Several years ago I lived just down the street from my fantastic sister-in-law. Those were good times! We were at their house on a regular basis (a little too regular they thought). We had adventures at the park, carved my brother-in-laws head on a pumpkin, and put up their Christmas tree for Halloween. I know he won't admit it but even my brother-in-law felt magic in the air.

I want to apologize to my sister-in-law in advance for her "honorable mention" on this blog but our adventures in the kitchen never fail to bring a smile to my face. If there were to be a cooking show like Tool Time, my sister would be Tim. I say that with all the love in my heart! I really look up to her in SO many things!

One evening we went to their home for dinner and I brought warm cous cous as a substitute for rice. The family, having tried some of my other concoctions and not being fans, took a little coaxing. After the first bite they loved it. My sister asked what it was. I told her it was cous cous and she gave me a confused look. I told her she could get it at any health food store.

To my surprise, the next day I got a call from my sister. She had gone to the health food store, I think for the first time. She had bought cous cous, cooked it up, and it was terrible - nothing like mine. I asked her what spices she put in it, "spices, what spices? You didn't say anything about spices." Which was true. This reminded me of the time when I was telling her how to make gravy. I said, " you start out by making a rue." To which she replied, " rue, isn't that Kangas baby? You're just making these words up right?"

I adore my sister-in-law, and in her defense I have recently heard that she makes scrumptious homemade rolls. I can't wait for her to teach me and for many more memory making moments in the kitchen...which will be posted soon. For now, Here comes the cous cous

Cous Cous Salad
1-2 c cous cous
1 can black beans
1 can corn
cilantro
1 green chili
EVOO
lemon or lime juice

In your loyal rice cooker cook your cous cous in double the amount of water (2 water to 1 cous cous). Drain, wash, and drain your black beans. The beans need to be clean with no juice or they will turn your cous cous black. Drain your corn. Mix cous cous, beans, and corn in a bowl. In the food processor or blender, add your cilantro, green chili, EVOO, and lemon juice. Puree and place everything in the fridge. Let everything cool. Just before serving, drizzle the salad with the dressing. This is a great refreshing meal.

I was very excited when I was asked to give a presentation on how to cook and utilize beans. It came off as a success! In fact I had several people just sitting around my table eating my samples up as fast as i could get them on the table. This little brother was particularly attentive to my hummus.

My dear friend Penny was a bit surprised when I told her about it. "Hummus just sounds so angry, like, 'your such a hummus' or 'your going to tell someone to hummus off.''' I guess anything related to beans is the equivalent to a swear word in Samoan.

1 lemon

salt

garlic powder

Drain the can of garbanzo beans but save the liquid. (We prefer to buy bulk/bagged and cook them up ourselves - it is easy and so much more affordable plus you can control the salt content). Place everything in a food processor or blender. Add lemon juice, salt and garlic powder to taste. Blend till creamy, adding the bean liquid a little at a time.

Hummus is very versatile. The possibilities for mix-in's are endless. Try bell peppers or cucumber, sun dried tomatoes or olives. You'll pay $3-$5 at a grocery store for a few ounces but you can make it at home for less then $1.......your welcome.....now, hummus off. :)