Beg Me

Before I start writing about the Lamb Stew with Couscous, I have to know: what exactly is a cous? A Grain? A Seed? Is the noun in singular form, indeed, the 'cous'? O Mighty Internet, please answer my questions! (Ever notice that you never see God and the Internet in the same picture? Uh-huh. Think about it.) The American-centric definition was found to be thus:

What is couscous? Couscous is a coarsely ground semolina pasta. The grain is a staple in many North African countries. Over the last decade, it's cropped up on American menus and dinner tables.

I couldn't find a clear answer on the whole singular vs. plural thing but did find a brief description of the etymology of the word from etymonline:

1600, from Fr., ult. from Ar. kuskus, from kaskasa "to pound, he pounded."

Which begs the question, could it be used as a verb? Could a person be couscous-ed? Anyway, the Lamb Stew. This was another recipe from my favourite cookbook, bought on a whim from the clearance rack at 80% off, Food & Wine's Quick from Scratch cookbook. There is a whole series of these cookbooks but I can't find the one I have online anymore. Too bad, it's a brilliant book. Basically, it was a stew of tomatoes, cauliflower and chickpeas (also a confusing element as it is neither chick nor pea) with Moroccan-spiced lamb meatballs. For a quick little meal, it was great. It made a lot of stew so there was plenty leftover – an excellent quality in a recipe. We had a bit of a hard time trying to find ground lamb, though. Luckily, we have a great butcher – Second to None Meats, 2100 4th Street S.W. – who ground some fresh lamb while we waited. I don't think I've ever had ground lamb, it tastes different because of the need to cook the meatballs all the way through. It actually came off a bit gamey in the first bite but after getting used to a new version of lamb-flavour, I liked it. Sammy, on the other hand, LOVES lamb more than anything else (except for maybe cheese and car-rides) and did his very, very best begging in order to get a taste. However, I was in my Responsible Owner character so cruelly denied him the pleasure. Probably he'll get some of the leftovers, though. As my Dad says, "That dog lives better than half the free world." Look at him, being the life party…