putting in a good effort

Alright, so today I buckled down and put on the apron, as promised, to cook a fresh meal for myself after disappointing many of you with last night's pizza fiasco. Between picking up this week's CSA share, getting the car from the garage, and fitting in a game of softball, I had only an hour to make a meal, consume it, and digest in time for the game. Luckily, I had the foresight to take out some boneless chicken thighs from the freezer last night to defrost in the fridge overnight.

I got to work on a quick and simple Moroccan preparation. Some olive oil, a bit of turmeric, a dash of hot and bittersweet paprika, salt, pepper and lemon juice and I left the thighs to marinate for a few minutes. In the meantime, I chopped up half an onion and minced a large garlic clove and sauteed them in a large nonstick skillet until they were soft and translucent. Then, I cranked up the heat, browned the chicken on both sides and removed them from the pan when they were fully cooked. Then came a bunch of Moroccan olives that I pitted by pressing down on them with the flat side of a knife on the cutting board.

The onion and garlic took on the deep yellow color of the turmeric. I then added a cup of chicken broth and let the liquid come to a boil. Next came a cup of couscous and I pulled the pan off the heat and covered it with a tight-fitting lid.

5 minutes later and the couscous was perfectly cooked. I added the thighs back to the pan and I was done. All in about 15 minutes flat. Plenty of time to eat and take it easy until the big game.

Looks like I redeemed myself. However, although this was a tasty dish, it was missing the "Dina Factor" that would take it to the next level. Perhaps some of the CSA zucchini and some hot chilis would have added that special something.

Less than 24 hours to go and I'll be back to a happy man.