Q at the fine Kiss Cafe, in Ballard.

I am just putting up random pictures because I have so many. Eventually I will post pics of the food, duh, but if you read my Europe blog- I still haven't found my camera cord. Ugh!
So onions...
Yeah, I love them.
Not the nasty white ones that I grew up picking out of meat-loaf, eggs, potato salad and everything else my Mom made. I love the sweet ones. The delicious, yellow skinned ones that don't come close to making you cry when you cut them... well that is if you know how to cut an onion. Hmmm, we'll get to that. But you know the ones. Go get some- that is a staple in this kitchen.
I have to have a few things always going on in here and onions are one of them. Although we are so spoiled to live down the street from a produce stand. "Top Banana" anyone? And the fabulous Farmer's market on Ballard Ave on Sunday's helps keep us eating in the right direction.
So Sunday night I had ground turkey, delicata, sweet potato, tri colored couscous, garlic, ONIONS, frozen green beans and some other random things and the only thought I had was that these things should end up in a bowl. Like instead of the plate- this should be bowl food.
Sounds weird, right? Not so much. It was delicious. And my kid loved it too, he isn't one of those picky kids. I know them and love them as well but I will be lost if this next gal is picky. I never made "kid food" for his dinners so I'm thinking that helped Quattro go with the flow. He didn't get mac and cheese if we were eating grilled fish tacos- he had grilled fish tacos. I credit my laziness of not taking the time to make a different meal for him to form his love of only kid food. I mean, he had his moments, we went through about 5-6 months of what we call the "beige food nightmare". He would seriously only consume beige food. I made it as interesting (and healthy) as possible but it was a stone cold drag. However it was short lived, it took me that amount of time to realize kids won't starve themselves- and I started making food with no beige- crisis averted and we've been out of the woods since.
Where was I?
Oh right- dinner...
Here's what you'll need and substitute away people.
coconut oil or any other high heat oil- not butter
ground turkey 1#-1.5#
1 can of diced tomatoes
2 cloves garlic/ 1/2 sweet onion
1 med. delicata, washed well, diced*
1 sweet potato, peeled and diced
1.5 green beans, trimmed but not cut
1 cup couscous
vinaigrette-
1/4 cp of oil, 3T of vinegar (I use balasamic) pinch of salt and about a tsp of dried thyme, some lemon juice if you have it.


So I diced (think the size of a piece of Bubble Yum) the delicata* and the sweet potato and tossed with a super easy dressing. I throw that on a cookie sheet, lined with foil if your nasty, and in a pre-heated oven at 350*. This won't take more than 15, you want them to be fork tender and brown. Turn the oven off when they are done and you can fold the foil over it's end to make a little tent- keep it in the oven.
Boil a cup of water, or broth in a small sauce pan, with the lid on, this is for the couscous, but it takes seriously 5 minutes, so use a back burner to keep it out of your way.
Next the veg and the meat. I did these separately but you can do them in one pan if you are so inclined. I like layers, I eat with my eyes first, like a child- so I like to have a "wow" factor, even with something as simple as this. I am totally one of those people that will take the food off the stove and put everything on a serving platter, or I will serve from the stove top- never lay a crusty hot pan on the table... unless we're talking lasagane.
Ok, where was I?
So the things we have left are browning the turkey with a little onion and garlic. I started that in a hot pan with coconut oil but you can use anything- just a little, then add in ground turkey cook until almost complete and stir in 3/4 can of diced tomatoes and juice- I love the kind that have the onions and garlic roasted inside, I think the brand I use is S&W, which used to be the cheap ones, now not so much. But they are the best if you ask me.
Is that water boiling? Throw in your couscous, stir, put a lid on and slide it off the hot burner.
The last bit of the meal is easy, if using the same pan, slide that stuff out of it and keeping it warm in the oven. In that hot pan toss three good handfuls of green beans, I used frozen. Cook them just until they are hot, adding a little oil if needed but you may be okay with the turkey juice left in the pan. No more than 5 minutes, toss with the squash that is keeping hot in the over and you are good.
If you have some fresh thyme it is nice chopped into the couscous, dried is also good.
To bowl, I put one scoop of couscous in the middle, then the turkey/tomato, last I top with a big helping of the squash/green bean fabulousness.
Bon Appetit!
JD