Recipes

Here are a couple of recipes I've tried recently:

1. I spotted this recipe for Black Bean and Butternut Tacos on Sarah's delightful cooking blog, The Pink Shoe Cookbook. The last time I made butternut squash, I bought a whole squash and struggled with the whole peeling and chopping bit. I've seen diced butternut for sale at the supermarket, but it just seems like a cop out. Am I really that lazy that I can't cut up a squash? I also try to avoid things with excess packaging, and the whole styrofoam tray + plastic wrap was a turn-off. Then, I spotted the happy medium- a peeled, de-seeded squash in plastic wrap. So I bought it. And guess what? It was still a pain in the ass to dice! I think I need a cleaver. Or next time I'll invite this guy to dinner. Or I'll get over my moral qualms and buy the pre-cubed stuff.

Anyways, the recipe was tasty and healthy, and can even be served to pesky vegans. I bought hard corn tacos, and here's a tip- definitely warm them up in the oven before serving them. At room temp they taste like cardboard.

And now for something more carnivorous:

2. Spiced Beef Patties with Couscous. So easy! So beefy! So delicious! Unfortunately, I forgot to take a picture, but basically they look like mini hamburgers on a bed of couscous, so use your imagination. You could serve them with hummus, pita, and a salad to make it a more formal dinner, but I just went with the patties and couscous and found it plenty satisfying.