eclaire (what's in a) name?

the month of may has been a blur of activity around here, and of course, the first thing to go during this busy time has been finding and testing new recipes. instead, i’ve been sticking to the old standbys because i can easily remember the ingredients off the top of my head while i’m walking through the grocery store, sans list. (since most of you don’t go shopping with me, let me fill you in on my shopping list habit: i rarely go into ANY store without a list in hand!!)  so you can imagine how busy this month has been if i’ve been heading into the store with nary a list or reusable bag in hand.

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as a 40 hour per week working stiff, i absolutely love finding quick and easy recipes to make on week nights so mike and i can squeeze in a run or swim and still sit down to eat dinner at a reasonable time. these edamame rice bowls fit right into that category – the prep work involves a little chopping, some nuking of pre-made frozen rice, and the boiling of water for edamame beans – and voila, in 15 minutes or so, you’re enjoying a great one bowl dish. (while we’re on the topic of frozen pre-made rice, have you ever tried the stuff from trader joe’s? it takes only three minutes in the microwave before you have brown rice that tastes like it’s been cooked over a stove slowly for over an hour! you have to try it if you haven’t already – it’s a fantastic way to cut corners and save time on recipes.)

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ever since mike and i began avidly cooking and subscribing to vegetarian times to obtain new, delicious recipes, we rarely repeat a recipe. if we do repeat a recipe, it’s usually over a span of a month or two, while the produce it utilizes is fresh and available – but that recipe rarely makes it to the next year when the season rolls around again. this recipe, for honey tofu and couscous, is one of the rare exceptions to our constant desire to try new recipes and experience new flavor combinations. we stumbled across this recipe shortly after thanksgiving, when nothing sounded good to eat because we were still reeling from our veggie tday feast. we made it once, then the next week, then the next one after that. and before we knew it, we were both making it for our respective family’s christmas celebrations.

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