Friday, May 2, 2008

F*** DEAN & DELUCA

Like the many droves of workers that have an office in SoHo, I fell pray to the Dean & Deluca over-priced machine yesterday.
Having come from a yoga work-out I was particularly hell-bent on eating something good for me. In the precariously laid out space, I managed to find 1 over-priced Naked Juice (buy them at whole foods! The cost of 1 bottle is the cost of the Mega Bottle at Whole Foods!) and a Medium sized "Mediterranean Cous Cous" from their Prepared Foods section.
My hunger pains raging, I get to the register and "fork" over $9+ for the Cous Cous alone! NINE DOLLARS! Now, I'm not a stingy kind of person, but I know when I'm throwing my money away! I looked at the ingredients and thought--wait a minute, I could probably make an entire batch of this stuff for $9! At 4 servings per batch that's $2.25 a pop.
So I went home that night and created my own version. Good thing is, it's HEALTHY, FRESH, EASY, and SITS WELL. Enjoy it as a main dish (in which case you might have to double the serving size!) or as a great addition to a side salad or sandwhich or BBQ!
"FIGHT THE MAN" MEDITERANEAN COUS COUS
1/4 cup Uncooked Quinoa (I use the Inca Red Variety)
1 cup Uncooked Israeli Cous Cous
Handful of Spinach Leaves, Stems torn off, and "Chiffonade" into thin, long strips
Handful of Sundried Tomatoes, Tomatoes from an Antipasto Bar, etc.
Handful of Pitted Kalamata Olives
1/2 can of Chickpeas
Small Clove of Garlic, Minced (optional, but come on!)
Juice from 1 Large Lemon
Tablespoon of Red Wine Vinegar
Drizzle of EVOO & EVOO to cook Cous Cous
Dash of Salt & Pepper
  • Cook the Quinoa. Please prepare 1/4 cup according to directions on packet. I actually made 1/2 cup and reserved the other 1/4 in the fridge to make a 2nd batch later on in the week! You might want to do the same. It is similar to preparing rice. 2 parts water to 1 part Quinoa.
  • Cook the Cous Cous. I suggest Israeli Cous Cous and if the packet suggests you toast the Cous Cous, please do--it brings a nuttier, earthier taste out of the tiny grain pastas. I found that 1 cup of Cous Cous requires about 1 and 1/3 cup water.
  • Set the prepared Grains aside. Let the excess water evaporate and the grains cool as you prepare the other ingredients.
  • In a dish add 1/2 can of Chickpeas.
  • Chop a Handful of Pitted Kalamata Olives and add in.
  • Chop a Handful of Sundried Tomatoes/Marinated Sundried Tomatoes & add in.
  • CHIFFONADE the Spinach leaves. So this is a fancy way of saying, take some leaves (any leaves) lay them on top of each other like a stack of papers, roll them up so that the leaves remain long and then slice through them very thinly! Then you've got long strips of Spinach to add to the dish and it looks beautiful.
  • Now that the grains have dried/cooled down, add them to the dish and toss.
  • Dress the grains with Juice from 1 Lemon, Drizzle of EVOO (not too much), Tablespoon of Red Wine Vinegar & Minced Small Clove of Garlic. Dash of Salt & Pepper.
  • Enjoy immediately or save in the fridge and eat within the next 2 days.

Take that Dean & Deluca!

2 comments:

Sarah said...

F*** Dean and Deluca is right. You should learn how to make their overpriced chocolate Bodka... YUM.

:)

Sarah said...

correction: "babka"

http://www.deandeluca.com/new-and-seasonal/breakfast/babka.aspx

:)