CousCous, Take II

I had previously made Tabbouleh, a middle-eastern couscous dish, and was thrilled to discover that couscous was such a good alternative to rice, requiring much less time and effort. This dish was adapted from a recipe in the Mayo Clinic Cookbook, and is a great late-summer meal that takes advantage of the squashes in season. I made it with my mum, Bev, while preparing to watch the season premiere of Entourage. Good times. Except that Entourage is a little less family friendly then I had realized...Maybe better to watch an alternate premium cable show, such as Big Love or Nurse Jackie.

While I don't exactly have the recipe on hand as I have since moved (again, I know...), it was more or less some variation of the following ingredients:

1 box Couscous

2 small yellow squashes

1 zucchini

1 large tomato

fresh herbs (I think we just used parsley, but anything would really work)

1 fresh lemon, juiced

Parmesan cheese

Cracked black pepper and a pinch of sea salt

2 garlic cloves minced

Olive oil (the Spanish kind, see note below)

After the minced garlic is done cooking in the olive oil, add the squash and zucchini, and stir-fry for about 5 minutes on medium-high heat. Add about a 1/4 cup or a bit more of water, turn down the heat and let simmer for about 10-15 minutes. Most of the water should be evaporated, but still a little saucy. Add tomatoes, lemon juice, couscous and cheese and salt and pepper and cook all together to incorporate all the elements and warm thoroughly. We served with grilled fish done on the bbq with lemon and dill, as I do eat fish occasionally. It all went together brilliantly.

Note: It is very important to use Spanish olive oil. The primary reason is so that you can make "Spanish CousCous" and talk about how it's Spanish because you used Spanish olive oil. While this makes no sense, and lends no credibility to the authenticity of this dish being considered Spanish, it makes for fun while cooking.