Inspiration can come from the strangest places. Sometimes I’m inspired from a fabulous meal we eat out at a restaurant. Other times it’s from something I’ve seen on TV or another blog. Still others, it comes from a cooking failure…
The first half of this weekend started with a big cooking fail. I decided to make slow cooker apple butter on Saturday and started it on low while we headed out to run. By Saturday evening, it was almost done and my samples were delicious! I turned it up to high for a final few minutes, while Kirk and I sat down to relax.
Sunday morning I jumped out of bed….oh crap!…I never finished the apple butter!! I opened the bedroom door and immediately smelled burning apples. There was a pot of black burned mess in the bottom of my still active slow cooker. After both Kirk and I tried (and failed) to scrub it all out, he noticed a big crack down the side of the pot. Not only did I burn up the apple butter, I broke the pot!
Suffice it to say, not every cooking adventure goes well in our house. But don’t worry, I have a new slow cooker (with a timer!) on the way. And I already bought more apples. I will have apple butter this week!
With apples on the brain, it was time to redeem myself with an Israeli Couscous recipe that featured apple flavors. I wanted something light, but that still felt warm and alive with Autumn flavors. The light sauce lets all the flavors really shine through, which is what I was aiming for this evening.
CranApple Sage Israeli Couscous
Keywords: entree vegan vegetarian couscous apple fall
Ingredients (Serves 2)
- 1 cup Israeli Couscous
- 1 1/4 cups water
- 1 1/2 tablespoon walnut oil, divided
- 1 apple, diced, preferably a sweet variety
- 1/2 cup apple cider, divided
- 1 tablespoon non-dairy cream cheese
- 1 tablespoon sage, chopped
- 1/4 cup chopped walnuts
Instructions
Boil water in small saucepan. Add Israeli Couscous and reduce to a simmer. Cook for 6-8 minutes, stirring occasionally. If water is not completely absorbed, drain, and add 1 tablespoon walnut oil. Stir to coat and set aside.
In small saucepan, add apple and 1/4 cup of apple cider. Simmer for 10-15 minutes, or until apples reach desired softness.
Meanwhile combine non-dairy cream cheese, 1/4 cup apple cider, and 1/2 tablespoon of walnut oil to blender and mix until creamy.**Note: If you want a creamier result, you can increase this mixture up to 4 times the prescribed amount.
When apples are done, stir in couscous, walnuts, and sauce. Serve warm, garnishing with additional sage and walnuts, if desired.
And if you’re not a fan of cooked apples (Laura), feel free to reduce the cooking time and enjoy a crispier version!
I can’t wait to see what recipes you created today! Make sure you check out at least a few of these recipes:
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Questions for you:
- Do you like baked apples?
- What was your last kitchen disaster?
{ 16 comments… read them below or add one }
What a total bummer about your crockpot (and apple butter!!). My last cooking disaster was this cake I tried to make by following a recipe.. It called for cake mix and I prepared the cake mix according to the box and plus followed the recipe.. woops.. not supposed to do both.. the cake overflowed in the oven, set our smoke alarms off, and our entire house was filled with smoke! (not to mention our oven was a disaster!)
Linz @ Itz Linz recently posted..Itz Marvelous: Chi-Town Edition
Oops – I could so see myself following 2 recipes by accident. I have to really focus when baking, it’s so easy to make a mistake!
Oh Heather! Your poor crock pot. Maybe that’s a good reason for me to NOT buy one (other than lack of space). You know I’d totally forgot about it.
I love your couscous recipe – especially with the walnut oil! It reminds me of the (non-vegan) apple-walnut-sage stuffing I made last winter. Can’t wait to try it when I can eat couscous again…
Laura @ Sprint 2 the Table recently posted..A Taste of Atlanta
Yea… I can’t believe I did that! I think the new one with a timer is going to be much better for me too. :)
Dang – you’re another one that the ingredients didn’t work for huh, crazy! I didn’t think about it not working on your plan, that’s two weeks in a row. Jalapenos should be safe, right?
No worries – I can’t eat much of anything at this point. LOL!
Jalapenos are safe though! Unless they randomly have a lot of sodium… which apparently happens a lot in food. Grrrr…
Laura @ Sprint 2 the Table recently posted..A Taste of Atlanta
I just saw that there’s a company that makes GF couscous. Totally on this.
Calee (@chimes) — life + running recently posted..#MotivationMonday: Making the Cut + Adventures in Pescatarianism
Thanks SO much for sharing this! And I’m going to try to pick GF ingredients in the future, didn’t even think about that. :)
You know, I wouldn’t worry about it. There are SO many allergies and sensitivities out there, that you can’t get everybody with every recipe.
Side note — got my vega chocolate today — HOLY CRAP it’s good. But I have a tummyache. So I’m hoping it’s the amount of fiber coupled with the increased fiber from eating more carbs lately and not something else. I had an issue with the plain hemp powder before, but it was really gross, and I didn’t want to eat something gross AND have a tummyache.
So if there are no more tummyaches, Vega has become my new fav powder. It’s not fake or overly sugary tasting. Just the right amount of chocolate flavor!
Calee (@chimes) recently posted..#MotivationMonday: Making the Cut + Adventures in Pescatarianism
yes, a slow cooker with a timer is ideal!! mine doesn’t have one, I don’t think… so sad for your apple butter!
I LOVE sage… your recipe sounds so good!
Kristina recently posted..chocolate hazelnut breakfast couscous
The worst part is having tasted it when it was almost done and knowing how delicious it was – I want some now!
What a beautiful dish!
That’s too bad about the apple butter/slow cooker – I have cooking fails all of the time, mostly when I turn on the wrong burner on our stove :)
Ashley F. recently posted..Vegan MoFo 2.1: The Tipsy Vegan Cookbook Giveaway
Thank you so much! I actually made it midday so I would have daylight for photos – it makes such a big difference. :)
Your cooking fail sounds much safer than mine!
Sometimes you just need to destroy items so you get new ones ;D I was kinda happy when I impossibly burnt stuff into my old muffin tins–they were super-scratched and an awkward size. Excuse to upgrade!
Allie recently posted..True Story, Bro
Haha – exactly! At least slow cookers were cheaper than I remembered, I thought it was going to be well over $100 to replace and it was much less!
This looks amazing! I need to go get that GF coucous!! That sounds like something I would do! We are now down to 8 bowls as of yesterday morning… I am so accident prone!
Brittany @ Delights and Delectables recently posted..MIMM#19
Oh, I love the sound of the sauce on this. I have never been one to buy vegan versions of cheese, meat, etc. (usually), but I have seen Trader Joe’sis now stocking vegan cream cheese. Maybe this would be a good excuse?
Sorry about the apple butter…and the slow cooker. If I actually had one, I’d give it to you. :)
Sarah @ The Smart Kitchen recently posted..Roast Your Grapes. Trust Me.