let the couscous loose!

Another one of those "blank canvass" foods, couscous is versatile and takes up flavors easily. It is a tiny pasta-like granule and is made from hard wheat aka durum wheat as in the famous pasta wheat, semolina. Hard wheats, fyi, boast a high protein content - no, not in steak proportions but in wheat proportions - which contributes to a flour that is high in gluten content. And to finish up the wheat lesson, gluten is what gives bread its elasticity.

And to go a little bit further, if you are having tummy troubles you might want to try to rid your diet of gluten products to test the effects. I'm a pasta for life kinda gal, so it's not like I'm pushing this drastic change but it has helped other people ease the belly in terms of girth and discomfort.

Besides being pretty easy to cook, couscous is fun to eat and cleans up nicely - like, you can get it dressed up and make it look oh so fancy! And if you hadn't guessed already, the Chef prepared it incredibly well seasoned and flavorful. Using our CSA veggies - leek and sweet potatoes - and digging into the freezer, the fava beans <Luke, I am your FAVA>, Chef sauteed these guys with olive oil and cumin (he totally gets me!). Meanwhile, Chef made toaster oven shrimp scampi with white wine, garlic, parsley, butter, and a lil bit of that olive oil and of course, the power couple, the S&P.

Behold, the salad- that'd be arugula on the bottom - so peppery, so tender, but not so visible in the photo... Topped with slice o' radish, red pepp, some chiogga beets (CSA nicety, notice the striations, there's a big purple plunker in the background) and some dat' goat cheese with Chef's vinaigrette. There is a reason why you may see the beet & goat cheese salad on so many menus and that is because it is, hand's down, one of the best pairings on the planet. Try it, be a fancy pants, and relish it!

Divine, simply divine!