I feel I have sinned… for I have not posted for almost a week… Not that I didn’t want to… I really did, just the time was not exactly on my side. Days seemed to have shrunk (well the nights too) until this morning I woke up with a bad feeling I’ve let the blog alone for a whole week!..
Ups…
Ok, really ups… almost depression like ups… such that I had to resolve to some depression curing stuff. Now, I know you may think I’ve just ran to the first shelf to get some chocolate, cupcakes or any other sweet things I have in there. But no, I have not. First, I had none in my shelves (main reason) and I was far too lazy to walk to the store (secondary reason).
So instead I’ve resolved to some “orange” uplifting medicine. Sounds weird? Allow me to explain.
When I first started to live alone, just around that time I’ve read an article somewhere that orange colour ingredients happen to be a great help with keeping moods ups, especially during dark months (it was autumn back then). True or not, but I’ve spend the next 3 months having “something orange” with almost every meal I took and I’m happy to say my moods were pretty good that year (but who am I to judge..)
Anyway, long story short, ever since I do believe that “orange” like products do miracles when some boost in the mood is needed, and on this particular day I had nothing but carrots to resolve to.
I have to say I did not always have a very loving relationship with carrots. Maybe it’s from the times, when my grandma used to chase me with a bowl of grated carrots and sugar, which at the point in life weren’t exactly my cup of tea… Or maybe some overcooked plain carrots I’ve sadly tasted somewhere.. Don’t really know… but it took me a while to establish a more, let’s say healthy and appreciative relationship.
The things that change matters completely are… spices! Plenty of them! They just bring out a different side of carrots and if you don’t fancy them much, let me tell you, they become rather likeable and even addictive. If you add a couple more herbs to the mixture then you may just have a fairly divine dish for yourself. Such as this!
Adapted from “Delicious magazine”.
Difficulty: easy
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 5 min
Serves: 2
Ingredients
250 g carrots, diced
100g couscous
120ml chicken stock
Dressing
1 garlic clove, minced
1/8 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/8 teaspoon cumin
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon coriander
3 teaspoon white wine vinegar or cider vinegar
1 teaspoon honey
1/2 lemon juice
5 teaspoons olive oil
pinch of salt
few tablespoons chopped coriander
Process: Boil the stock and pour over the couscous, cover with cling film and leave to set for 10 minutes.
Mix all the ingredients for the dressing and set aside.
Bring salted water to boil and cook the carrots for 3-4 minutes. Drain the water, mix with the dressing and let it set for 5 minutes. Serve combined couscous and enjoy!