Thursday

Egyptian edamame stew (recipe in the comments from May 20, 2008)
Kashi seven grain pilaf
Greek yogurt

Peppermint tea
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We love this meal, even though we have a lot of doubt as to its actual provenance. I have never eaten Egyptian food, but I don't imagine it's much like this. That said, this is a fantastic one dish meal - chock full of veggies and filling because of the edamame. We usually serve it over whole wheat cous cous, but saw the seven grain pilaf in the store and thought that would be a good twist. Neither of us is feeling top notch lately, and so a soothing stew seemed perfect. And in general it would have been except that the Kashi pilaf was crunchy. I don't mean pleasantly flavorful either - I mean unpleasantly textured. I cooked it for twice as long as the package suggested,and, while it was better than it seemed initially, I'm still not impressed. This is not a whole grain product that is going to go very far in this household :)

Prep Notes
Difficulty: Easy
Chopping: Onion, zucchini, garlic, cilantro
Time: 30 minutes
Make ahead: Absolutely, just make the pilaf (or whatever grain) last minute.

Reaction
J: "Excellent, but we'll do couscous next time."
M: "I disn't think the pilaf was *that* bad."

Monday

Egyptian edamame stew (recipe in the comments)
Whole wheat cous cous
Greek yogurt
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This is a highly unusual dinner. I expect that is because we don't often eat Egyptian food, though this isn't quite authentic. The flavors blend very well and become a slight twist on your standard middle eastern flavor. We have added a few seasonings and the raisins, making this even less authentic I expect, but the result is very satisfying. The original recipe called for cilantro or mint and we have always used cilantro in the past. We tried it with mint this time and find ourselves solidly back in the cilantro camp (reflected in the attached recipe). It was good, but not as excellent, nor as unusual, with the mint.

Prep Notes
Difficulty: Easy
Chopping: Onion, zucchini, garlic, cilantro
Time: 30 minutes
Make ahead: Absolutely, just make the cous cous last minute.

Reaction
J: "Apparently, Egyptians eat very well!"
M: "Still good, but better with cilantro."