Had my two good girlfriends over last night, who I love to cook for, and they love that I cook for them! We did it up vegetarian (but not vegan) in lieu of my 2010 resolution. Here’s the menu and the recipes of the new creations.
STARTER: Sweet Potato & Herb Fritters with Tzatziki 
Homemade Tzatziki is EASY to make and is so much better for you then store-bought. Just mix shredded cucumber, lemon juice, minced garlic and S&P into 1 single serving size container of plain Greek style yogurt.
For the Fritters, shred one large sweet potato and 1 or 2 white potatoes. Combine with 2 eggs lightly beaten, freshly chopped parsley, chives, and oregano, and S&P. Drop heaping tablespoon fulls into a bit of olive oil coating the bottom of a frying pan. It takes about 3-4 minutes each side. Make sure to pat dry the excess oil on paper towels before serving!
MAIN: Orange Scented Couscous Salad with Cranberries & Almonds
The key to any successful couscous salad is allowing the un-cooked couscous to absorb a hot, heavily flavored liquid… not just plain water and salt! For this recipe combine the following in a pot and boil.
3/4 cup of O.J
1/4 cup water
1 tsp coriander
1/4 tsp cinnamon
S&P
Once this is boiling remove from heat and stir in 1 cup uncooked whole wheat couscous and 1/4 cup dried cranberries. Set this aside until all the liquid has absorbed. Then add the following (or whatever you like): sliced, toasted almonds, chopped cucumber, chopped red pepper, chopped red onion, shredded carrot, and chopped cilantro. Make a light dressing with 1/4 cup O.J., lime juice, Dijon mustard and whisk in olive oil. Mix this with the couscous salad. We also ate my Roasted Edamame Salad!
DESSERT: Apple Crisp 
Easiest dessert ever, but one of my favorites! Look, I don’t know the diff between crisp, crumble, cobbler… do you? But I think this is crisp because it has oats, butter (Earth Balance), and brown sugar. No “crumbly” flour topping (which I don’t much like). Anyway, here’s how I do mine.
Coat sliced apples (Macintosh) with brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, brown sugar, lemon juice, and a small amount of sifted flour. Put in a baking dish and cover with this topping. Combine large oats, brown sugar, cold Earth Balance / margarine/ butter, cinnamon, and a pinch of salt. Bake at 375 F for 20-25 minutes or until bubbling. YUM! oooh and I have one serving of left overs… eating it now!!
[...] new take on couscous. Similar to the Orange Scented Couscous of the past but with a few new and different tastes. This Orange-Infused Couscous Salad has been [...]
[...] didn’t really follow a recipe, I just started cooking! I also paired it with the Orange Scented Couscous a staple I’ve made before, and some lavish. Beats the F out of millet! So here’s the [...]
[...] new take on couscous. Similar to the Orange Scented Couscous of the past but with a few new and different tastes. This Orange-Infused Couscous Salad has been [...]