Tag: amy westerman

What’s For Dinner? Colorful Couscous

You know how you have your go-to recipes for quick dishes that are always reliably delicious. This one is one of mine. It is couscous with lots of veggies and flavor and it is SO easy, and healthy. Wanna give it a try? Here’s the recipe.

Recipe Video


Ingredients
-1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
-4 bell peppers (use as many colors as you can)
-3 medium shallots
-2 tablespoons minced garlic (2 large cloves)
-1 cup chicken or vegetable stock
-1 egg (optional)
-1 cup couscous
-1 teaspoon salt
-1 teaspoon pepper

Directions
1. Finely chop your bell peppers, shallots, and garlic.
2. On medium heat, put your extra virgin olive oil in a sautee pan. Add your chopped bell peppers and shallots and stir occasionally for about 2-3 minutes.
3. Add your minced garlic and stir occasionally for another 2-3 minutes.
4. Add your salt and pepper while veggies are sauteeing.
5. After 2-3 minutes, add your stock and turn the heat up to medium high until
boiling.
6. Add your couscous and turn the heat off. Stir to make sure the couscous is
evenly covered in the stock. Put a lid on, and let sit for 5-6 minutes.
7. Use a fork to fluff up the finished product and enjoy!
Bonus: Add a fried egg to the top to make it extra decadent. 

Colorful Couscous

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Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Course Salad, Side Dish
Cuisine Mediterranean

Ingredients
  

  • 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 4 bell peppers use as many colors as you can
  • 3 medium shallots
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced or 2 tbsps minced garlic
  • 1 cup chicken or vegetable stock
  • 1 egg (optional)
  • 1 cup couscous
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp black pepper

Instructions
 

  • Finely chop your bell peppers, shallots, and garlic.
  • On medium heat, put your extra virgin olive oil in a sautee pan. Add your chopped bell peppers and shallots and stir occasionally for about 2-3 minutes.
  • Add your minced garlic and stir occasionally for another 2-3 minutes.
  • Add your salt and pepper while veggies are sauteeing.
  • After 2-3 minutes, add your stock and turn the heat up to medium high until boiling.
  • Add your couscous and turn the heat off. Stir to make sure the couscous is evenly covered in the stock. Put a lid on, and let sit for 5-6 minutes.
  • Use a fork to fluff up the finished product and enjoy! Bonus: Add a fried egg to the top to make it extra decadent. 
Keyword colorful couscous, couscous, vegetables, recipe, amy westerman,

Food Review: The Green Goat Food Truck in Fayetteville

Some of the best food comes out of food trucks these days, and Fayetteville is full of them. I was excited to try The Green Goat because it is one of the highest rated online…and its a Cuban themed food truck. So, we’re talking fried yuca, tostones, croquettes (my favorite) and maybe even mofongo if I get lucky! Here’s the breakdown:

The Environment

There is a small food truck park across from the skating rink on N College Ave. There are about four trucks there, such as Big Sexy Food and Zuppa Zuppa Soup Kitchen. We arrived at 11 am for an early lunch and the place was empty.

The Green Goat has a cute outdoor patio and other outdoor seating.

The Food

The menu is pretty large. There are appetizers such as empanadas, tacos, tostones, and fried yuca. There is a nicely sized list of varying versions of Cuban sandwiches. (You can even order a sandwich with tostones bunes so it is gluten free.) There are also a couple Cuban themed entrees, as well as dessert empanadas.

Beneath the official menu are the available types of empanadas, tacos, croquettes, etc. that are available that day. Here’s what I went with:

Croquettas de Jamón, $5.50
Description: Creamy and smooth fritters that are lightly breaded and fried. A Miami food stand class.

Ham croquettes are bomb. I love these things! They are crispy and fried on the outside with very tender, soft and almost creamy minced ham and some other fillings to give great flavor.
However, these were not my favorite croquettes. They were exceptionally greasy and we could not even finish the four small ones we got in our basket. Oso, my dog, enjoyed those leftovers.
These also come with a cilantro cream sauce for dipping, which was light, a little citrusy, and tasty.
I had to make my own ham croquettes as soon as I got home to fill that void….that ham croquette void I was given.

Classic Cubano Sandwich, $8.50
Description: Fresh Cuban bread with ham, mojo-marinated pork, house pickles, and mustard. Served with a side of yuca fries or tostones.

I was super excited to see I could order fried yuca as my side with this sandwich. I love well-fried yuca fries, and I have not perfected them myself. But then, the yuca wasn’t near ready, so I had to go with the tostones. I make these all the time, so they were nothing special to me. But they were darn good tostones! (double-fried plantain chips)
The classic cuban sandwich was ordered without cheese. So, I’m sure that is the reason it was so dry. But it was soo dry. And I have had many cheeseless cubans that were perfectly moist and juicy. The pulled pork was just…well, dry.  Other than that, the grilled bread and mustard and pickles were tasty, and the same cilantro dipping sauce came along. Dipping the sandwich into that helped a lot.

Overall

This is a fun, creative place to grab a meal, for sure. Though, I won’t be back…too dry, too greasy, it was hit or miss. I am sure if the yuca fries were available, I might feel more positively.
The cook was very nice, though. And it only took about 10 minutes to get our food…granted no one else was there. I just know I am usually waiting at least 30 minutes outside of food trucks to get my food.
Anyone have any other suggestions on food trucks to try the next time I am in NWA?