Bad, bad Metro!

Although I enjoy cooking I tend to get a bit lazy when it comes to preparing lunches (who doesn't right?) Especially when it comes to making salads. Like many people I love eating salads for lucn but they take sooooo long to prepare, so I've gotten into a habit of buying a ready salad for lunch at a near by Metro store.

Today I fought hard against the urge to order Thai and stuck to my daily routine to buy salad. Once in the store though, I realised I did not want the regular greek salad that I usually get and decided to try something else. Metro usually does not have a variety of vegetarian salads so I was skeptical that I would find something. Every salad tends to have meat in it...even their spinach salad has bacon bits! (That should have been my warning!!) Looking through the "wall" of salads I came across their "Supreme salad" WOW...supreme...with no meat!. I could see lettuce, cukes, cherry tomatoes, yellow, orange, red and green peppers and walnuts. I was hooked. I double-checked the label. Nope...no meat!

Pleased with myself that I had stuck with routine, I headed back to work anticipating an enjoyable lunch. After a several bites I soon realised my mistake. I bit of digging into the mound of veggies, I unearthed a huge center of bacon bits!  I realised that a past prediction had come true.

Bad, bad Metro!! If you are going to include bacon bits please make them visible OR label your salads accordingly

Squash Couscous

This recipe is adapted from a 2001 LCBO Food & Drink magazine. I like to bring this to BBQ parties as an alternative to meat. Couscous is "high" in protein and therefore a tasty alternative. The original recipe calls for acorn squash, however I prefer the creamier consistency of the buttercup. Because it is a drier squash, I add a bit of vegetable broth to soften it up.

Squash Couscous
1 tbs. olive oil
2 cups diced buttercup squash
2 cups diced red pepper
1-2 tsp curry powder
1/2-1 tsp paprika
2 cups frozen peas, cooked (can substitute edamame for peas)
2 cups couscous
2 cups vegetable stock (if you use whole wheat couscous then you will need 2 1/2 cups of stock)
6 green onions, chopped
1/2 cup pine nuts

Heat oil  in a pan and add squash. If using buttercup, cook for a few minutes then add a couple of tablespoons of broth or water to help soften the squash. Add peppers and cook mixture until softened.Stir in curry and paprika and cook for another couple of minutes.
Cook peas in the microwave and drain. Set aside.
Heat vegetable broth in a pot or microwave until boiling. Place couscous in a large bowl and pour broth over it. Mix well then cover the bowl and let it site for 5 minutes.
When the couscous is ready, uncover and mix with a fork. Add pea, squash mixture and pine nuts. Stir until well mixed. Serve warm or cold.

Serves 8

Nutritional Breakdown Per Serving

   323 Calories
   8g Fat (21.0% calories from fat)
   12g Protein
   53g Carbohydrate
   7g Dietary Fiber
   1 mg Cholesterol
   417 mg Sodium

Better than plain rice....

We make chimichangas at least once a month. Typically we just have a chimi each with a glass of wine and that's our meal, but for some variety we'll have sides of green salad and rice.

I'm getting bored with plain rice so I recently started using this rice recipe that has a bit more flavour (and veggies). It's great on it's own as left overs, cold, for lunch.

Rice with Black Beans and Corn
6 cups cooked jasmine rice (use brown rice if preferred)
1 (15 ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 1/2 cups of frozen corn, heated and drained
4 fresh tomatoes, diced
6 green onions, chopped
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon fresh ground pepper

The recipe also calls for:
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and diced
2 dashes hot sauce
Because I serve this as a side dish, I don't want it to be hot so I don't add the jalapeno or hot sauce.
Also,  I HATE cilantro so of course I don't add it, however many people love this herb so add what you want.

Preparation:
In a medium bowl, combine black beans, corn, tomatoes, onion, lime juice, oil, salt, pepper. If you are including the extra ingredients (cilantro, jalapeno and hot sauce) add them now. Serve the hot rice with a 1/6 of the bean and corn mixture on top OR mix the rice with the bean/corn mixture before serving being careful not to make the rice too mushy during the mixing process.

Serves 6

Nutritional Breakdown Per Serving
    474 Calories
    4g Fat (7.9% calories from fat)
    13g Protein
    96g Carbohydrate
    7g Dietary Fiber
    0mg Cholesterol
    416mg Sodium