"CousCous" news and stories

I thought I'd show a little temperance, after yesterday's post on maple-syrup-and-bacon cupcakes. Because, after all, life is not all about seeing how many grams of sugar we can pack into one eensy weensy dessert. But sometimes we wish it were.

Today is going to be all about getting those five servings a day of vegetables. And loving it. OK, grab your skewers. Now brush a little olive oil on some peppers, zucchini, tomatoes, yellow squash, eggplant, onions, mushrooms or any vegetable that turns you on. Then thread them on the skewers and throw them on a grill on medium heat for about eight to ten minutes, as in this recipe (paired with an herb-stuffed trout). When the veggies are charred and still crisp, add with a side of mint-and-cumin couscous you've got dinner.

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Don't be fooled by its name – these little globes aren't couscous at all.

The short answer is that durum flour is flour which is ground from Durum wheat. Durum wheat is a type of wheat that has an especially high protein content, and in fact its name derives from the Latin word for "hard".

Durum flour, with its high protein content, makes dough with unusually strong gluten. It's generally used in pizza dough and pasta, and its more coarsely ground cousin semolina is used to make cous cous. Though you can make bread with durum flour, recipes usually mix durum and regular wheat flour.

Durum wheat can be ground into semolina (sometimes called semolina flour if it's ground more finely) and durum flour, which can be referred to as extra fancy durum flour or extra fancy pasta flour. However, you can't really substitute one for the other. Semolina is a coarse grind and it looks a lot like corn meal. In fact a lot of bakers and pizza makers use semolina to dust baking sheets and peels so the dough doesn't stick (check the bottom of your pizza next time). Durum flour is ground as fine as regular flour and that's why it can be used in bread and pasta doughs.

I haven't ever been able to find real durum flour in a brick and mortar store, so I have to order it online. Semolina, on the other hand, is generally available in grocery stores, at least upscale ones. For more on the subject, here's a good page to check out.

• It's Memorial Day, that means the grilling season has begun.
• Speaking of, here's a review of the book Grill It!,and an interview with Mario Batali about his book Italian Grill.
• A guide to finding the best nan around Boston.
• Restaurant reviews: Feng Shui, The Blue-Eyed Crab, and G Bar & Kitchen.
• McDonald's vs. Chick-fil-A, chicken-wise.
• This week's recipes: Spiced Couscous, Grilled Chicken Thighs with Sugar Snap Peas, Grilled Korean-Style Short Ribs with Chili Slaw, Tinga Poblana de Pollo, Grilled Radicchio Wrapped in Pancetta, and Shrimp and Grits.

You can't help but really like Ellie Matthews. Ten years ago, she won the Pillsbury Bake-Off with her Salsa Couscous Chicken recipe, a blend of salsa and the flavors of Morocco.

Now she's written a book about her experiences: "The Ungarnished Truth: A Cooking Contest Memoir."

NPR's Steve Inskeep recently chatted with Matthews. Turns out, she's an unbelievably down-to-earth, sweet woman with a self-deprecating streak that you can't help but appreciate. Throughout the interview, she insists that she's not anyone special, that she "doesn't claim to be a better cook than anyone else." Typically, Matthews says, she will "buy ingredients that look good, wrestle them into a pan, and serve a meal."

"I'm not a fussy cook," Matthews said. "I don't put four different kinds of sea salt into something, or 18 different kinds of vinegar" (it could be assumed that the book title partially refers to the fact that her final recipe for the contest wasn't garnished or artfully arranged, but she won anyway).

What's more, she didn't even really seem all that impressed with the prize money. She simply enjoys cooking, and was a little disappointed when she won because she knew it would disqualify her from participating in the contest again.

As for what she did with the money? She admitted, "I'd like to think my life is just more than just what I buy on a whim or how I indulge myself," and then said that if she was, say, at a plant nursery, she could maybe splurge on a new plant for her garden.

Again: how can you not like this woman?

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