This, I won't procrastinate, GONG XI FA CAI

Today I heard the boss of our regular grocery shop ask why do people like to do last minute shopping.  That made me think of the word “procrastination”.  Aren't we all guilty of that sometimes? Is there any of us that do not feel the heat of our schedules breathing down our back? In this “rush rush” world, we seemed to have less and less time in a day to do all the things we want or need to do. When our "to do" list starts to stack up we are pretty much forced to re-priortize, and therein lies the rub. Something on the list is going to be sent to the end of the line, and suddenly we are procrastinators? Haha, no... that isn't really procrastination. That is just having too much to do. Sorry, no excuses, because we all have too many things to do. As my hubby says..."it is the human condition....get over it".  Procrastination is when there is something on your list that has to get done but it isn't any fun and you really hate doing it. To avoid it you begin to think of reasons why you can't do it today, as you may have irrationally promised yourself or others that you would.

There are times when I procrastinate although honestly, I don’t like to. It is always a task that I do not enjoy and with one type of chore I could even say "hate".  Let me say up front that the mere thought of any task involving any contact with a government office is enough to send me into a sweaty-palm state of anxiety.  Recently it was time to renew my dog’s license. It is a simple task but I dislike going to the MPSJ and sitting there for hours waiting for my number to be called. But then, the consequence of putting it off and not doing it at all is worst. So, I finally got it done (not without some difficulty best left out of the story).

From what I read, fear of failure is in the equation of procrastination, so once you eliminate that fear from the equation, you will be on your way to overcoming this bad habit. As for me, there are so many bakes and dishes, I have procrastinated publishing. That is usually because I frequently create dishes  or adaptations on-the-fly as it were. The problem then becomes my lack of discipline in making notes. So to publish a recipe I sometimes have to go to the kitchen and re-create the dish. In this case, I finally did exactly that. The only saving grace in this shortcoming is that this is a dish that I think you will find worth trying. It passes my Quay Lo second helping test. 

I share the pumpkin dish with you for Chinese New Year because pumpkin (南瓜; nánguā) is a symbol for prosperity, abundance, descendant's luck, illustrious children, enchantment,  and  it is believed that this fruit draws earth energy to manifest gold!

Couscous in roasted pumpkin

(A)

Ingredients:

1 tbs extra virgin olive oil

½ large onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves , minced

Salt to taste

3/4 tsp paprika

½ tsp cayenne (

1 can 14oz pelled whole pomodoro tomatoes with juice

1 roasted sweet red chili

1 roasted sweet yellow chili

2 Anaheim peppers, seeded and diced

½ cup snow peas

½ cup chicken broth

pieces of roasted turkey or chicken (dark meat is best)

1 cup couscous

2 halves roasted pumkpin

Method:

Heat the olive oil in Dutch oven over medium heat and add the onion. Cook, stirring, until onion is tender, about 5 minutes, and stir in the garlic, the spices and salt to taste. Stir together until the mixure is fragrant, and add the tomatoes Cook, stirring break up the tomatoes and let it cook for 5 to 10 minutes. Add sweet chili, peas and chicken broth. Bring to a gentle boil, reduce the heat, cover and simmer 30 minutes. Add, chili and salt to taste. Bring back to a simmer and simmer 15 minutes or till pea is soft. Taste and adjust salt.

(B)

Prepare the Couscous:

Ingredients:

2 cups chicken broth

1 tbs butter

1 tbs freshly chopped parsley

1/2 tsp onion powder

1 tsp freshly chopped basil

1/2 tsp roasted garlic, minced

1/4 tsp ground black pepper

1 cup couscous

Method:

In a saucepan, combine everything except the coucous and bring to boil. Stir in couscous. Cover and let simmer for 5 minutes or until the liquid is absorbed. Fluff with a fork.

Assemble the dish:

Mix coucous with (A) and spoon into the roasted pumpkin and serve.

Note:  The meat you see in the photos roasted turkey red meat. I had some leftover from our Christmas meal so  and I added to it but this is optional.

Now this, I will not procrastinate. I would like to wish 
all my family, friends and my readers 
GONG XI FA CAI
with lots of love!! 

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