israeli couscous with quinoa and roasted carrots

one of our staple meals here at chez twin is what i usually refer to as "couscous and stuff" aka couscous with whatever veggies we have thrown in, and some beans for protein. its easy, healthy, and a great way to use up leftovers. this particular incarnation used trader joe's harvest grains blend, which is mostly israeli couscous, with some quinoa and a little bit of orzo and dried garbanzo beans (the yellow things in the picture).
israeli couscous with quinoa and roasted carrots
i'm writing ingredients without amounts because you can adjust every ingredient depending on what you want. its also a great recipe to make a big batch of and save for the rest of the week.
carrots
olive oil
cinnamon
cumin
curry powder
cayenne pepper
canned garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
peas, frozen or fresh
trader joe's harvest grains blend, or israeli couscous and quinoa (and orzo if desired)
1. preheat oven to 400 degrees fahrenheit. spread carrots on a baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil. toss. there should be enough olive oil to evenly cover the carrots, but not too much excess oil. sprinkle with a medium amount of cinnamon, cumin, and curry powder, and a smaller amount of cayenne. mix so that each carrot has some spices, but is not covered in spices. i think i used about 2 tsp of most of the spices and 1 tsp of cayenne for about 10 carrots. bake for about 45 minutes. carrots should be just starting to blacken on the bottom.
2. when carrots have 10-15 minutes left, cook grains according to package directions. if using different grains, mix them together after cooking. if using frozen peas, cook them with your grains (when your water is boiling, add both grains and peas).
3. stir in carrots and beans (and peas if you haven't yet) with grain mixture. top with sriracha or other hot sauce if desired.
-Lola

easy vegetable soup

this is one of our quick lunch staples. just saute whatever veggies you want in olive oil, then move them to a pot and add a can of diced tomatoes with their juices plus a can of beans (whatever kind you like) with their juices. heat, stirring, until hot and add italian seasoning, salt, and pepper to taste. this makes enough for a satisfying, healthy lunch for 2.
-Lola

vegetarian chili

happy august everybody! we celebrated the end of july with some homemade chili (not that july was a bad month or anything. but i am excited to be only a month away from heading back to new york.)who doesn't love chili? its warm, comforting, and hearty. its also simple to make, the kind of thing that you could make a big pot of on sunday and save portions in the fridge for easy lunches the rest of the week (i wish i was the kind of organized, put together person who actually did things like that. instead of the kind of person who regularly makes a peanut butter sandwich in 4 seconds and eats it on the way to class while dripping jelly all over myself. but i did heat up the leftover chili for lunch today.)

recipe from bon appetit, via epicurious, with some changes by the twins
vegetarian chili

makes 4-5 main course servings

* 1/4 cup olive oil
* 2 cups chopped onions
* 2 medium coarsely chopped bell peppers (we used yellow)
* 6 garlic cloves, chopped
* 2 tablespoons chili powder + more to taste
* 2 teaspoons dried oregano
* 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin + more to taste
* 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
* 2 15- to 16-ounce cans black beans plus 1 15-16 oz can kidney beans, drained, 1/2 cup liquid reserved
* 1 16-ounce can diced tomatoes, with their juices
* small pinch chipotle chili powder (optional)
* 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon + more to taste

possible toppings (we used green onions and shredded mexican cheese):
* Chopped fresh cilantro
* Sour cream
* Grated Monterey Jack cheese
* Chopped green onions

Heat oil in heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Add onions, bell peppers, and garlic; sauté until onions soften, about 10 minutes. Mix in chili powder, oregano, cumin, and cayenne; stir 2 minutes. Mix in beans, 1/2 cup reserved bean liquid, and tomato sauce. Bring chili to boil, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until flavors blend and chili thickens, stirring occasionally, about 15 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and extra chili powder, cumin, anc cinnamon if desired.

Ladle chili into bowls. Pass chopped cilantro, sour cream, grated cheese, and green onions separately.

stay tuned for the exciting conclusion (aka the cornbread recipe) in our next post!
-Lola

100th post! yay!

Black Bean Salad with Feta Cheese and Cilantro, made by my lovely twin, except for the cilantro, which I chopped myself, very confusedly and groggily, as I had just woken up, which made me feel very unaccomplished since Lola had already been up for 4 hours at that point.


Our grandfather loves to send us newspaper clippings, especially recipes. A few weeks ago he sent us a recipe for black bean and feta salad and we decided to make it. This is the first time we've actually made any of the recipes he's sent, but mark my words, it shall not be the last!

Black Bean Salad with Feta Cheese and Cilantro from the Florida Sun Sentinal
Serves 4 as a main dish
*2 cups dried black beans or 4 cups canned black beans, rinsed and drained
*water, optional

*2 ounces pasteurized feta cheese, crumbled

*1 small red onion, finely chopped (about 1/2 cup)

*1/4 cup fine-chopped cilantro

*2 Tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

*3-4 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
*salt and fresh ground black pepper (personally, we use only the finest black pepper, handpicked from the dining hall condiment station, in our recipes), to taste

Reserve 1 T feta. Combine the beans (cook them and let them cool down first if using dried beans), onions, cilantro, and the remaining cheese in a bowl. Add the olive oil, 3 tablespoons lemon juice, salt and pepper; mix well. Let the beans marinate 10 min and toss again. Correct the seasoning before serving, adding salt and additional lemon juice to taste. Garnish with reserved cheese.
-Rita

P.S. I forgot to mention, in my haste to type the phrase "mark my words", that later I had this mixed with quinoa and it was very good that way too.