Creamed

From 2000 until 2008, I lived on salad. Iceberg lettuce, fat-free Thousand Island dressing and some low-fat croûtons was my meal of choice. Occasionally I'd mix things up by using fat-free Cesar dressing and adding some sliced cooked chicken breast meat. So is it any wonder I wiped out the iron stores in my blood and couldn't take off any weight because my body was stuck in starvation mode?

Since February 2008, I haven't had a salad as an entree. And the couscous dish labeled as a salad that I prepared last night doesn't count because nary a leaf of iceberg lettuce was in sight.

Couscous Salad With Chicken and Chopped Vegetables1 1/2 C water
1 T olive oil, divided
3/4 t salt
1 C uncooked couscous
1 C chopped yellow bell pepper
1/2 C finely chopped zucchini
1/2 C chopped mushrooms
1 1/2 C chopped skinless, boneless rotisserie chicken
1/2 C diagonally cut carrot, 1/8" thick
1/4 C thinly sliced green onions
3 tablespoons dried currants
3 T finely chopped fresh mint
1/8 t freshly ground black pepper

Dressing
1 C plain low-fat yogurt
3 T fresh lemon juice
1 T honey
1 T white wine vinegar

1. Bring water, 1 teaspoon of olive oil and salt to a boil in a medium saucepan.
   
2. Gradually stir in the couscous.
   
3. Turn off heat, cover and let stand 5 min.
   
4. Fluff the couscous with a fork.
   
5. Place the couscous in a large bowl, then let cool to room temperature.
   
6. Heat a large, nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.
   
7. Add the remaining olive oil to the pan.
   
8. Add the bell pepper, zucchini and mushrooms, then sauté 4 min. or until the bell pepper is tender.
   
9. Add the sautéed vegetables along with the chicken, carrots, onions, currants, mint and black pepper to the couscous, tossing gently to combine.
   
10. Combine the yogurt, lemon juice, honey and white wine vinegar in a small bowl, stirring with a whisk.
    
11. Drizzle the dressing over the couscous mixture, tossing gently to combine.

Yield: 4 1 1/2-cup servings

Nutritional Info
Calories: 368
Fat: 8 g
Sat fat: 2.1 g
Protein: 24.1 g
Carbs: 49.4 g
Fiber: 4.3 g
Cholesterol: 46 mg
Sodium: 540 mg

The Faudie's Futzings
I think by now I've well-established how much I love couscous. You can sure understand, Gentle Reader, when I say I was a little leery of this recipe because of the use of a yogurt-based dressing. You see, Gentle Reader, many curry dishes I've had have come with raita, a traditional yogurt-based condiment, and I've never touched the stuff because it just seemed...not right to me. Now that I think about it for a moment, I realize have eaten raita, but only when it was part of dahi vada at Madras Pavilion. Very tasty dish, dahi vada, but I can't imagine adding raita to any curry because I can't see how that might enhance the flavor. With this recipe, I couldn't see how the yogurty dressing could enhance the flavor of the couscous.

That said, you'd probably expect me not to make the dressing, right, Gentle Reader? Well, if that was indeed your expectation, you're wrong. Sorry.

However, I did futz with the recipe quite a bit:

• I didn't add any olive oil or salt to the water I boiled for the couscous. No other couscous recipe has called for it, and I just don't see why it's needed.
  
• I had no yellow bell pepper, nor do I find the flavor of yellow bells to be all that...well, present. So I unthawed a baggie of red bell pepper strips I cut up some months back and left them that way because, well, red bell peppers don't thaw well. They were a little soft, and I didn't want to risk further mangling them by attempting to chop them.
  
• The zucchini also came from a baggie in the deep freezer, but Mum kindly had chopped it into quarter-inch chunks (give or take) that I didn't feel the need to chop further. Knowing the husband's aversion to all things green, I knew he'd prefer the offending (in his limited opinion) green things to be big enough for him to easily see and pick out. Hey, all the more for me!
  
• The husband has this thing against mushrooms. Don't ask me to explain because this is one of his phobias I don't know the source of. His extreme fear and loathing of live fish swimming in any type of aquariums I understand because he told me a story that explain it. The fear and loathing of mushrooms hasn't been explained. Or if he has, I've forgotten. So to satisfy the husband, I left out the contents of the can of mushroom caps and stems I'd set out for the dish. Le sigh.
  
• In lieu of currants, I added a tablespoon and a half each of raisins and dried sweetened cranberries. Yummy!
  
• That the recipe calls for rotisserie chicken puzzles me, but perhaps that's the recipe writer's way of making the dish "fast and easy." Spare me. Instead, I thawed and diced a chicken breast, then cooked it with a wee bit of olive oil, then tossed in the veggies to sauté.
  
• Speaking of those sautéed veggies, I sautéed the carrot slices. I don't like cold, hard carrots. Blame Mum and all her pressure-cooked pot roasts, potatoes and carrots.
  
• I omitted the chopped fresh mint because I just don't have the money and the opportunity to buy the stuff readily.
  
• I omitted the freshly ground black pepper because I forgot it. Bad me.
  
• I used fat-free yogurt. I needed some for breakfast, and the carton of the stuff I bought at Wally World doesn't have the greatest flavor. In fact, it's the distinct lack of flavor that struck me. I find the flavor of the Cascade Fresh brand I usually buy at HEB to be quite satisfying.

By the time I tossed in the chicken, veggies and green onion slices, I was quite happy with how the dish looked.

Colorful, non?

Given its texture and appearance, I was very reluctant to add in the dressing. However, I'd gone to the trouble of whipping the stuff up--even bought a lemon while at Wally World to use for the dish--and didn't have a clue what to do with it if I didn't use it. However, I determined that I would try the dish as it was intended (by and large) to be eaten, so gradually the yogurt dressing found its way into the couscous.

And mush was the result.

Pretty nasty looking, non?

Doesn't even resemble couscous much, drenched as it is in the dressing, does it? It looks to me a bit more like veggie-fied cream of wheat--and not at all like the couscous salad pictured alongside the recipe.
Now before you pass judgment on the dish based on its appearance, Gentle Reader, let me tell you about the eating experience. Despite the mushiness, the couscous was damn delicious. The dressing didn't overpower the nutty flavor of the couscous or dampen the flavors of the veggies and fruit. Perhaps if I'd had the Cascade Fresh yogurt that I usually eat at my disposal, the finished dish might have tasted different, but I don't know.

The next time I make this dish, I'm going to halve the dressing amount. A cup of yogurt is really a lot for the amount of couscous the results from cooking up a cup of the stuff. If you opt to whip up the recipe yourself, Gentle Reader, I encourage you to either reduce the amount of dressing you prepare or have in mind something to do with half of it. Unless, of course, you like to eat creamed mush.