I cooked twice this week, guys! And there were home-made leftovers a third night, and tonight Ben was out so I had takeout, and tomorrow we’ll be en route to Florida. That is a big improvement over the last…..long time.

Tuesday night I had to do a work call a bit late, so I ran home beforehand, scrubbed a few beets and roasted them (wrapped in foil at 400 degrees for about an hour, per Bittman) while I was on the phone. After the call I pulled the beets out, hurried over to City Hall to vote, and then came home to finish up.

(Raw)

We stopped in Hanover at the Coop on the way from Stowe a few weekends ago to buy sausages to freeze–we can’t find any here that are nearly as good! Ben grilled a few for dinner that night, and I boiled some israeli couscous until it was a bit under-done, drained it, sautéed garlic in olive oil, and then sautéed the couscous in that for a bit so that some of the pearls were a little browned. I was to experiment with the timing so they get a little crispy…

(after draining)

I wore gloves to peel the beets, doing my best to avoid turning the whole kitchen into a mock-up of a murder scene, sliced them up and put them in a big ziplock. Then I made basic vinaigrette, poured that in with them and turned the bag around a big to dress the beets. When we were ready to eat I sliced some cow’s milk feta (mild and tasty) and layered that with the beets, topped with a grind or two of pepper. Next time I think I will serve them plated separately as a salad course instead of a side to the sausage and couscous, but it was a very delicious dinner and Ben was particularly impressed by the neon pink hue that the beets dyed the feta.