Mr. Prof designer home

Marcus and Elisabeth from Malmo Modern. All photography: Vidir Geirsson.

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Have you ever decided you didn't like something and later realized it was because you had prepared it incorrectly?

Yup, that was me recently.

I've seen Israeli couscous prepared by TV chefs many times and I always think it looks great. What's not to like about little balls of pasta? But the one time I tried cooking it, it was a mess. I decided I just wasn't a fan and figured that was OK since there are plenty of other pasta shapes out there. Then I saw Melissa's Mediterranean Couscous and decided I had to try again. As luck would have it, we had exactly 1 1/3 cups of the little balls left in the big container in the pantry. The fates were aligning.


As I was getting ready to cook the couscous I read the directions on the back of the container. And that's when I realized my earlier mistake. Unlike rice and regular couscous, Israeli couscous should be stirred every so often as it cooks. Duh. The last time I made it I just left it alone for the full 8 minutes it took to cook and when I went back to the pot it was a gloopy, sticky mess. No wonder I didn't like it. This time I ended up with individual pearls of pasta, just the way it was meant to be.

::smacks forehead::


While I'm thankful I realized my mistake, I'm also annoyed at myself for figuring it out after we exhausted the entire container of couscous. Now I need to go out and get more so I can make this recipe again. Because I will be making it again, and soon. I'm pretty sure I could eat a bowl of this every. single. day for the next month and not grow tired of it. I love, love, love anything Greek-inspired so this was automatically right up my alley. SP, on the other hand, isn't a big fan yet he still proclaimed this couscous good, which for him is a big deal.

I cut up and mixed together everything but the couscous in the morning and let it hang out in the fridge all day so the flavors could marry, and so I didn't have to get everything chopped in the evening when I had Baby Girl underfoot. That way I was able to cook the couscous while the pork was cooking and serve it warm. Delicious. Just so, so good. I think I had about 5 servings last night. Baby Girl tried the couscous the next night and cleaned her plate. A winner all around.

I don't have enough words to say how good this was so just make it and find out for yourself. A big thank you to Melissa for this wonderful recipe!

Mediterranean Couscous
I Was Born to Cook

1 box Israeli couscous (1 1/3 cup), cooked according to package instructions
Feta cheese (plain or Mediterranean flavored), crumbled
1/2 cucumber, chopped
1/2 onion, chopped
1 large tomato, chopped
12 kalamata olives, pitted and chopped
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
Splash extra virgin olive oil
Freshly squeezed lemon juice
Salt and pepper to taste
1 teaspoon dried oregano

Combine everything but the couscous in a bowl and mix. Taste and adjust the seasonings to taste. Refrigerate until ready to cook couscous.

Cook couscous and toss with the other ingredients in the bowl. Serve immediately warm.

Sunday - My recipe swap meal (shhh...it's a secret but it's something I've had my eye on for awhile now and can't wait to make). I'm also going to make this Chocolate Chip Cookie Delight as part of a Foodbuzz promotion. I'll bring it to church for fellowship time.

Monday - Corn Chowder with Lime and Avocado, ciabatta for dipping: This is a carryover from last week. Katie posted this soup on her weekly menu recently and then I saw it when I was looking through my recipes trying to make a meal plan. Seeing it twice just made me want it even more, plus I've got an avocado in the fridge that need to be eaten.

Tuesday - Hoagies

Wednesday - Chipotle Honey Lime Pork Tenderloin with White Corn and Mushrooms with Cilantro: When I posted the Greek Pork Tenderloin last week my friend Melissa recommended I make these two dishes. I trust her completely so onto the menu they went.

Thursday - Ravioli with Cheese and Garlic Biscuits: I'm keeping it simple and making frozen ravioli with homemade sauce and these knock-off Red Lobster biscuits.

Friday - Out!

Hej hej! And happy Friday! Today it's a very happy Friday for me simply because the sun is shining and spring is here. It's the simple things! And this home from the beautiful Norwegian blog Fryd og Design is the perfect home for a day like today. The pastels against the white backdrop are simply stunning.

Pictures Fryd og Design via 79 ideas

Jeanette of Fryd og Design is one of the key speakers at The Hive blog event in Berlin in a few weeks time. As is Nina of wonderful blog, 79 ideas. I'd sooooo love to go, I wonder if I can convince man that I need to do two trips in the month of May (I'm already heading to London!)?!

Have a lovely, inspiring weekend!

I have been ordering Wool from Margie of Hungry Hook Primitives and got my last batch today.
I can’t tell you how much I appreciated Margie’s diligence in helping me get just the right colors I was needing.  She over dyed many pieces especially the Teal ones to get it just right. THANK YOU MARGIE!

