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!! 

Stuffed mushrooms with spiced couscous

Couscous brought me back in time on how I got to know my ex-neighbor, Fernand and his family and how we became best of pals.  About a week after they moved into the house on our right, my Quaylo taught me to bake some chocolate chips cookies, had them wrapped up in a nice package and included a hand written welcome note to give to them. I recalled I was rather reluctant to carry out my Quay Lo's request.  Doing something like this was unheard of to me.  It is just not in my upbringing to welcome our new neighbor this way or any way.  Since it is an American culture, and I am married to one, I did it for him. I remember as I was walking to Fernand’s house, I was very uncomfortable, I think "MALU"(shy) is the word. I was afraid that they might not open their door to a stranger or they might think that I am crazy to bring them cookies. I thought of not doing it but did it anyway. Fernand and his family greeted me with all smiles on their face and from their expression, they were very surprised but happy to see me. On the hindsight, I am glad I did not "chickened out" otherwise I would have missed the opportunity to meet two wonderful friends and not know about this absolutely delicious dish called Couscous.  The first time we were invited to Fernand’s house for dinner, he served us home cooked couscous in seafood and chicken soup. I was surprised that a French man could cook Middle Eastern dish so well.  It was divine! 

What I am going to share with you today is not Fernand’s couscous recipe but a recipe that I found in a cookbook “Great taste 30 minutes meals”.  So if you want a meal that can be ready in 30 minutes, don't search further, try this.

Ingredients:

8 portabella mushrooms

½ cup instant couscous

1 tbs extra virgin olive oil

1 tsp ground cinnamon

¼ tsp cayenne pepper

2 tsp finely grated lemon zest

½ cup chicken stock

1 tomato, finely chopped

1 tbs lemon juice

2 tbs chopped parsley

2 tbs chopped fresh mint

½ tsp salt

½ tsp black ground pepper

Method:

Peel mushrooms and remove stalks, then grill them top-side up.  Meanwhile, place couscous, olive oil, cumin, cayenne, pepper and lemon zest in a bowl.  Season. Then stir flavorings through the couscous.  Bring the chicken stock to boil and stir it into the couscous.  Cover and leave for 5 mins, then fluff the grains with a fork.  Stir in the tomato, lemon juice, parsley and mind.  Fill each mushroom cap with some of couscous mixture and pack down firmly.  Grill until couscous is golden brown.  Serve hot or cold.

Couscous - Featured in Group Recipes

I was introduced to couscous 6 years ago by my good friend Fernand who is another fabulous cook.  I fell in love with this dish and decided to make this one of our regular meals.  I will always have a box of instant couscous in my pantry. Couscous is one of the healthiest grain-based products. It contains riboflavin, niacin, vitamin B6, folate, pantothenic acid as well as protein.  Furthermore, it contains less fat than pasta and white rice. For lunch, I like to make couscous salad and for dinner, I will serve it with soup that has lots of vegetables and either meat or sea food.  Both variations tasted great!

Ingredients Serves 4 4 pieces chicken (upper thigh is perfect) 2 cups of instant couscous 1 medium white onion sliced 2 stalk of celery 1 medium carrot 1 medium turnip ½ cup green beans (optional) 1 tb kunyit (tumeric powder) 1 cup chopped parsley 1 tb butter ½ ts saffron ½ ts white pepper 3 cubes bullion chicken stock (without MSG) Water to completely cover the ingredients and about 1 inch above them Method Preparation for Couscous: Cook (boil or steam) the couscous, following the instructions on the package. Add butter once it's cooked. Allow to cool. Note: use the broth from the following instead of water. Marinate chicken meat: Marinate chicken with tumeric powder and salt for at least 2 hours. Preparation for Soup: Heat 1 tbs butter in wok, sauté onions, celery, carrots, turnip for about 5 mins.  Add water to cover the ingredients and about 1 inch above it.  Add saffron, white pepper and chicken stock.  Bring to boil.  Add chicken thighs and lower heat and simmer till turnip is translucent, carrots are soft, and chicken is cooked through. Add green beans last. Serve couscous and soup separately.