Magpie's Recipes: couscous

Spring has very loudly announced her presence for a while now, around here. Little shoots poke out from the ground and buds burst open into a riot of colours. Tree branches that had nothing more than barren twigs, are covered with pink petaled flowers almost overnight.

I made a trip to our beautiful farmer's market here in Marin along with friends Patty and Gina recently, and we were greeted by piles and piles of bountiful produce, that has come to life after the cold death of winter. Bright orange carrots and pretty radishes freshly dug from the brown earth. All around me, visible signs of change, new beginnings, rebirth.

Today is Good Friday, the solemn day we remember the death of Jesus. But it is followed, like Spring follows Winter, with the greatest celebration in the Christian calendar- Easter, this Sunday. As we prepare to celebrate Christ's resurrection after His death, we are reminded of our own resurrection after our life here on Earth is done. Reminded that our troubles, achievements and everything here in this life is only temporary- a passing mist, compared to our everlasting life to come.

The Jewish festival of Passover falls at the same time, and symbolically the two events are linked- Christians believe that Jesus Christ was sacrificed as the pascal lamb that was traditionally slaughtered for Passover. That Jesus, the son of God was crucified, accepting unbearable suffering so that each and every one on the earth, would be forgiven for our sins, and saved. He paid the price for our souls, taking on the punishment each of us deserve for our sins.

Of course, this does not mean that sin does not have consequences What it means is that while we are here on Earth, we have the opportunity to confess our sins and avail of God's grace to "fix" ourselves and our lives, and resolve to sin no more. To put our past behind us, and start afresh.

As we celebrate new beginnings, there are going to be some major changes and new beginnings in my own life too. We have been considering this decision for a while, and it had become something we thought of as being inevitable, eventually, but somewhere at the back of our minds. Recently however, God aligned things to make this decision for us: We are moving to India! Soon, much sooner than we had initially planned.

I am very excited but honestly, equally anxious. There is SO much to do and I wish we had more time to do it. I dread my long to-do list, I dread the packing, the planning, the starting from scratch. I just want to hide and pretend that it will all take care of itself! There is furniture that will hopefully get sold, the letting go of so many things that I had accumulated and grown attached to. I hope this hard exercise is going to teach me to finally do something I strive to- to live simpler, to own less, to be less attached to mere things. Less to store and maintain, less to clutter and clean up after, less to carry around. Let's hope this resolution holds!

But in all this confusion, I feel God's hand guide us, helping me strike one more thing off my list, and then another. When I am anxious, I remember to surrender.

I am one of those people who hate change so it took me a while to get used to the very idea of the big move. I thought about everything I would miss. I will deeply miss our beloved farmer's market, the wonderful library, the long walks with my little man to the duck pond close by, the hills outside my window. I will crazily miss being only a short ride away from the cuisines of Argentina to Ethiopia and Vietnam and our regular barbecue picnics by China Camp State Park. Seeing my beloved Golden Gate shrouded by fog. I will dearly miss the friends we made here, and I know my little man will miss his friends here too.

Another half of me though, is growing more and more excited by the day. Excited about meeting up with family and our dear old friends whom we haven't seen in too long a while. One of my favorite cousin's wedding is on the day after we land and I couldn't be more thrilled that it is one wedding we won't have to miss! Looking forward to being steeped in tradition, colour, and chaos! I look forward to experience the wonderful food of my home with fresh eyes and to learn more about Indian cooking while I also try to recreate the food I enjoyed here. I look forward to wandering around the busy, colorful and crowded markets there and drinking cutting chai by the road side. To enjoy sweet golden mangoes and mangosteens from my grandmother's garden.

Lots to look forward to, hopefully even more beautiful than the wonderful years we will be leaving behind.

This means that things might get a little quiet around here, as I force my self away from the laptop and wrap up some stuff, but I will be back soon with new stories! And I won't be able to stay away from facebook or instagram or twitter and will probably be bombarding you with minutia leading up to the big fat move!

To all our friends here: I hate saying goodbye, so I won't. See you in South India my loves, let me be your tour guide!

