Coffeepot Couscous

By Dana McMahan FoodConnect Louisville foodconnect.com@gmail.com Coffeepot Couscous I don’t tend to put a lot of effort into my work lunches. I’ve been inspired by lovely books and fabulous newspaper food section articles on clever and delicious packed lunches. Inspired, but not motivated. I love the idea of homemade, well-balanced gourmet midday meals but the reality when I’m trying to get out the door to catch the bus in the morning at the same time as my husband in a one-bathroom house with two attention-seeking dogs underfoot, the best I can do is grab a container with leftovers from last night’s dinner. And that’s usually just fine. But what if we went for sushi the night before? I don’t keep lunch fixings on hand because we try to only buy each week what we know we’ll eat. Since I don’t eat meat I’m not going to pack a lunchmeat sandwich à la my dad. I discovered a super trick recently though, that has come to the rescue a few times since. One of our favorite quick dinners on weeknights is cinnamon-scented orange couscous with pre-cooked shrimp and golden raisins. With the help of the coffeepot at work, I can whip this up on the fly on my lunch hour. Here’s all you do. (I use my Bento but you can cobble together a handful of your Tupperware type dishes.) Pour a portion of couscous into a medium-sized container. Add salt, cinnamon, and if you have it, dried orange peel. Put some chilled cooked shrimp in another dish. Golden raisins and pine nuts go in another, and an orange finishes it off. At lunchtime add as much hot water as you have couscous from the water dispenser on the coffeepot. Stir quickly and cover. Let it sit about five minutes, fluff with a fork and voila — coffeepot couscous! I peel the orange and add the slices to the couscous along with the shrimp, and top with my raisins and pine nuts. It feels like it took a lot more work than it really did, and keeps me full through an afternoon of toil. If you don’t like shrimp or the cinnamon and orange idea, you could add almost anything. Try chickpeas and cumin. Or dream up your own combo. As long as you have one of those handy coffeepots at work, you’re set. Coffeepot photo by unclebumpy