Chicken in a Tomato-Basil Broth over Couscous

Back from Seattle and well-fed – it was a fun city to eat our way through!

Thursday we had a late start thanks to delayed flights and thoroughly confused internal clocks. We took a tour of Theo Chocolate and sampled tons of unique flavors, such as Coconut Curry. Did you know chocolate, before drying and roasting, is actually white and slimy? Cacao is also a vegetable – no wonder (dark) chocolate is so good for you! We had a late lunch at Paso and enjoyed the ever-popular #2, a Caribbean pork sandwich – delish! In the afternoon, I met up with my best friend from grad school, Michael, for a killer latte at Top Pot. I haven’t seen him since we graduated in winter 2008 and it was fun to catch up on life, dietetics, and everything else. We had dinner at Elliott’s Oyster House on the pier and I was able lucky enough to try Copper River salmon which was conveniently in its 2-week season during our visit. The salmon is a fiery red and loaded with omega 3’s.

Friday, we drove about 35 minutes outside Seattle to Mount Si for a hike. We hiked 4 miles up to the top and a very rainy 4 miles back down. I actually slipped and fell on the way down L It was challenging, but very beautiful. If you’re near Seattle or heading through, this is an ideal activity for those on the adventurous and active side. That said, I am EXTREMELY sore from the hike. Note to self: add some serious incline runs before your next major hiking adventure. Drenched in rain and covered in mud, we stopped by a brewery for some pizza and microbrews.

I showered up and met up with Beth from Foodbuzz and several other bloggers, including Joelen of What’s Cooking, Chicago?, Jessica of The Jey of Cooking, Kath of Kath Eats, and Gina of Skinny Taste at the Purple Café for apps and wine. We didn’t do much eating as several of us left from Purple Café to head to Lula’s to meet up with several more bloggers, including Bridget from Crumbly Cookie and Brady from Branny Boils Over. We ordered several things to share including chickpea fries, roasted chicken with porcini mushroom faro risotto, braised goat, halibut, and a dumpling in a mint-pea broth. All excellent! We ventured on to the Palace Kitchen for dessert and coffee. I enjoyed another out-of-this-world latte and carrot cake. The cake was good, but the coconut cream pie – ohhh my. It was heavenly.

Saturday morning was a blast. We did a walking food tour of Pike’s Place Market. This was the ideal way to taste so much that the market has to offer. We tried: fresh donuts, cinnamon-orange tea from Market Spice (where I later returned to buy all sorts of spices for dirt cheap), smoked salmon and salmon jerky, mac and cheese from Beecher’s, clam chowder, crab cakes, chocolate-covered Washington cherries, and I’m sure a few other treats. Beecher’s and the mac and cheese won me over, and though I didn’t get to try it, their Dungeness crab grilled cheese sandwich looks pretty epic. We walked all around Pike’s Place, toured the gum wall, listened to street artists (who are very talented and entertaining!) and people-watched galore. The hustle of the market is a tourist’s dream!

We enjoyed a draft at an outdoor pub before I met back up with Michael for sushi at Wasabi Bistro. The sushi there was some of the best I’ve had and the inside is very swanky! We enjoyed a late dinner with the in-laws at an Italian restaurant a bit outside of the city. I tired the cannelloni and it was very good! As was the Chianti J

We are back in C-bus and excited to see Miss Lily. I am also excited to back off the eats and get some veggies through my system! One week left before we move…crazy.

With all the great eats in Seattle, and boy were there many, this is a timely post on a recent favorite dinner. This dish was recommended by several foodie friends and it sounded wonderful. Between the tomatoes, basil, and mozzarella, it’s hard for me not to enjoy such a dish. To add on the couscous and the flavorful broth simply takes these humble ingredients to an entirely new level.

Despite his hatred for couscous, Mr. Prevention even enjoyed this one…a lot. I think we would both agree that this has been one of our favorite meals at home in several weeks, maybe months. The original recipe called for Israeli couscous, but I didn’t have any on hand so I swapped in traditional couscous which is simple and quick to prepare making this a very feasible weeknight meal.

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1 cup dry couscous
4 4-oz boneless, skinless chicken breasts pounded to 1/2 inch thickness
salt, pepper, dry Italian seasoning, to taste
1 Tbsp olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 onion, chopped
4 large tomatoes, chopped
2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
Handful of fresh basil, cut into a chiffonade
6 oz fresh mozzarella, cubed small

Directions:

Cook couscous according to package directions.

Season chicken with salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning. Heat olive oil in a saute pan over medium-high heat. Add chicken; saute 4 minutes per side. Transfer to a dish and keep warm.

Add garlic and onions to pan; saute 2 minutes. Add tomatoes, saute 2 minutes. Add balsamic vinegar; mix and allow to cook about 30 seconds. Add chicken broth and half of your basil. Bring to a steady simmer. Return chicken to the pan and let simmer 5 minutes. Serve chicken over cous cous, top with the tomato broth, basil, and and fresh mozzarella.

Yield: 4 servings (~3/4 cup couscous, 1 chicken breast, and 1 1/2 ounces mozzarella)

Nutrition Information (per serving): 479 calories; 12.3 g. fat; 78 mg. cholesterol; 251 mg. sodium; 47.8 g. carbohydrate; 4.8 g. fiber; 44 g. protein

Result: Simple flavors, bold results. This was delicious and very simple to make! A sure favorite in our recent line up – enjoy!

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 I’m not sure a “weekly menu” will come about this week…or next, apologies! My main objective is to eat what’s here — maybe that will result in something blog-worthy, maybe not. Stay tuned!

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