A Taste of Something New: Clove and Cumin

Thyme, oregano, and paprika are delicious, but with reliable deliciousness comes boredom. Boredom you might relieve ordering take out from the fantastic Thai place down the street. But if you’re on a graduate student budget, you might want to try transforming the everyday foodstuffs in your fridge into new meals. You can do this by experimenting with oddball spices like clove and cumin. Below are two tasty experiments to test on your own. Happy cooking!

Hot-Cha Cha Chicken with Couscous
Tastes Like: Indian/Moroccan
What You’ll Need: Medium to large sized pot for the chicken, small pot for the couscous. Both should have lids.

Ingredients
5 skinless boneless chicken thighs
1 teaspoon ground clove
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 tablespoon black pepper
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)
1 and ½ tablespoons basil
1 lemon, juiced with no seeds
3 cloves garlic, crushed
½ large red onion, diced
1 and ½ cups frozen peas
1 large tomato, diced
3 carrots, sliced
Olive oil (or vegetable)
Salt to taste
2 cups whole wheat couscous (Trader Joe’s brand is good)

1. Rinse chicken and cut into bite-sized pieces. Place pieces in the medium pot. Add in lemon juice, clove, cumin, black pepper, cayenne pepper, basil, garlic and three tablespoons of olive oil. Mix.
2. Place chicken on the stove at medium-high heat. Stir occasionally until medium brown.
3. Add the diced tomatoes and onions, sliced carrots and peas to the cooking chicken. Stir occasionally on high for about 10 minutes, or until the tomatoes begin to break apart. Reduce heat to medium low and simmer. Salt to taste.
4. In the small pot, add two cups of water, 1 tablespoon of olive oil, and a teaspoon of salt. Bring water to a boil. Remove water from heat and stir in two cups of couscous. Cover pot with lid and let steam for 5 to 6 minutes. Serve chicken over couscous.

Un-Re-fried Black Beans
Tastes Like: Refried beans without the “fried” health hazard
What You’ll Need: medium saucepan
Helpful Tool: Food processor for the chopped items. However, a knife will suffice

Ingredients

1 (15.5 oz) can of black beans, half drained
½ large tomato, finely diced
¼ red onion, finely diced
½ green pepper, finely diced
1 clove garlic, finely crushed
¼ teaspoon ground clove
1 teaspoon black or cayenne pepper

½ teaspoon ground cumin
                                                         1 tablespoon olive oil

1. Add olive oil to the saucepan. Turn heat to medium.
2. Once the oil is hot, add the crushed garlic. Stir until slightly transparent, and then add the onions and green peppers. Sautee for 10 minutes then add the tomatoes, cumin, clove, and pepper. Cook on medium high until tomatoes begin to break apart.
3. Stir the beans into the cooking mixture. Turn heat down to medium. Stir and mash beans until achieving a semi-pasty consistency.
4. Simmer on low for 10 minutes while stirring occasionally. You can cool and eat these beans with chips as a dip, or hot over rice or couscous.

Photo Credits: 
"Chicken-Vegetable Soup." Tobbyotter. Flicker
"Salud Bean Dip." Scardey_kat. Flicker