so, there’s a foot of snow-slush-ice-goo on the ground, it’s exactly 2.7°F out with windchills of 20 to 30 below zero. (i’ve been trying to teach myself to think in metric and celsius as well, but frankly, celsius is just too depressing to contemplate at the moment.) our 40 mph gusts of wind might decrease to 30 mph in the afternoon, if we’re lucky.

this is not comforting weather.

that said, i decided to make something foodlike to remind me that someday, some fine day in the please-let-it-not-be-too-distant future, the temperatures will return to bearable. i’ve been wanting to try and make some Israeli couscous like i had at spertus a couple of months ago when some friends and i decided to pop by and discover if it was tasty or not. (it is reasonably tasty, and i have to believe that the view from the cafe is fabulous, if it’s not snowy and obnoxiously cold out.) so here we go, attempt #1.

1/2 sweet onion
1 T. olive oil
1 8.8 oz bag Israeli couscous
2 c. turkey broth
1/2 c. chopped dried cherries and raisins
1/2 c. pinenuts
1/3 c. chopped fresh parsley
1 cucumber, seeded and chopped into 4mm cubes just for the hell of it (HA HA MANDOLINE YOU ARE MY FAVORITE KITCHEN IMPLEMENT EVER)
dash lemon juice (maybe 1 t?)
1/4 t. dill weed

saute onion in olive oil until brown and yummy-looking. add couscous to pan and toast. after toasting couscous, add broth, and let simmer until the broth is mostly absorbed. soak dried fruit in hot water, drain. when liquid is mostly absorbed and couscous is mostly cooked, turn off heat, add fruit, and cover and let it absorb the remaining liquid. let cool off a little bit, then add pinenuts, parsley, dill weed, and cucumber. add lemon juice if it suits your whimsy. put in fridge until cool. eat. yum!