To all the old friends we are meeting and the new friends I hope to make: I. Cannot. Wait.

In celebration of Spring, while its still not very warm in most parts of the country, here is a one pot chicken dish adapted from Dorie Greenspan's Around My French Table: More Than 300 Recipes from My Home to Yours, which is very simple to make so is perfect if you are looking for an easy to throw together, yet dramatic Easter dish.

It makes the best of Spring veggies and you can drop in what ever you have on hand. Carrots, cabbage, caramelized shallots and garlic, everything is just sublime cooked along with the chicken. I had to experiment and add my own touch so added some lemons which add a wonderful tangy brightness and served with some couscous that readily soaked up the glorious chicken "gloop" as Dorie calls it.

This dish is a truly wonderful thing, way awesomer than the sum of its parts. Flavorful and bright from the lemon, it is a great way to finally welcome Spring!

I pretty much followed Dorie's instructions that you can read on her blog here

Basically you take the biggest pot you have and heat some oil and sautee garlic, and some shallots or onions and whatever vegetables you like- I just used some carrots
Then heat oil in a skillet and brown a whole chicken that has been patted down ( Remove the giblets and if you like, the skin as well- I did) and seasoned liberally with salt and pepper. No need to cut up the chicken, or you can use some chicken thighs instead of a whole chicken.
Place the chicken breast side down ( this I think is very important to avoid drying out the breast) on to the veggies
Place wedges of cabbage and lemon as much as you can fit into your pot around the chicken.
Stir together a half a cup of wine, half a cup of olive oil and a cup of chicken broth ( or water mixed with bullion) and whatever herbs you like- I just used some dried oregano and thyme because I didn't have any fresh herbs, and pour this over the chicken.
Then I just covered my pot with a tight lid, but Dories makes a flour-paste to seal the lid, or suggests using foil to cover the pot tightly.
Bake for 70 mins in an oven that has been preheated to 450 F

As Dorie promises, the chicken bakes up to be fall apart tender and gosh so amazingly flavorful The juices or "gloop" is definitely the best thing about this dish, and the couscous and cabbage that magically soaks up all this flavour gets finished off first! Seriously don't skip the cabbage even if you are a cabbage hater. It transforms into something truly amazing. And I definitely recommend adding the lemon-made the chicken taste tangy fresh and just perfect for Spring!

Reminder: There are only two more days left to enter the giveaway for a very useful straining saucepan by Gitadini so don't forget to stop by and leave your entry if you haven't already!

Since there was no school on Sundays, my sister and I decided that meant we could sleep in. Our mother did not agree, and we woke every Sunday to the sound of her insistent knocking on the door of our bedroom, as she hurried us to awake and get ready for church.

We would sleepily nudge each other to get up and get bathed first so that the other would have a few more cozy minutes, buried under the covers. Usually this meant we were almost always late, arriving at church bleary eyed and grumpy as we went through the motions, waiting for the service to end so we could get to our Sunday feast and favorite TV shows.

How things have changed! Today, going to Sunday Mass with my little family is one of the highlights of my week and I am always, like my mom, the first one to be dressed and ready, urging T and the toddler to hurry so we won't miss a bit of the service. Mostly because today as an adult, I understand the significance of the symbols, the meanings behind the motions. Over the years, life's many ups and downs, God has drawn me closer to Him and I hope, He draws me closer still.

The Golden Gate Bridge- from the beautiful Marin Headlands

In our busy, sometimes unrelentingly demanding week, the peaceful church is a serene, soothing retreat. Joyous hymns raise my spirits and strengthen me ( this one and this are two favorites) I smile when the toddler loudly joins in- the fact that he doesn't know too much of the words doesn't deter him in the least. He usually just makes up his own! The sermon fills my heart and inspires me to be a better person and rise above my flaws, feelings of in-adequacy and petty anxieties. I am reminded of God's enduring, unconditional love for me and my fellow human beings. I leave feeling rejuvenated with a song on my lips and a feeling of contentment in my heart. After mass, the world is more beautiful.

