monday night meal.

i have noticed that lately the direction of my blog has strayed from its original intention: to share all things about food: recipes, tips, mishaps in the kitchen.  this is partly due to my eagerness to share other happenings in my life, and also due to the fact that while pursuing other avenues, i honestly haven't had much time to cook a whole meal, take pictures, upload pictures, blog, etc. etc.

i know, blah blah blah.  but the point is, i'm BACK.  with a RECIPE.  that you should make immediately because it is DELICIOUS.

israeli couscous with pine nuts and portobello mushrooms.

ingredients:

-1 package israeli couscous (rounder and fatter than traditional couscous...they look like tiny pearls)
-1 large shallot, diced
-2 tbsp butter, plus maybe a little more
-1 3/4 c. water, chicken or vegetable stock, plus more for mixing
-2 portobello mushroom caps, sliced
-handful raisins
-handful pine nuts
-cinnamon, salt, and pepper to taste
-pecorino romano or parmesan cheese, grated to taste for serving

method:

in a large saucepan, slowly melt about 2 tbsp butter.  once the butter is melted, add diced shallots and saute until wilted.  add the couscous, cinnamon salt and pepper (and perhaps a bit more butter if most has been absorbed into shallots) and saute one to two minutes, stirring attentively, until the couscous is golden brown.  

add water (or any kind of stock, either vegetable or chicken...just know it will increase the sodium content) to saucepan, bring heat to high, allow to come to a boil, then reduce heat and cover until the liquid is absorbed.  (it is good to do a few taste tests during this part of the process, to ensure that the couscous is not overly dry or overly mushy).

when the couscous feels like it is getting there, add the box of raisins, the pine nuts, and the sliced portobellos.  continue to mix until the raisins are plump and the mushrooms have begun to lose some of their firmness.

and that's it!!  serve with some freshly grated parmesan or pecorino romano, and a salad of field greens, figs, and goat cheese.

we ate outside, on a glorious summer night, with no humidity, no mosquitoes, and no rain!  rare for the east coast in june, but perfectly enjoyable.

buen provecho!!

tattoo you

so i accomplished one of the things on my list that i posted back in january.

and it was one thing i never, ever, evereverever envisioned myself doing. but, whaddayaknow, i up and got a tattoo last month, and i am already designing my next one. my tattooed friends and co-workers were right when they said that once you get one, you can't stop!

it all started back in january when my boyfriend and i were in costa rica visiting a friend. we were closing out a two week adventure with a two night stay in montezuma, a really hippie-dippie beachside town on the west coast of the country. while sipping a couple of pilsens, listening to terrible reggaeton and people watching, my gaze became fixated on a group of guys sitting on the benches at the table in front of ours who were absolutely covered in tattoos. i mean, their skin was completely lathered with ink, mal'ahk from the lost symbol style.

"that is so WEIRD," i said out loud.

"what?" asked jordan and justin.

"do you see all those tattoos on those guys? i mean, what are they, crazy? i would never do that."

welp, three or so months later, i find myself eating my words. delicious words at that. i got a tattoo, and i just LOVE it.

while we were talking, i surmised that i might want to get something one day, but i would have to think about it so that it would be something that was meaningful, mature, and not a cartoon character on my lower back, a fairy, or any type of tribal symbol/asian lettering. since i consider myself classy and soft-spoken, i definitely wanted a tatto to match (read: no ex-lover's names scrawled along my arm).

suddenly, very suddenly, i was struck with my tattoo idea. simple, small, and hidden, it would not be in everyone's face (i'm thinking of my grandmother giving me the stink-eye if, say, on my wedding day, she happened to catch a glimpse of some kind of inky design peeping out from behind a strap). a tattoo is very personal business, as i discovered while watching an entire season of "l.a. ink" to psych myself up.

and so i came up with the perfect little tattoo for myself. i thought of the musical symbol of a fermata.

when you come across one written above a note in a piece of music, you are to hold the note out for longer than its written value. i like what the fermata means symbolically, though: when i see it on my body every day it reminds me to be still, to hold on, to absorb what is around me and to take a moment to breathe for a little bit longer than i might normally let myself do. fermatas are signs for flexibility, for serenity, for composure. and aesthetically they are simple but beautiful!

mine sits on my right hip, about the size of a silver dollar.  you can't see it unless i show it to you, so it's not in your face.  it's just for me, and i like it that way.