This little blog has seen me through so many stages of life.
Learning to cook for myself, finishing up high school, moving away from home for the first time, juggling (and failing) this space and the demands of full-time work… it’s been a journey.
This all sounds very ominous, but it’s all to say that I am very grateful for this space to share little glimpses of my life through food, even if I am not the most consistent. I have always maintained that this blog is primarily for me (and not about adsense or holidays or brand deals) and I would like to keep it that way.
This little meal is inspired by a restaurant on campus that does boutique meals Mondays through Thursdays. In classic fashion, I took out the cheese and added about two full teaspoons of extra turmeric.
In this bowl, you’ll find the most tender, lightly-sweet couscous, flavored with ginger, bay leaf, cashews, and golden raisins. On top, I roasted up some cauliflower and tofu in a bath of olive oil (this is a time for the top-shelf evoo) and spices. The zingy little tomato salad is hardly unique, but adds a lot of freshness. This one is really a keeper. Enjoy!
- 1 cup couscous
- 1¼ cups boiling water
- 1 tsp olive oil
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 tsp turmeric
- ½ tsp ground ginger
- 1 tbsp raw unsalted cashews
- 1 tbsp golden raisins
- ¼ cup chopped red onion (about ⅕ of a red onion)
- ¼ cup diced cucumber (about a 2-3 inch piece)
- ½ cup halved grape tomatoes (10-12)
- 2 tsp red wine vinegar
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ to 1 tsp dried dill
- ¼ tsp ground black pepper
- 7 oz firm tofu, cubed (1/2 a block)
- 1½ cups cauliflower florets, trimmed
- 3 tsp turmeric
- 1 tbsp cajun seasoning (alternately, 1 tsp chili powder, 1 tsp cumin, ½ tsp onion powder, ½ tsp garlic power, ½ tsp salt, ¼ tsp ground black pepper)
- olive oil for drizzling (be generous)
- Preheat the oven to 450ºF and line a baking sheet with foil or parchment paper.
- Combine all the ingredients for the tomato salad and set aside to marinate.
- Meanwhile, place the tofu and cauliflower on the prepared baking sheet, and add spices and a generous drizzle of olive oil. Toss lightly (add more olive oil if desired) and bake in preheated oven for 30-35 minutes, or until tender and cauliflower is cooked through and browning.
- Remove sheet from oven and toss to mix. Turn off oven heat and set to broil on high. Return sheet to oven for 1-2 minutes, watching carefully to make sure that the cauliflower and tofu get crispy, but do not burn or char. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool.
- For the couscous, heat oil, bay leaf, turmeric, and ginger in a saucepan over medium heat until spices are cooking and aromatic.
- Add cashews and stir until the cashews begin to become golden. Add dry couscous to saucepan and stir until evenly coated in spices. Be careful not to burn couscous
- Turn off heat, add boiling water, stir, and cover. Leave for 5-6 minutes, until couscous is cooked through.
- Fluff couscous with a fork and add golden raisins.
- To prepare bowls, divide couscous evenly between two bowls and top with roasted cauliflower/tofu mixture and tomato cucumber salad.
Definitely going to try this Weekend! I think, my family would love it. If i don’t use the bay leaf, is it test well?
you can omit the bayleaf!