Vegan Moroccan Crab-less Curry Couscous (My Finished Cowl!)

This vegan dinner hosted a lightly curry-seasoned sauce atop a lovely whole wheat couscous, topped with two yummy Match Meats Crab croquettes!

A view from the top!

My lovely new Cathy Carron cowl--finished last night! Warm, fashionable and functional!

What is even better about wearing a knitted cowl is that you won't have to endure "hat hair"!

After last night's pantry raid, I was still unwilling, nor ready to hit the store. I like being at home. I am a "home body" in this later part of my life (I spent too many years on airplanes, in meetings and in hotels) which may explain my tendencies. I wouldn't go so far as to say agoraphobia, but I'm pretty close. Which is why this blog is a perfect way for me to at least reach some facet of the public at large, yet feel safe at home while doing so. I've had friends in the past say things like: You need to get out more. You need to interact. I disagree every time citing that my previous engagements left me prone to anxiety attacks, stressed out and completely uncomfortable in groups larger than, say, two. In my new life, I have been a fundraiser for several causes--the caveat is: I don't do meetings. Rather outline my strategy, submit, get feedback, then put a plan into action. Simple. Lucky for me, for those places where I feel I can lend a hand, this has been a fine arrangement. As the old adage states: With age comes wisdom.


So yesterday, I still was not ready for "people" nor stores. I've stayed home for a week now--except for my runs, which I count as "getting out" even though technically the only people I encounter are drivers "texting and driving"--looking at me in surprise or awe (as in "awe shucks, wish I was running"--I hope they think that--but in this neck of the woods, the likelihood that this is true is pretty moot).

On to my meal last night. I am a fan of Jamie Oliver. I know, I know--not a vegan. Well, as I've stated in this blog several times, so what. I cannot live on bean and rice cookbooks alone--plus live with them without a single photo to inspire. And herein lies the matter: Often, I am inspired to cook when I see food in color. (Aren't most of us food fanatics?) For those of you who've been living in a cave, when Jamie began his career on Food Network, he was the Naked Chef. At the time, FN was in its infancy and suffering through growing pains trying to deliver a new concept that once was dominated by PBS and Julia Child: Cooking on TV. This spring, Jamie Oliver will have a new cooking show on ABC. (You can read the story about it at the link). I am so excited! What I love about him and his cooking style is not only his approach to food, but his determination to see the food for what it is: simple (and keeping the processed junk out). A potato is a potato and here is what you can do to make it more than that in say, three easy steps with three easy fresh ingredients. Not many of your cook celebs can make that same claim.

In this month's issue of Cooking Light magazine (I know, not vegan but I love the pictures), they ran a piece on Jamie and his newest cookbook: Jamie's Food Revolution: Rediscover How to Cook Simple, Delicious, Affordable Meals. Two recipes were shared. I had cut this page out and put it in my 3-ring binder. (I have three full binders of recipes like this!) This Moroccan dish was one of them. Of course, I checked the pantry and couscous (not being an everyday sort of food item in this house) I luckily had just enough on hand to prepare this dish. So glad I did. I made several adjustments to Jamie's recipe in that no fish appears, rather Match Meats Crab was used to make these small little crab cakes to place on top of the dish. (The link to a crab croquette recipe from my blog is here). Funny thing, the need for the crab croquettes came from another Jamie recipe--what a small blog world this is! I also used veggie stock where he says water and clam juice, and I opted out of using a hot red chile, instead seasoning mine to taste with my own concoction. We both loved this meal and I will say, it is surprisingly tasty for its simple design! I hope you try it!

Vegan Moroccan Crab-less Curry Couscous

For the couscous:
1 cup whole wheat couscous *this is what I used vs. the regular, but you could use regular
1 cup veggie stock
1 tablespoon lemon olive oil *or, you could use regular olive oil and infuse it with the juice of half a lemon
1 teaspoon Spike or salt and pepper to taste

Place the couscous with olive oil and veggie stock in a medium sauce pan with the lid on and turn the heat to high. Wait for the liquid to just begin to bubble (or boil) will take a few minutes--then immediately turn the heat off, leave the lid on, and walk away for now. In about 10 minutes, come back to the pot and remove the lid and fluff the couscous with a fork.

For the curry sauce:

3 tablespoons olive oil *I used my lemon olive oil--if you don't have this, prep the other half of a lemon for adding to the sauce after the veggies have been added
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon curry powder or garam marsala
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup veggie stock
1 can fire-roasted diced tomatoes
1 cup frozen peas
Spike or salt and pepper to taste

Heat the olive oil in a medium saute pan over medium heat. Add the cumin seeds, cinnamon, curry powder, oregano and garlic and allow the flavors to meld for about 3 minutes--don't let the garlic burn! Next, add the tomatoes and peas and veggie stock and season more with Spike or S & P. Cover this and allow it to simmer for about 20 minutes over low heat. To serve, place a mound of couscous on a plate, top with a ladle or two of the tomato mixture, then top with your croquettes. I topped mine with a mixture of: vegan mayo, some dijon mustard and a dash of hot sauce whisked together along with chopped scallions. This was a delicious meal!