Whole wheat couscous with apricots and pistachios

**This is not a gluten-free recipe and was posted before I eliminated gluten from my diet. Quinoa or millet could be substituted for the couscous for a gluten-free option.**

The downside of using whole grains is that most of them take a long time to cook (particularly wheat berries, hulled barley, brown rice, and steel-cut oats). However, some of them cook fairly quickly because they are small (like millet and quinoa), and others take a very brief time because they have been pre-steamed. The whole wheat couscous available in the U.S. generally falls in this last category (along with bulgur). I rarely eat couscous because, while it is made from wheat, it doesn't have the same nutty flavor that I love about bulgur and wheat berries. However, it has a really interesting texture that is somewhat similar to quinoa or millet, and sometimes it's fun to mix things up and eat something new. Plus, you can provide a nutty flavor by simply adding nuts (I know, I'm a genius ;)).

Whole wheat couscous with apricots and pistachios (adapted from Mark Bittman's "How to Cook Everything")

1 cup veggie broth

1 Tbsp olive oil

pinch of salt

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp cardamom

1 cup whole wheat couscous

6 dried apricots, diced

1/4 cup roasted pistachios

Bring broth, oil, salt, cinnamon, and cardamom to a boil in a small saucepan. Stir in couscous, remove pan from heat, cover, and let sit for 5 min. Then fluff the couscous with a fork and stir in apricots and pistachios. Serves 4.

This was good hot, but great cold. Or perhaps letting the flavors gel together overnight made it better, but after taking a bite of the leftovers straight out of the refrigerator, I never bothered to heat it up. It's simple, but was a good way for me to mix up my grain repertoire on a night when I didn't have much time to spend cooking.