Ptitim with Mushrooms and Peppers

For the last month or so, I have been resorting to comfort foods like the usual soups and stews and casseroles. Plus, the usual round of viral influenza had us down one after the other, so, nothing exciting in the kitchen...

Now that Spring is in the air, and my kale and arugula have tender baby leaves perfect for a quick side salad, it felt like a good time to cook up simple and wholesome meals.

Ptitim, sometimes known as Israeli cous cous, has large pearls which when cooked al dente makes a fine accompaniment for sauteed or stir-fried veggies.

This time, I went with mushroom, peppers, onions, tomatoes, and kale, lightly flavored with Balsamic Vinegar and Bragg Liquid Aminos.

Chickpea, Wheat Berry, Pearl barley, Ptitim Salad

Periodically, I soak and cook some wheat berries and barley and keep them handy to sprinkle on top of leafy green salads. 1 cup wheat berry/barley with 2 cups stock works perfectly in rice cooker to yield cooked-but-not-mushy grains for this recipe.

The chewy texture of wheat berry and barley when combined with meaty texture of Ptitim (Israeli Couscous) and firmly-cooked chickpeas makes for a satisfyingly wholesome base for a quick summer salad. Although it is not summer here yet, some days are blazing hot already.

Chopped purple cabbage, diced zucchini, diced green mango, finely diced red onions, diced tomatoes, corn kernels, diced sweet orange and red bell peppers tossed together boost this earthy dish with colors and flavors.

A splash of lemon juice and some olive oil is all the dressing the salad needs. Any handy herbs would be fine. I used some parsley and mint from the garden.

Roasted Amber Cup Squash with Israeli Ptitim

Unlike its giant cousin moghrabiah, which I cook on and off, Ptitim or Israeli Couscous, as it is labeled in the markets here, has become a staple in my kitchen. Especially because of quick cooking time in rice cooker: just 1:1 ptitim:stock, with some olive oil, herbs, and spices in the rice cooker and it is ready to eat.

I was fascinated by the variety of squashes at the farm and picked up quite a few, ambitiously determined to cook them over the autumn weekends before they start decomposing.

A couple of squashes and Cloud 9 eggplant, some kale, tomatoes and peppers from my garden made weekend cooking a lot more fun over late summer and early fall.

Having grown squash in my garden and finding it heartbreaking to see only a handful get pollinated and bear fruit while the other flowers simply ended up boosting my summer salads, I have a weakness for these beauties.

The Buttercup squash from my garden, as well as Sweetmeat squash, barely bore a couple despite me waking up early and meddling with the flowers to try to get them going some days.

Anyway, Amber cup squash has thin-ish edible skin, with a golden orange flesh that is on the sweet side. This time, I partially peeled the skin and cubed them for roasting.

Along with Japanese eggplant, red onions, and green bell peppers, the Amber cup squash was tossed in olive oil and roasted in a 450°F oven for about 20 to 25 minutes.

A splash of lemon juice and olive oil, a dash of salt, and a pinch of pepper tossed with the cooked ptitim, topped with roasted Amber cup squash and onions and eggplant and bell peppers, and maybe some feta, makes a sumptuous Fall dinner.