Today is Ash Wednesday and the beginning of a solemn time when we count down to Easter and the death and Resurrection of Jesus. It is a time of prayer, reflection, and many fast and abstain from things they usually enjoy, during this forty day period before the celebration of Easter.

Like last year, I plan to give up or at least reduce my consumption of my biggest weakness-sweets.
Unfortunately, since it also happens to be Valentine's day tomorrow, I am surrounded by decadent chocolate cakes and tempting sweets in pink and red hues. Seeing these and the many adorable heart shaped cookies and cakes on Facebook and all my favorite blogs, I almost broke down and baked today, using a V-day themed blog post as an excuse to give in. Then I reminded myself that this is an austere time, a time to grow spiritually, a time for self-discipline, so I resisted.

Instead I decided to post this fish en papillote that the hubs and I made together last Sunday A simple, healthy and romantic meal and a special day spent together.

After last Sunday's mass, we were thinking about where to head for lunch when the hubs suggested that instead of going to a restaurant how about going to the nearest Whole Foods to pick up some fish and attempt en papillote ( in parchment) cooking. "I don't know how!" I exclaimed. It sounded complicated, and the only similar thing I had seen my mother make was Meen Pollichathu where fish is cooked with spicy masala inside a banana leaf."We'll learn together." said he.

So we did. With guidance from Alton Brown, I was sous chef to the hubs for the afternoon as we sipped wine and cooked together, packaging the fish with herbs, vegetables and couscous in a sheet of parchment paper. It turned out to be very easy, didn't take much time at all, and was a lot of fun! There was much drama, excitement and anticipation at the escaping steam when the hubs cut open the package in the end.

One of the most delightful Sundays ever, and a fresh and delicious meal that although we devoured completely, we didn't feel stuffed, but rather left us feeling energized and light.

A tasty mess!

The couscous and the carrots absorbed all the juices and flavors and the lemon and onions almost tasted like they were pickled and I found myself eating slice after slice.

I hope you have a wonderful day tomorrow, filled with love. The three of us are a little under the weather, and will most likely be staying in, but we plan to cook something special, maybe try something new, because this was so much fun!

Cod and Couscous En Papillote
Recipe adapted from: Alton Brown here

Ingredients:

1 cup couscous ( I would recommend that you don't skip this)
2-pounds cod fillets or whole red snapper, cleaned, head on
2 teaspoons salt, plus a sprinkling for the couscous
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 small bunch fresh oregano ( we used 1 tsp dried)
1 small bunch fresh parsley
1 whole lemon, thinly sliced
1 cup thinly sliced red onion
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 cup halved grape tomatoes
1 cup drained and quartered artichoke hearts ( we didn't use this)
A few carrots sliced in half lenghtwise (optional but recommended)
1/2 cup white wine
1 tablespoon butter

Special Equipment:

A Baking sheet

Parchment Paper or aluminium foil ( do not use wax paper)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
Rinse and soak the couscous in cold water for about 10 mins, then strain and lay out on a plate, after sprinkling some salt.
Cut parchment paper into a 15 by 48-inch sheet, large enough in width to cover your baking sheet twice.
Fold in half and lay on baking/cookie sheet so that it resembles a greeting card.
Open the "card" and lay the fish on the inside layer of parchment so that you can cover it woth the outer flap of parchment.(As though placing the fish inside a greeting card.)
Generously sprinkle salt and pepper on the fish, on both sides of the fillets or if using a whole fish, inside and out.
Place herbs in between the fillets or inside cavity of fish along with half of the sliced lemons, and half of the sliced red onion.
Arrange couscous next to fish on all sides.
Place minced garlic, and remaining lemon and red onion on fish and lay tomatoes, carrots and artichoke hearts around outside of couscous, creating what Alton describes as somewhat of a wall.
Cut up the butter into small chunks and place them over the fish.
Pour wine over fish and cover with the outer flap of parchment
Fold along the edges of parchment paper, to create a package and staples the edges if necessary, so that it won't leak.
Bake in oven for 30 minutes. Carefully cut open, keeping away from the escaping steam.