Quadruple C Summer Salad

What do the four C's stand for you ask? Curried Cranberry and Citrus Couscous of course! My sister-in-law made this for a family get together and I absolutely loved it. She is incredibly busy that I didn't want to bother asking her for the recipe so I kind of threw this one together using my taste buds. I think I did a pretty good job if I do say so myself.

This salad is a perfect side dish for an evening meal or by itself for a light lunch. It tastes best after resting in the fridge for a few hours to allow the flavors to meld together and the cranberries to plump up a bit, which makes it a perfect dish to bring for a pot luck Summer cookout.

Ingredients
3 cups cooked plain couscous
1 cup dried cranberries
14.5 ounce can of garbanzo beans rinsed and drained
10 ounce box of frozen peas thawed, rinsed and drained
1 large orange zested and juice squeezed (2 tablespoons of zest and 1/2 cup of juice)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon curry powder

Directions

• In a large bowl mix together cooked couscous, dried cranberries, rinsed garbanzo beans and thawed peas.
• Zest approximately 2 tablespoons of orange peel into a small mixing bowl.
• Squeeze a 1/2 cup of  orange juice into the bowl with the zest. 
• Whisk the olive oil and curry powder into the orange mixture then pour over couscous and stir to combine.
• Refrigerate at least 2 hours before serving.

Servings
10 to 12

A Broken Oven Tip
If your family is scared off by the couscous, substitute it with pastina or a wild rice blend.

Mango Coconut Frozen Dessert

Wow! It has been nearly 5 months since I last posted on this blog. My initial reasons for not posting was we all got winter sick then it rolled into one excuse after the other.  When I finally was ready to post again, my cooking mojo vanished.  Honestly, I've been in quite the slump since about April. Slowly, I've been getting back in the groove again and finally created something in the kitchen that is worthy enough to share with all of you.

This mango coconut frozen dessert has a consistency similar to a sorbet.  It is also easy, delicious and vegan! You can make this in an ice cream maker or if you have some time do what I did and use the freeze and stir method.

Hopefully this is the kick in the pants I need to start posting more frequently again. Enjoy and let me know how you like it.

Ingredients
3 cups coconut milk
2 large ripe mangoes - one diced and one sliced
1 cup sugar
2 Tablespoons lime juice
2 Tablespoons arrowroot

Directions

• Mix arrowroot in 1 cup of the coconut milk and set aside to dissolve.
• In a food processor or blender, puree the sliced mango until smooth. Set the diced mango aside to be folded into the mixture later.
• Place the remaining coconut milk, pureed mango, sugar and lime into a large saucepan heat and stir.
• When the mixture begins to bubble pour the coconut milk and arrowroot mixture into the saucepan and stir to thicken.
• Remove from the stove and allow the mango mixture to cool slightly and put in a covered plastic container and freeze.  If you're using an ice cream maker pour the mixture into the machine and let it do it's thing.
• If you're using my freeze and stir method, after one hour of freezing stir in the diced mango. Every hour for three hours stir the mixture. 
• When you take it out of the freezer it will be very hard and you'll need to let it thaw a few minutes before serving.

Servings
Approximately 6 one cup servings

A Broken Oven Tip
If you don't want to stir every hour, let the mixture freeze for 2-3 hours and toss it in the food processor again, then stir in the diced mango.  This makes for an even smoother consistency and less work for you.