Delightful (and easy) Couscous

I (Emily) have liked cous cous for a long time. It's a nice break from pasta and rice, and it lends itself super well to the Middle Eastern palette as well as to quickly-fashioned dinners. Couscous is also pretty cheap if bought in bulk. I get mine at the Seward Co-op, and I know Trader Joe's has boxes of it. Much of this recipe was a result of improvisation, so feel free to adjust proportions/veggies based on what you've got. And don't let the long ingredients list fool you, because the actual process is quite simple. Enjoy!

Ingredients

For the Couscous

• 1- 1 1/2 cups whole wheat couscous
• 1- 1 1/2 cups water and/or veggie broth
• dash salt
  
• 1 TBS butter

For the Veggies:

• A drizzle of olive oil
• 1/2 red onion, sliced or diced
• 1/2 pepper, sliced or diced
• 2-4 cloves garlic, chopped small
• 1 cup chickpeas, canned or rehydrated and boiled
• a handful of parsley, roughly chopped
  
• a sprinkling of sesame seeds
• a dash of hyssop, if you've got it
• 1-3 TBS tahini paste
• 2-3 generous squirts of lemon juice
• 1/3- 2/3 cup veggie broth, for simmering purposes
• a handful or two of fresh spinach
• salt and pepper to taste

For the top:

• a handful of kalamata olives, sliced
• crumbled feta cheese to taste
  

Procedure

• Boil the water or broth, along with the butter and salt, in a medium saucepan. Once it's boiled, add the couscous, stir remove from the heat, and let it sit, covered, for five minutes.
• Drizzle the olive oil into a skillet and cook the red onion over medium heat until it softens.
  
• Add the pepper, garlic, chick peas, sesame seeds, hyssop, and lemon juice and cook for a little while, until the ingredients are warm and the pepper is starting to be a little less firm.
• Pour in the broth and mix in the spinach. Now just let it simmer for awhile, adding the lemon juice and parsley as you like.
• Once everything is softened to your satisfaction, and most of the broth has been absorbed or evaporated, season to taste. Then mix the veggies into the cooked couscous, along with the tahini.
• Serve topped with sliced olives and feta.