You know those mornings when you:
wake up in a panic because you forgot to send an important email…
and wait! you only slept five hours! where did all of these zits come from!? like… seriously.
and the coffee line is surprisingly short, but you spill coffee on your shoes because you’re an absolute bonehead.
and technology is confusing.
but cookies are totally not confusing so you eat like, thirty of them.
and it would be awesome if you could just stay home and hide from things… but the world keeps on spinning… and you keep spilling things… and emails keep coming… and seriously with the text messages!?
You know those days?
when work feels suffocating. and it’s 4 o’clock in the afternoon, and you’re still trying to pull something out of your day. well… something besides cookies.
I had that day yesterday. I just couldn’t turn things right. It was like slow motion falling, all day long.
It’s ok. It really is. Some days are just funktown.
What turns around these days?
Buying your best friend cupcakes for her birthday. Yes. Buying!!! I already told you it was a rough day! Geez! Sometimes bakers buy cupcakes. That’s real life!
Buy cupcakes. Light candles. Pet a fluffy sweet dog named Willy. Sing Happy Birthday to Miss (dirty 30) Whitney.
Doing nice things for other people totally helps me out of a funky day funk. It feels good. Making other people happy is the best distraction there is! Truly.
Buy cupcakes if you have to. Eat cookies if things get weird. Do good things for other people. Also… try couscous for lunch. It’ll totally counteract all of the cookies you ate for breakfast, and the cupcakes you’re about to eat after pizzadinner. Pizzadinner is totally a word.
Israeli couscous is a toasted pasta shaped like little balls. It’s different from traditional couscous, in that it’s much larger, really holds it’s shape, and doesn’t clump together. Tiny pasta balls. Like tapioca, but more pasta-y.
I love to turn this couscous into a salad.
I had a theme this go-round. I wanted everything to be green.
Snap peas. Raw. Sliced. Crisp. Pretty.
Maybe you want to try asparagus? Go for it!!
Green onions and green parsley. I’m really into parsley.
Maybe you want to try basil and oregano? Heck yes!
Big chunks of cucumber too!
What? You want to use roasted zucchini!? Why didn’t I think of that?
And lemon. Lemon should go into everything.
I toss it all together with lemon juice and olive oil. Salt and coarse pepper for days.
Feta cheese too… because come on! Don’t be dumb.
I thought toasted pistachios were a nice touch too. They’re green. I love a theme.
Feel free to play around with the ingredients.
This is just a simple little ditty for a ditty of a day.
Green Israeli Couscous Salad
four small or two large servings
3 cups water
1 1/2 cups dry Israeli Couscous
generous pinch of salt
1 1/2 cups sliced snap peas
1 English cucumber, cut into chunks
1/3 cup chopped parsley
1/2 cup sliced green onions
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
1/2 cup roasted and salted pistachios
salt and coarsely ground black pepper to taste
about 3 tablespoons olive oil
about 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
In a medium saucepan, bring three cups of water to a boil. Add a generous pinch of salt, followed by Israeli couscous. Stir and reduce heat to a simmer. Simmer until couscous is just tender, with a slight bite, about 10 to 13 minutes.
Drain into a fine mesh strainer and rinse with cold water. Set aside.
Toss cooled couscous with the rest of the ingredients. Taste and add more salt and pepper as necessary.
Yea… it’s that easy! Cook couscous and toss it with veggies, herbs, cheese, lemon and olive oil.
Marisa
YUM! Looks refreshing, tasty, … other superlatives that are otherwise not coming to mind! Agree with Gen regarding the white wine!!
Kalyn
It looks delicious. I just bought a big jar of whole wheat Israeli couscous and I’m looking forward to experimenting with it. (Know what you mean about those days.)
Gen
I didn’t know about this kind of couscous, it looks really good! Green and all, must be great with a glass of white wine ^^
Katie
I totally had one of those days earlier this week. And I totes ate cookies for breakfast…and dinner. And it helped a little.
Kerry
This post made me smile. I’m definitely having one of those days and it’s not even noon yet! I love that you bought cupcakes for someone else. I might have to do this today and just start showing on people’s doorsteps with cupcakes. Hope today is less funktown for you, Joy!
kellie
joy,
let’s just say this post totally made me smile.
best line? oh yes, yes it is:
Feta cheese too… because come on! Don’t be dumb.
because seriously, who wouldn’t want feta on that?!?
i needed a pick me up this morning and a fabulous couscous recipe and your blog did the trick!
thank you!
xoxo
Maggie
Ahh bizarre, my day was also terrible! Luckily, it was also filled with donuts, chocolates, and cake, so all in all, not so bad? My most recent way to cheer myself up is to watch the movie Mamma Mia with Meryl Streep. When I’m feeling down I just laugh and cry and sing to that movie and by the end of it things are looking a lot better! And how can you say no to listening to Pierce Brosnan (aka James Bond of all people) try to sing? Priceless and adorable!
sydney
AMAZING!
pizzadinner is not only a word, its a thing. fact.
Margaret
Hey Joy,
Hope it’s ok that this is totally not about coucous salad… I was looking for the raspberry oatmeal scone recipe with fresh nutmeg and noticed it’s no longer on your blog or in your index. Is there any way to get it emailed? I totally love them, but always just look at the site and never wrote it down – (bad me). Wanted to try it with these grapes we have… I’m sure I can try another recipe, too, since you have so many tasty ones!
Thanks! M
Betsy
The magic of google:
https://sites.google.com/site/joythebakerrecipes/oatmeal-raspberry-scones
Margaret
Thanks Betsy! :D
meg
I love anything round and edible. It makes me smile. And Israeli couscous sort of bridges the gap between couscous and tapioca. Even better.
la domestique
Sorry you had a rough day…the beauty of life is that every day is a new day! Hooray for a new day! The couscous salad looks delish, totally getting me excited cuz next week is couscous week at la domestique!
Manja
Ooooh….this looks awesome! I love regular couscous, but I would probably love this even more, it looks super yummy! I guess I just now have to go on a quest for Israeli Couscous. I have no idea where to find it here in the Netherlands and no idea what it is called in Dutch (esp. since I am not Dutch), but whatever! I will succeed!
P.S.: Cookies are my comfort food on crappy days, too.
Urban Wife
So glad your day got better and this salad looks to die for! Loving all the green in it.
homegrown countrygirl
I like green things! And I love, love, love reading your posts!!! Always a treat!
Sarah
hmm, lark cupcakes no less… I don’t think you can go wrong there. I am currently having the kind of day where I each chocolate for breakfast.