oh, couscous!

It's been one of those weeks where take-out seems to be the only way to go. I've resisted the urge to dial for pizza or order in Indian food, yet despite my resolve to cook what we had out of our cupboards, I wasn't really inspired. After browsing through cookbooks and dreaming about all the ingredients I didn't have at my immediate disposal, I decided that I'd have to just make do and make the best of a really bad situation. I had just read a restaurant review for a new Morocan restaurant and that, my friends, gave me true inspiration! I had cinnamon and spices, raisins and couscous! I could do anything!! So I tossed a few ingredients together in my trusty cast iron stewing pot and came up with something truely delicious.

Moroccan Chickpea and Vegetable Stew

I'm not very good at measuring, but I think you'll get the picture.

Ingredients: a can of chickpeas, a large can of tomatos, 1 small onion diced, 1 green pepper diced, olive oil, 1/2 a lemon, cumin, corriander, cinnamon, hot pepper flakes, salt, pepper.

In a large heavy pot, heat a small amount of olive oil and add the diced onion and green pepper. Add a dash of salt to the vegetables and let them get wilty but not mushy -- about 4 minutes. Stir in about a teaspoon each of the cumin and ground corriander (I didn't measure, but I'll assume that this is close). Add the can of tomatoes and crush them if needed. Normally, I chop them roughly before adding them to the pot, but this time I mashed them with a potato masher while in the pot. Next time I think I'll stick to chopping them beforehand, as the tomatoes were a bit too stringy. Next, I added the chickpeas and about 2-3 large handfulls of raisins, along with about 1/2 a teaspoon of hot pepper flakes and 1/2 teaspon (or more) of cinnamon. Mix everything together and cook over a low heat with the lid on until everything gets nice and soft, about 40 minutes. 10 minutes before serving, squeeze half a lemon into the stew for a bit of tang and mix well. Serve over couscous.

♥ This meal was great when we ate it on Saturday night with a nice glass of wine. It tasted even better tonight with some whole wheat bread spread with cold sweet butter. tasty!!

Sometimes you really can make something out of nothing.

Hello! I like food.

I already write 2 personal journals, so what would be the point of adding another? I am quite fond about writing in general, but I really miss writing about food. I used to have a pop culture zine where I wrote a lot about food. How could I not? I think about food constantly, I talk about it often and I read cookbooks and books about food the rest of the time. Having a focus for this blog (= food) means that I can keep track of my recipes, my restaurant discoveries and my food experiences. It makes sense to me.

Just a few facts about me: my name is Jeannette, I am 34 and work as a designer in Vancouver, BC. I grew up doing most of the cooking for my family back in Ontario and continued to cook and expand my knowledge as I got older. As a child, I hated vegetables, yet to rebel against my parents as a teenager, I became a vegetarian. I now am back to eating meat and fish and I make it a priority to eat food that is (relatively) healthy and positively delicious. I don't want to waste my tastebuds on the mediocre. That said, I am not a believer in complicated recipes and instructions. I'm lazy and I get easily frustrated -- and though I hope this blog will encourage me to try new things and develop into a better cook, I'm a believer in simple, affordable and satisfying food.

So why Everybody Likes Sandwiches? It's kind of funny, since I don't go crazy over sandwiches. I was flipping through a vintage kids cookbook that i have and the phrase jumped out at me (it helped that it was in big bold colourful letters). The more I thought about it, the more I liked it. Sandwiches are inexpensive and easy to make yet it doesn't take much to make them gourmet or unique. They are usually satisfying and healthy and you never need a complicated recipe to come up with a something great. Plus, I like that it sounds good when yelled at the top of your lungs: "everybody likes sandwiches!". Exclamation point required.

So here we go!