Curried Couscous breaks the losing streak!

Sometimes I get myself into a kitchen funk, where not only do I have trouble deciding what I'd enjoy but then also fail in my efforts to make anything appetizing. Maybe it's a phase of the moon. Maybe my sense of smell temporarily goes out of whack. Maybe I'm imagining things. But last week was one of those miserable times and it culminated in my throwing out the better part of an entire pot of "chili". I put that in air quotes because I'm not sure what it was trying to be - too many different things perhaps, like a bad remix - but it succeeded at none. At that point I wave the white flag and wait for the winds to turn.

This morning I woke to a soupy day outside (pouring rains) and a desperate hope to shake my kitchen blues. We had an exceptionally productive day, here at the Mister E Chicn Coop. We purged junk, donated art supplies, got together a load of recycling and managed to meal plan and shop for the next few days' meals too. Tonight it seems all that did the trick and my losing streak is done... with no small thanks to this simple (FAST) meal that's been rattling around in my brain for weeks. It's a variation on our quinoa salads past, and infinitely modifiable. I'll be posting other great revamps here soon. So here's the recipe for Curried Couscous with Chickpeas and Feta. There's no photos of our dinner cause we ate it all... Please let us know how your version turns out!

Curried Couscous with Chickpeas and Feta

Ingredients
1.5 cups water
1/2 cube vegan bouillon (fave is Rapunzel vegan w/ sea salt and herbs)
1 Tbsp curry (LOVE Vata Churna Spice Mix from Maharishi Ayurveda)
1 cups couscous

1 15oz can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1/4 sweet onion, diced
1/2 zucchini, quartered lengthwise and sliced
2 carrots, halved lengthwise and sliced
1 rib celery, halved lengthwise and sliced
1 cup petite peas (cook according to package and set aside)
1 Tbsp safflower oil (or olive, canola, sunflower if you prefer)
1 pinch salt
1/2 tsp cumin powder
1/4 tsp chipotle
1/4 - 1/2 cup crumbled feta (optional)

Method
Bring water, bouillon and 3/4 Tbsp curry to boil. Add couscous, stir, remove from heat and cover. Let stand for 5 minutes, then fluff with a fork. Turn out into large mixing or salad bowl

In large saute pan heat oil, salt and remaining spices over medium. When drop of water sizzles add onions and saute until translucent. Add chickpeas & carrots and continue to saute for 2-3 minutes. Add celery and zucchini for quick turn in the pan - 1-2 minutes - until colors brighten. Remove from heat and allow to cool for approx 5 minutes. Add chick pea saute and cooked peas to couscous and mix the lot. Add feta and serve.

Makes 4 dinner servings (approx 1.5 cups each)

Want to make this recipe vegan? Skip the feta.
Want to make it gluten free? Substitute quinoa or millet for couscous. Add spice mixture to water and cook according to directions.