father’s Day present. Normally when I cook, I have a recipe firmly in hand to make sure I’m doing everything right. But this time I was in a hurry and, having a general idea of how to make the turtles, I decided to just wing it.
Which may not sound like a big deal considering that the turtles only contain three ingredients. But for me the idea of asking, “Am I supposed to use bittersweet chocolate or semisweet chocolate?” and then answering, “It doesn’t matter; they’ll be good either way” was awfully daring.
I thought of this yesterday afternoon when Lexie told me she’d written the first chapter of her book (more than 3,000 words!) that morning and then sent it off to an online writing forum for critiquing. My jaw dropped. This eleven-year-old had done more before lunch than I’d done in a year.
[Read more…] about Writing + Life / The Pudding Pop Challenge (Chocolate Mint Oreo Edition)
This week’s featured country is Egypt. To get started, I asked the kids to list everything they could about Egypt. They came up with:
PVC pipes are one of the many things I didn’t know about before I became a parent. (Other things I didn’t know about: the Wiggles, projectile vomiting, types of excavators, the words to every single Disney song, and how happy I could be sitting for hours doing nothing but rocking a baby. But that, as Kipling would say, is another story.)