The top bundle is ‘Jadeite’ that she has been holding for me for quite some time until I could get the Teals (bottom 3 bundles)

Love these Golds…especially the Herringbone on the bottom

I needed some Army Green – she did a great job getting this bunch right – it is darker than it is showing up

Today I finished up my Candle Huggers and will ship some off to Patti tomorrow and pack the rest away for my show – that’s a start anyway…then it’s on to sewing a wholesale order and then back to my own sewing for the show.
Here’s Two new ones I designed…I keep them simple because the price is low and even if some look real simple there’s lots of stitching for a $12.00 hugger.

 

Tomorrow we have a funeral to go to for the daughter of a former neighbor of ours when we lived in Janesville.
She is only 47 (same age as our oldest son). She battled Cancer for Two years.
Our children grew up together until we moved away – Even though we had all boys and they had all girls they still played together.
It was the kind of neighborhood where you all were the same…young families, just built our homes and enjoyed each other’s company.
Most weekends we were all together as families at one or the others house – there were 5 of us families that were the closest.
So we will go say our last goodbye to Judy.

I have to giggle when I see this picture…this is how great they all got along – this was in 1977.
They were all over at the Wills house and came knocking on our door and this is what they had been doing … dress up!!!!  (not sure where our oldest son was but I’m pretty sure he would not have put on a dress)
The quality of the photos isn’t very good – sorry…

(From left)  Janel Will, our sons Brett and Dan and Judy Will who passed.

Update on Brett…he came home yesterday and went to bed and slept for 5 hours, woke up for dinner and slept for 5 more hours.
We took up a chair for him to sit in for in the family room – their furniture is very overstuffed and sits deep so he would not be able to get in/out of it.
We have a few extra chairs that were in the upstairs bedrooms so one of them would work out great…sits straight and regular height from the floor.
They had their choice of 3 and took the blue one.

 

Not sure how I came across this link but someone on Pinterest someone has a board for ‘blogs’. Go check it out…there are some on there I’ve never heard of and they are wonderful. 
http://pinterest.com/txsue/blogs-to-follow/

Thanks for visiting and have a great week/weekend.

Karen

 Frame: $15 at Michael's. While I am still looking for the right art, this bright green greek key wrapping paper will do the trick....for now anyway.
Jonathan Adler wrapping paper: $2.99
#5 Tin: $2.99 at Marshall's:
Mason Jar: 59 cents at Thrift store
butterfly plate: $2 on clearance at Marshall's
Plate stand: $1 at craft store
Lamp and shade: $10.00 on clearance at TJ maxx ( I was thrilled about this purchase )

The 2nd: Neutral and Soft
 The frame was $12 at Michael's. I used my own art. I loved this picture that I took when I was Italy last year. All of us girls were walking down the Ponte Veccio, and it started pouring down rain. I instanly pulled out my camera because I thought this was a fantastic picture! I played around with my editing tools and enlarged it for only $3 at Costco. I loved how it turned out.

Frame: $12
lamp: $25 at Marshall's
books: $3 to $5 each TJ Maxx and Homegoods
artichoke: $5.50 at Marshall's
Mason Jar: 50 cents
Shells: You can get at any craft store, but I bring home bags each year when I come home from the beach since I always use them.
White 5 X 7 frame $3

The 3rd: Glam
 A bunch of my girlfriends and I were headed to my friend's lake house for the weekend, and we saw a huge yard sale on the side of the road. We made a quick stop, and I grabbed this mirror for $3. It was brass, so I gave it a black high gloss paint job. Now, it has more of a hollywood regency look.
Mirror: $3
Spray Paint: $3.87
Peacock plate: $3.98 on sale at Anthro
plate stand: $1
lamp: $10
Frame: $4.99
Mirrored Jewelry box: $19.99 at homegoods
Picture of my grandmother on the beach: priceless :)


 The 4th: Vintage gold




Window Pane: $7 at a flea market
tray: $16.99 at homegoods
Lamp: $1.50 for the base at a thrift store. ( I painted the bases white. I LOVE these lamps, especially with the gold base)
Shade: $6.99 Homegoods
apothecarey jar: $4.99 homegoods
Taupe Ikat bowls: $3.95 each on sale at Anthropology
Books: $1 each at thrift store
gold and white plate: 50 cents at thrift store

Which look is your favorite??

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Really, I am alive. LOL I have been busy at home trying to get organized and on a set schedule. Summer break is just around the corner for my boys. So I want to make sure I'm pretty well set so I can enjoy my time with them while they are home all day.

One of my organizing tasks is updating my private blog for my sons. I came across some old craft fair photos. If you are new here, my mom and I used to do craft fairs together for 5 years. It was a lot of work but we had fun doing it together! I miss it sometimes...

Here are some photos from a craft fair in 2008.

Have a blessed day everyone!