A Culinary Misadventure Sans Pictures

I'm sure, Gentle Reader, I mentioned more than a few times over the preceding nine months how crazy life seemed while the boy was in school and how I yearned for the break that summer vacation would bring. Ha! Was I ever deluding myself! I think the boy and I have crammed more into the week and a half he's been out of school than we did all during his school year.

Because we here at Chez Boeckman-Walker have been so crazy busy, last night I decided to take a break from cooking. For a quick, easy supper before dashing out to the sprinkler park and hike and bike trail, I thawed some fabulous Boomerang's pies--curry chicken, curry veggie and pepperoni, to be precise.

I don't know if I've before mentioned Boomerang's on this blog, Gentle Reader. If not, that's a damn shame. These pies are fabulous and just so happen to be made by the husband's boss's husband. (Nothing like a little benevolent nepotism, I always say.) Because of the husband's close connection to the restaurant, we can score freshly made, sealed and frozen pies easily. Not that if we were to go to the restaurant and order five pies for $20 that we'd wind up with old, freezer-burned ones. No, so very often the place is out of stock of the varieties we like, so that's why the husband occasionally places a special order via his boss. (Again, nothing like a little benevolent nepotism.)

While these pies are a meal in and of themselves, you must not assume, Gentle Reader, that my baking up three of them would satisfy we three human residents of Chez Boeckman-Walker. No, not with a boy with a raging appetite, an adult male who hasn't eaten much all day and an adult female who, well, needs her protein, especially right before hitting the trail for a 14-mile bike ride. Instead of tossing out a bag of baked potato chips or tortilla chips to accompany the pies, I thought I'd instead make up a side dish that I knew the husband and I would eat, thus leaving a little more of the pies for the boy, who can be awfully picky.

Easy Curry Couscous 1 1/2 C couscous
3 C chicken stock
1 T curry powder
2 t salt
1 t ground black pepper
2 T extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 C raisins
1 bunch cilantro, chopped
1/2 C slivered almonds, toasted

1. Pour couscous into a bowl.
   
2. Mix chicken stock, curry powder, salt, pepper, olive oil and raisins in a saucepan, bring to a boil, remove from heat then pour over couscous, stirring to combine.
   
3. Seal the bowl with plastic wrap and allow to sit for 10 min.
   
4. Fluff couscous with a fork, then top with cilantro and almonds.

Yield: 6 servings

Nutritional Info
Calories: 283
Fat: 11 g
Protein: 7.6 g
Carbs: 39.9 g
Fiber: 3.9 g
Cholesterol:
Sodium: 1,131 mg

The Faudie's Futzings
I've got a bit of experience with couscous and know a little goes a long way, so I opted to halve this recipe. Of course, I also made a few changes here and there:

• I used my favorite fat-free low-sodium chicken broth, to which I had to add about a quarter of a cup of water because my carton didn't quite have enough.
  
• I did not add the salt, pepper, olive oil (more on that in a moment), almonds or cilantro.
  
• After reviewing some of the comments from other recipe testers who noted they would use more curry the next time they made the dish, I used a rounded half-tablespoon.
  
• Speaking of the curry, I added it to the broth, which I'd poured into a microwavable liquid measuring cub, but did not add the raisins along with it. The curried broth I then nuked to boiling. The raisins I added--probably about half a cup of 'em--after the couscous had absorbed the liquid.

I didn't add the olive oil, which I do normally when I make couscous, because I felt there was a bit more liquid than was necessary, thus the couscous was not as dry and crumbly as it often is when I make it as part of the scrumptious tagine feast we all love. I honestly think that the recipe, whether the full serving or halved, calls for a wee bit too much liquid. But that's my opinion.

Because the recipe uses chicken broth combined with curry, I found the couscous tasted more like, well, a 10-cent package of ramen noodles with their MSG-loaded packet of seasoning, except not so darn damaging to the nervous system. Not that the flavor was necessarily a bad thing. In fact, it went quite well with the curry veggie and curry chicken Boomerang's pies I was enjoying. However, I didn't get a sense of curry goodness that I expect when I use my curry powder. In that sense, Gentle Reader, the recipe was a bit of a disappointment.

I apologize I have no pictures of the completed dish, but I was on a tight schedule and couldn't be bothered to pick up the camera, which is once again spending more time in the kitchen than on the shelf in the other room where it's supposed to be. Honestly, I don't think pictures of the couscous would add that much to this post either. If you need visuals, Gentle Reader, use your imagination.