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Mid-Summer Israeli Couscous Salad

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If you were a Moroccan housewife planning a family meal, in all likelihood it would include couscous. This inexpensive yet highly nutritious food, often thought to be a grain, is actually made from wheat. Rich with religious and symbolic meanings, the making of it traditionally is a female activity during which prayers are said invoking blessings and prosperity.
It is a very time consuming, labor-intensive task involving much hand labor: sifting, rolling, and re-rolling again and again until granules of similar sizes appear. Then it is sun dried and stored until its time of cooking. Fortunately most of us can simply purchase it at any grocery store in its ready-to-cook form at any time and its popularity rapidly continues to increase in the food world.
As in many other countries it is served differently from one area  to another. My favorite way is simply hot with a little oil or butter and onion salt. However guests who had it at last weekend’s dinner theatre with many added seasonings and various vegetables and herbs as we are showing it today said it was the best ever!
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Mid-Summer Israeli Couscous Salad
SERVINGS
6servings
CHANGE SERVING SIZE
servings
COOK TIME
30-40mins
PREP TIME
15mins
READY IN
45-55mins

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. Prepare the dressing by whisking 2 tablespoons oil, lemon juice, 1 garlic clove, and lemon peel in small bowl and put aside.
  2. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in heavy medium saucepan over medium heat. Add couscous, sprinkle with salt, and sauté until most of couscous is godlen brown, about 5 minutes. Add broth, incease heat, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low. Cover the pot, and simmer until liquid is absorbed and couscous is tender (about 10 minutes). If couscous is not fully cooked and seems dry, add more broth by tablespoonfuls until couscous has cooked all the way through.
  3. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a nonstick skillet over high heat. Add remaining garlic, onion, bell pepper, and zucchini and sauté until tender (about 3 minutes).
  4. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Transfer vegetables to large bowl and add chopped mango.
  5. Add couscous to bowl with vegetables and mango. Drizzle with dressing and toss with chives and cheese. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Bacon Asparagus Roll-Ups

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Springtime is asparagus time! When I was just a young novice  one of my most favorite morning responsibilities was to check the asparagus patch. What a way to start the day!  The sight of new spears shooting up through the soil was an absolute delight. Then to calculate how many would reach their full height by the end of the day was a “lifegiving” exercise.

Because their growth is so rapid and so obvious from hour to hour, it is unlike most other growing edibles except perhaps mushrooms. In any case, the sight, as well as the taste, of asparagus still pleases me to no end.
Whether it be out in the garden straight from the soil, whether it be simmered and slightly salted right out of the pot at the stove  or  topped with hollandaise at the dinner table, I always welcome them.

Now that they are so popular roasted I have come up with this simple version that many people seem to like ……bacon wrapped and roasted with a touch of brown sugar and crispy crumb topping.

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Rating: 4.5
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Bacon Asparagus Roll-Ups
SERVINGS
4
CHANGE SERVING SIZE
COOK TIME
15-20mins
PREP TIME
10mins
READY IN
25-30mins

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. Heat oven to 400º Fahrenheit. In small bowl, mix bread crumbs, salt and pepper. Add parsley, lemon peel; toss well.
  2. Microwave bacon till fat is melted and the slices are easy to roll around the asparagus.
  3. Divide asparagus into 4 equal bundles. Loosely wrap each bundle with one slice of bacon. Press brown sugar onto bacon. Press crumbs onto sugared bacon. Place prepared asparagus into shallow baking dish. Brush asparagus tips with oil. Bake uncovered until bacon is crisp – 15”-20”.

Lemon Cream Custard Pie

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Lemon meringue pie has always been my most favorite lemon dessert, but recently I was introduced to another lemon dessert that really rivals it: Lemon Cream Custard Pie. Similar in its fresh tangy flavor, but different in texture and topped with whipped cream instead of meringue.  I have only had it once but definitely want it again.

Lemon Cream Custard Pie

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Lemon Cream Custard Pie
SERVINGS
1pie
CHANGE SERVING SIZE
pie
COOK TIME
15 mins.
PREP TIME
READY IN
12hrs.

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. In saucepan, mix sugar, pinch of salt, cornstarch, butter, lemon peel, lemon juice, egg yolks and milk; stir and cook until thick, about 5-10 minutes.
  2. Cool.
  3. Fold in sour cream.
  4. Pour into pastry shell.
  5. Refrigerate at least 12 hours.
  6. Serve with sweetened whipped cream.
  7. Garnish as desired.

Broccoli Bake

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I happen to be one of these people who have a natural love for vegetables and never had to be coaxed or made to eat them – I realize that this is not the case with everyone.  Just recently I overheard two mothers talking about this.  One was telling the other that the only way she can get vegetables into the family diet is to blend them into spaghetti sauce.  Of course a good Bolognese sauce already has carrots, onions, and celery in it.  I suppose one could slip a little green vegetable in if they were careful not to overdo it.

The other mother maintained that her trick was to always serve them with tasty dips and sauces.  I would like to offer another suggestion that works especially well with broccoli, the widely acclaimed miracle food, medically proven to be a nutritional super star.  Hidden within each stalk and floweret is a powerful substance effective in lowering cholesterol and preventing cancer and contributing to overall health in general.

Try my Broccoli Bake and see for yourself if you don’t immediately feel stronger, healthier and more satisfied than you ever have after eating this nutrient rich vegetable!

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Broccoli Bake
SERVINGS
5servings
CHANGE SERVING SIZE
servings
COOK TIME
5minutes
PREP TIME
READY IN

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.
  2. Beat egg whites until soft peaks form.
  3. Fold in mayonnaise.
  4. Stir in cheese, parsley, and lemon peel.
  5. Arrange cooked broccoli in oven-proof serving dish.
  6. Pour melted butter over broccoli.
  7. Top with egg white mixture.
  8. Sprinkle with paprika.
  9. Bake 5 minutes or until puffy and lightly browned.