I went there today with my dog. He likes the roof. He pretty much likes going anywhere, as long as we are leaving the apartment. He even likes going to the garbage chute. He's weird.
My dog is a social creature. He loves everybody. Not like me. I am not a social creature. Well, sometimes I am, but mostly I'm not.
Over the years my dog has developed facial expression radar. He watches people as they pass on the street, waiting for any signal to pounce. Once he sees a glimpse of a smile, a look of excitement, a high pitched voice, it's over. There's no containing him. He's now your new best friend.
It's a very endearing quality he has. It's also, at times, extremely annoying. Especially when I'm hungry, and all I want to do is stuff my face, and all my dog want to do is share stories with a stranger.
Today I brought him (my dog) to the roof, and there was a man. He was suntanning. He looked peaceful. He looked relaxed. My dog thought that the man looked like he wanted to play. My dog was wrong. He sometimes is.
The charred flavors from the grilled vegetables combined perfectly with the nuttiness of the couscous, the saltiness of the cheese, and the acidity from the tomatoes.
Couscous with Grilled Eggplant and Zucchini Recipe (serves 4)
Ingredients
2 cups of vegetable broth
1 1/3 cup of dry couscous
1 pint of cherry tomatoes
1 eggplant, sliced
2 zucchinis, sliced
1 cup of crumbled feta cheese
1/4 cup of olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
1. In a medium saucepan, bring 2 cups of broth to boil. Once the broth has boiled, remove from the heat and add the dry couscous. Stir and cover. Let sit for 5 minutes cover.
2. In the meantime, cut the eggplant into slices. Cover each slice, front and back, with a generous amount of salt. Place the eggplant slices in between 2 layers of paper towel, and place something heavy on top, like a saucepan. Let sit for 30 to 60 minutes. This process will remove the bitterness from the eggplant.
3. Then, wash the salt off of the eggplant and cover top and bottom with olive oil. Cover the zucchini with olive oil as well.
4. Grill the eggplant and zucchini for 5 minutes on each side. Once grilled, cut into small pieces and combine with the couscous.
5. Cut the cherry tomatoes in half and add to the couscous, along with the crumbled feta cheese. Drizzle with the remaining olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Serve with a dollop of sour cream.
