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I love my job. Partly because I enjoy Choosing English and partly because perusing a number of health-related recipes and articles each week fills me with some nutritional wisdom – and a desire to discover more.

Of course, being a copy editor also doesn’t make you a great cook. But with time, patience, and a healthy appetite, we can all learn.

Curiosity is the first step in a thriving learning process. It was this irritating state that had me wandering down the pasta aisle at my local grocery store the other day, lingering among the grains, waiting for heavenly inspiration to strike me with an amazing dinner idea. Then I peeked at the heartbreaking crop that spoiled my teenage years: couscous.

He grew up in a Mediterranean family with a mother who is an excellent cook, obsessed with nutrition and, in the name of health, often feeds you the most terrible concoctions. As fate would have it, couscous, along with fish soup and bean soup—all items outrageous for simple-minded young men, were given weekly.

Although I got a taste for all the rest, the couscous remained a challenge. However, week after week, as I sat at the table for hours, musing about my smelly plate of couscous, I had certainly internalized the fact that couscous was essential. And yes, there’s no way around it—couscous is good for you. Packed with vitamins, minerals, calcium, and other nutrients, these grains protect digestive health and protect against disease.

So today, as I gazed at my childhood enemy, I actually smelled a new challenge: buying it, extracting the nutrients from it—and finding a way to enjoy it.

Pictures of food shows, illustrations of cookbooks, and even the creations of my friend Martin who’s committed to college cooking school, popped into my head. The chef, Saveur, the wild rice – it was the latter that made me pause. Yes, I remembered that wild rice. It was Wednesday, and Martin had found another way to make me change my mind and date him: creating magic in the dorm kitchen of skinless chicken breast and wild rice. The taste was mediocre in the end – admittedly, I left it to wash the dishes. But what was most relevant to my situation now was the color of that wild rice: white with brown spots. What was that brown?

Thanks to a crunchy breakfast recipe I edited a week ago, I suddenly remembered a brown ingredient: flaxseeds. These omega-3 fatty acids, which have a myriad of disease-fighting benefits, would enhance the benefits of couscous and complement the look of the dish. So I grabbed a package and walked out of the store—after paying a few bucks, of course—as quickly as possible.

A few hours later, the familiar whiff popped up in my kitchen. But it smelled different this time. By then I got a little more creative, and added garlic and tomatoes to the pot. It only took me 15 minutes. Now without further ado, I’m going to share with you how:

ingredients

4 cups of water

1/2 cup couscous

1/2 medium sized onion, chopped

2 cloves of finely minced garlic

1 whole tomato, chopped

1 tablespoon of olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

flaxseed

directione

1. Boil the water, then add the couscous, oil, minced garlic and spices.

2. Cook for a few minutes, then add the onions and tomatoes.

3. After a few minutes, add the flaxseeds.

4. Allow to cook for no more than 7 minutes, then remove excess water and drain carefully.

Total cooking time was about 15 minutes. The flaxseeds added a crunch to the couscous, while the tomatoes contributed a sweet, rounded taste—adding even more star health points.

But in the end, I still wasn’t surprised by the taste of the couscous. Sitting at my kitchen counter, tasting the pieces again, I felt like I had lost the challenge and was now stuck with a three-day supply of terrible couscous. Something was missing.

Defeated, I wrapped up the food, and walked to my room. However, she ate in my face, and I wouldn’t let her go. I logged on to the Internet and wondered what I should type. And after aimlessly misleading paragraphs, I decided to start from the beginning, retrace my steps, and understand the essential nature of what I had made.

Slowly, an idea suddenly occurred to me: I had cooked couscous, and although the pot had other savory things in it, the flavors had merged into one mild taste. Then the solution: All the dish needs is a kick. A kick of fresh veggies, a pinch of spice, and maybe an added ingredient to a full meal. Thank God for that pimento you bought for a salad you didn’t make with couscous that steals the show that afternoon. And holy smokes, what luck I still have another whole tomato, the other half of an onion, and—the secret ingredient—a spicy jalapeno. And were those two chicken legs you spotted in the freezer?

You can guess the results, or you can look at the picture. And since both are equally good, I’ll go over my how-to, and share my success with you here:

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1 whole tomato

6 (to taste) galeno

1/2 onion

2 baked and shredded chicken legs

Two things to keep in mind: Coarsely chop the tomatoes, jalapenos, and onions to preserve their flavor. Add the chicken legs and drizzle with olive oil and a little lemon for more kicker points. Now, though, you’re so far ahead, even without the lemon, you win the challenge. Which, as it turns out, isn’t at all about winning or losing, or even Mother’s dreadful recipe.

It is about understanding the nature of what you are cooking and what you want to achieve.