Friday, August 22, 2014

Couscous Salad & Tomatoes Provençal

Another summer double header as we play catch up ....

Couscous Salad
Per Nana~
Couscous is not something I prepare often. Many people think it 
resembles "pastina" pasta but I definitely find a difference in flavor.  
This week however, using the couscous with all of the herbs and spices called 
for in the recipe made the dish quite interesting. Normally I don't use a lot of
 ginger or cumin in my cooking but it definitely worked well in this salad. 
Taking the easy way out for dinner, I served this 
salad with a delicious roasted chicken from Costco. 

Per Tricia~
This is definitely one of the recipes that gets filed under "never would have 
thought of these ingredients". Likely because I am not familiar with Moroccan
 cooking. But somehow, after four years of "French Fridays with Dorie".
...my pantry IS prepared for Moroccan dishes.  I actually surprised myself that I
 could easily lay my hands on turmeric, cumin, and ground ginger-
 check, check and check. It was the good old cinnamon I had to hunt for. 
My how times have changed, but for the better. The family enjoyed it 
and hubby said it was a good option for him to take for lunch at work. 
Yay. 


Tomatoes Provençal 
Per Nana~
Adding to this week's post is a make up recipe for tomatoes provençal. 
Many thanks to Kathy for this selection, it was excellent and quite tasty.
 This is one recipe I will make time and time again. 
The mixture of herbs that I used were fresh basil leaves and chives, blended 
with finely chopped garlic. I baked the tomatoes for 30 minutes as instructed, 
and then I basted them. Another 15 minutes and they were perfect. 
I sprinkled some parmesan cheese over the tomatoes as Dorie 
suggested, and they were simply delicious. 

Per Tricia~
The spoiling continues. 
It is widely known that I am treated to both standard and hard to find ingredients by
 getting a special delivery à la Nana. This week my lovely new next door neighbor, 
Nicole, just happened to ask if I could use some of her garden fresh tomatoes.
Yes, she evidently raises amazing heirloom tomatoes and offered to share. 
Coincidentally, on the same night that I was planning to
 make the tomatoes provençal. Cue the choir of angels. 
Aren't they gorgeous ?  Yup - they were absolutely delicious too.  
This recipe was wonderful. Even though it involved turning on the 
oven in the summer, I will still do it again and again. All of my
 taste testers approved. And now they want a garden next year as well ...

 Happy French Friday ~

14 comments:

  1. Wow, Tricia, you really lucked out. That's a great neighbor to make friends with, her tomatoes look wonderful.

    And Nana, I somehow missed the idea to add a sprinking of parmesan to the tomatoes. But after seeing it in your post, I just though, of course!

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  2. Tricia!!! The choir of the angels sing every day for you! Nana and Nicole are lovely people in your life!!

    Nana, both your dishes are FAB!

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  3. Lovely post ladies - such summery dishes (and Tricia, now you have not only one but TWO guardian angels looking after your FFWD grocery needs!)

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  4. Love your double duty post...both great recipes! Not sure my family has expanded their limited palates, but Bill did like the tomatoes. I loved having all the couscous for myself :) Hope you're both enjoying your weekend. xo

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  5. Nice that you included the tomato catch up - both your versions look beautiful! As do your versions of the couscous salad. I loved this dish (though we used quinoa) and Kevin declared this the best recipe I've tried in a while, though come to think of it, he liked the tomatoes provençal, too.

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  6. Both of your salads and tomatoes look wonderful! I love this time of year with so many different vegetables, fresh from the garden or the farm. Delicious! Tricia, I hope you get to come to Boston at some point to see your son (and me!). Seems like your husband gets to do all the pick ups and deliveries. It does save you time in the car though! Have a great weekend, both of you!

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  7. Hi ladies, Love both of your salads…even if it was not a favorite of mine. I was sure I would love it…I really liked all the ingredients for the salad…just not the spice blend! Oh well sometimes you win and sometimes not so much!
    Loved the tomatoes Provencal and will be making that again many times! And how lucky are you, Tricia to be gifted such gorgeous tomatoes? Both look gorgeous! Happy weekend to you both!!

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  8. Neighbor produce is nice, but I am sure nothing can beat deliveries a la Nana :-)

    I am amazed how stocked my pantry is after four years of this adventure.

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  9. Nana, we do the Costco chicken trick too. It is great during the heat of summer.
    Tricia, neighbors with produce are great. I have a next door neighbor that lets me use his herb garden.
    We loved both of these recipes and will make both again.

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  10. Wow, you Ladies had some winners this week. Tricia, I already remarked on Kathy's Blog that being involved with FFWD over the past three years has forced me into "spicy". So, I also had all the spices that the couscous salad recipe called for and liked the flavors very much. As for those tomatoes. Both of you really made some delicious-looking Tomatoes Provencal. Tricia, yes, you are lucky. We have heirlooms at our Farmers Market and at Whole Foods but they are a bit more preciou$ than I am willing to buy. Nana, I agree about the Costco chickens. I used to get them in Henderson when we lived there. They were big and tasty. As we know, even the French cooks do not roast their own chickens.

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  11. Nana, I don't cook with cous cous much either, though I enjoyed this. Roast chicken would have been a great accompaniment. Tricia, those gorgeous heirloom tomatoes were an amazing way to set off Dorie's tomatoes provencal - so beautiful!

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  12. Tricia, you have a knack for getting good neighbors:) You're so right that after four years of FF we are prepared for most anything. Nana, your dishes look delicious!

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  13. Tricia, what luck! Those tomatoes are simply gorgeous. Nana, I love the parmesan cheese idea. Those tomatoes were definitely a winner. I'm glad you both enjoyed the couscous too.

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  14. Great week! Major tomato envy over here. I'm hoping to get some planted for our fall growing season now that the puppies are maturing a bit. Happy Labor Day Weekend!

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