vegoftheweek

Inside The Oven: Why a leek’s bite is better than its bark. Week Links: Black Owned Restaurants Go Vegan In South L.A. Our very first vegetarian spider.

Fresh is always better, right? Actually, not always. Take tomatoes, for example. Research shows canned varieties contain more of the antioxidant, lycopene. And lycopene has been shown to reduce the risk of all sorts of maladies, including cancers and macular degenerative disease.

While I like to think of the many benefits of lycopene being the reason behind me buying canned tomatoes for cooking, usually I’m just plain lazy and don’t want to bother chopping and dicing. Of course, there’s also the bonus of buying them already seasoned. I don’t know how many recipes have called for garlic or basil and I’ve easily grabbed a can of Muir Glen versus attempting the mountainous and annoying task of peeling garlic. Yes, I know there are gadgets for that, but I’m convinced that any pain involving using whole garlic cannot be eased with something from Kitchen Contraptions.

To me, leeks are like big dogs with no bark or bite. Get recipe for Canned Tomato Leek Couscous and find out why leeks don’t bite after the break…

One look at the long, green stalks and you’ll wonder why a recipe calls for something that cannot fit into a regular kitchen skillet. Once they’re chopped and sauteed, however, they shrivel up nicely and won’t be intimidating to the rest of the ingredients and socialize well with other vegetables.

You can add garlic cloves in the recipe, but I recommend being lazy and buying Muir Glen’s canned tomatoes instead. By the way, that’s breaded and baked tofu on top. I suppose if you really want to know, I’ll give you the recipe for that some other time…

Canned Tomato Leek Couscous Recipe

1 teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoons of olive oil
4 carrots, sliced
2 leeks, both white and green parts sliced
1 14.5 oz can Muir Glen diced tomatoes with garlic and onion
1 cup whole wheat couscous
optional if you’re not lazy like me: 2 garlic cloves, minced

1. Heat olive oil in skillet over medium heat

2. Add carrots, leeks, optional garlic, and pepper. Cook until vegetables are softened and slightly browned, approximately 10 minutes

3. Boil tomatoes and 2/3 cup water in saucepan. Add couscous, stir, cover, and remove from heat. Let stand for 5 minutes. Add vegetables to couscous mixture, fluff with fork, and enjoy.

Week Links:
Black Owned Restaurants Go Vegan In South L.A. (News America)

Is This The First Vegetarian Spider? (Science News)