Stuffed Tomatoes with Israeli Couscous Pilaf

Yesterday I made this awesome recipe from Urban Vegan blog, TWICE :-) I loved it the first time so much that later that day I made another batch, but did not use the tomatoes for the second batch since we ate them all for lunch. It was still amazing without the tomatoes. I used less broth than it was recommended for cooking the couscous and it turned out fine. I always cook my Israeli couscous in less water (or broth), I put just enough to cover it and then some more since it usually does not expand that much. I cook it with the lid on like I would cook rice or quinoa and between the hot water and steam it cooks nicely. We ate the second batch warm. The trick was to marinated the kale prior to adding the couscous. I massaged the kale leaves with the dressing and let it sit for a while before blending it with the warm couscous. It was great warm, too.

I will be making this recipe often.

My random eats

Hi everyone! I just wanted to share some random dinners that I have been making and eating lately. As I am typing this, a big pot of lentils, onion and fire roasted tomatoes stew is simmering in my kitchen.

Red cabbage, edamame, almonds and pineapple salad. Beautifully colorful, protein packed dinner that was very easy to prepare.

Israeli couscous, red quinoa, orzo pasta and baby garbanzo beans medley cooked in vegan "chicken" broth and topped with caramelized onions.

Fried rice on a bed of steamed kale

I finally splurged on an endive, but I was quite disappointed with the taste. Not sure if I will ever buy it again. I made these cute endive boats filled with homemade white bean dip, guacamole and cherry tomatoes.

Sauteed chickpeas, onion and red bell pepper seasoned with gyros seasonings, on a bed of steamed chard. The chard part was not my cup of tea, I could not eat a whole leaf, but my dog Shelly happily ate my chard leftovers :-)

Israeli couscous, red quinoa, orzo pasta and baby garbanzo beans medley sauteed with fresh spinach, onion and red bell pepper.

Rice medley with Hungarian mushroom sauce

I also made several batches of very tasty massaged kale salads. I did not used to like kale, until I learned how to massage it and make it more tender and tasty. I will blog about massaged kale later. Stay tuned for my kale dressing recipes.

Mediterranean Couscous Salad and New Mario Olives Pouches

I love Mediterranean food! Everything from tabbouleh salad to olives. I am picky about my olives, I like high quality kalamata and green olives, preferably from an olive bar at Whole Foods. I enjoy jarred green and kalamata olives in salads and as a snack, but I hate the canned black and green olives that have a rubbery texture and no taste. Few weeks ago I saw something interesting that really got me excited. Snack Pouch seasoned olives without the brine! After I read a few blog reviews I found out that they started selling these at Publix, my local grocery store. I scanned through the ingredients list and when I saw lactic acid on one of the pouches I contacted Mario Olives customer service to find out if the lactic acid was vegan. They responded very quickly that the lactic acid was derived from beets :-) So nothing was standing in my way to try this newest snack hit. As I mentioned before, I am picky about my olives. These olives rock! The taste reminds me the olives from the Whole Foods olive bar, full of flavor, great texture and nice juiciness. So far my favorite variety is the thyme seasoned kalamata. The thyme gives it just enough flavor without overpowering the taste of the kalamata olives. These pouches are very conveniently packaged snacks. There is no brine so there is no mess and I can just eat the olives straight out of the pouches. The pouches are fun and easy to take to work or the cat shelter where I can pour the olives into my mouth without touching the olives with my germy hands :-)

Mario Olives asked me what was my favorite way to use their olives and I told them that either as a snack or in my couscous salad. I have been making this couscous salad for years and wanted to share the recipe with you. It is very easy. I made this recipe with Mario Olives thyme seasoned kalamata olives but you can use any other kalamata olives that you have.

Mario Olives & Specialty Foods (Mario Camacho Foods) Olives come in these varieties:

• Pitted Manzanilla Olives mildly seasoned with Garlic and Thyme
• Pitted Manzanilla Olives midly seasoned with Chili and Thyme
• Pitted Kalamata Olives mildly seasoned with Thyme

Mediterranean Couscous Salad

1 cup uncooked couscous (plus 1 1/2 cups water)

7-8 sun-dried tomatoes (dried or packed in olive oil)

1 1.75 oz Mario Olives "thyme seasoned kalamata" or 15-20 kalamata olives of your choice

2 large roasted red peppers (about 3/4 cup chopped)

1 Tbs balsamic vinegar

1 Tbs olive oil (less if using olive oil packed sun-dried tomatoes)

1/2 to 1 teaspoon dried oregano

salt and black pepper to taste

Optional additions: 1 diced tomato and 1 medium cucumber, peeled and dices.

There are two easy ways to prepare couscous. You can either bring the water in a saucepan to a boil, remove from heat, add couscous and cover with a lid. Let stand for 5 minutes and fluff up with a fork. Or you can follow my favorite method. Place couscous in a large bowl. Boil the water in a water kettle, pour over the couscous and cover with a large plate. Let stand for 5 minutes and fluff up with a fork.

Place couscous into a large bowl if following the first method and keep the couscous in the original bowl if using the second method.

If you are using olive oil packed sun-dried tomatoes, chop them into small pieces and add them to the couscous. If you are using dry sun-dried tomatoes, you need to soften them in hot water for about 5 minutes before you can chop them. Pour hot water over the tomatoes (enough water to cover them completely) and let sit for 5 minutes. Drain them and add them to the couscous.

Chop the olives and dice the roasted red peppers, add to the couscous. If using fresh tomato and cucumber, add them now. Season with oregano, olive oil and balsamic vinegar and stir until well combined. Season with salt and black pepper to taste.

Serve warm or chilled.

Check out Mario Olives & Specialty Foods Facebook page or follow them on Twitter

The nice guys at Mario Olives sent me the kalamata olives and sweet roasted peppers for this recipe.