Monday, February 24, 2014

|| One Pot Moroccan Chicken + Chickpeas and Pistachio Cous Cous with Goat Cheese ||



I've been in a cooking rut for the past few months - seriously, who wants to cook a huge meal when you're exhausted from working all day?? Poor little Joe is left to fend for himself a few nights a week and I usually will just eat whatever I can scavange for myself in the fridge. Anyway, I've decided to get back to my old self and start cooking fabulous meals a few times a week (and eat leftovers the other nights) and to try new recipes that we have never tried. 

Last night, I cooked Moroccan food and HOLY. CRAP. I can't even explain to you how delicious this was - and it took exactly 30 minutes to make from start to finish. I've never had Moroccan food before so I can't really vouch for it's authenticity, but the flavors were out of this world. I'm not really digging chicken these days…or much meat at all for that matter - so I just loaded up on the chickpeas and veggies and it was perfectly filling. It was so, so easy to make and it will definitely be having again soon. 

Please make this soon. Promise you will be just as obsessed as we are! 



|| One Pot Moroccan Chicken + Chickpeas and Pistachio Cous Cous with Goat Cheese ||
Recipe from Half Baked Harvest


Ingredients
1 pound skinless chicken (I used a mix of thighs and breasts), cut into bite size pieces (or swap in 2 more cup cooked chickpeas or your favorite veggies)
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon cumin
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon coriander
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or more to your liking
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 onion, thinly sliced
1 teaspoon fresh ginger, grated
2 cloves garlic, minced or grated
1 red pepper, chopped
3 carrots, chopped
3 tablespoon tomato paste
1 chipotle chile in adobo, minced
2 cups chicken broth (or veggie broth)
2 cups cooked chickpeas (rinsed and drained if using canned)
1 lemon, zest + juice
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, plus more for serving

Couscous
3-4 cups cooked couscous
1/4 cup chopped pistachios
6 medjool dates, sliced (optional)  || we used Craisins and they were so good! ||
2-4 ounces goat cheese, crumbled
Instructions
  1. In a small bowl toss together the smoked paprika, cumin, cinnamon, coriander, cayenne pepper, salt and pepper.
  2. Heat a large high sided skillet over medium-high heat. Add some olive oil to coat the bottom of the skillet and once hot add the chicken and half of the seasoning mixture to the skillet. Brown the chicken all over until cooked through, about 6 minutes. Remove the chicken from the skillet and set aside.
  3. To the same skillet add a little more olive oil to pan and swirl to coat. Add the onion, ginger, garlic, red pepper and carrots to the skillet, sauté 4-6 minutes. Add the remaining spice mixture and sauté another 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Add the chicken back to the skillet. Stir in the tomato paste, chipotle chile, chicken broth, and chickpeas. Bring to a boil and reduce the heat, and simmer 5-10 minutes or until the mixture thickens. Remove from heat. Stir in the cilantro and lemon zest + juice. Taste and season with salt if needed.
  4. To serve, divide the couscous among bowls or plates and sprinkle the couscous with the chopped pistachios and dates (if using). Top each plate of couscous with the chickpea mixture. Sprinkle on the crumbled goat cheese and garnish with chopped pistachios and cilantro. EAT.

Enjoy!! 

My not so pretty picture of my Moroccan veggie bowl

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Sorry for abandoning the blog! I've been a busy busy girl with my new found calligraphy hobby - keep up with me on Instagram at @mollyfo ! :)

Sunday, February 16, 2014

mollyMAKES Calligraphy

UPDATE: I can't believe how far I've come since starting this little calligraphy business. I am working on new, updated samples and will post them ASAP! Thanks so much for all of your support!

I've been dying to dive into the art of calligraphy for years now. I have always appreciated hand lettering and fonts, and thought that calligraphy was so absolutely beautiful. I have been practicing nonstop for about two weeks now, and have loved it so much. It's been so fun to be able to come home from my job using numbers all day and be creative.

I've had some interest from people about possibly using my new calligraphy skills for addressing invitations and offering custom work, so I whipped up some different styles this weekend for people to choose from. I haven't been doing this very long, so I'm sure these styles will change in the future, but there are plenty to choose from for now! There is everything from formal flourished script, to casual modern lowercase calligraphy.

Please, please leave a comment or e-mail me (link is to the right of this post) if you are interested in some calligraphy! Thank you also much for all of your love and support! :)

The names of the styles are a mixture of street names in Charleston, and the streets Joe and I grew up on. The names and addresses I used are just totally random ones I thought of when I was writing these out…there are some typos in there, but oh well!


|| Tradd ||

I absolutely love the contrast of mixing different fonts. This is a more casual style using lowercase letters in the script, and would be perfect for a more laid back event.





|| Marshall ||

Marshall is another style using mixed fonts, but is a little more formal than the Tradd style. A flourished  and traditional script is mixed with a more modern all uppercase print. This is a beautiful way to put all of the focus on the names.





|| Pinckney ||

These two examples show the Pinckney style - a very modern take on classic calligraphy. 



|| Almond ||

The Almond style is a very classic and traditional Copperplate style of calligraphy and is the perfect style for an elegant wedding or event.



|| Gadsden ||

If I had to choose a favorite, Gadsden might possibly be it.  I love the combination of a classic script written on a diagonal to make it more modern. Any of the other styles could definitely be done on a diagonal, too!




|| Lagare ||

This is another great classic style. It's simple, a little more modern than the Almond style, but just as elegant.




|| Wentworth ||

The Wentworth is the most formal of the styles and would make quite the statement on your invitations or envelopes. Perfect for a fancy wedding or party!







I am still working away at perfecting my craft, but would love to offer more things in the future. Stay tuned for updates!