Vegetable personalities

I had a great yoga class today. I had low expectations, because my knee is scraped up and I expected it to be tender. But I put two overlapping Band-Aids on it, took 2 Tylenol before class, and honestly forgot about it (after the first hands-and-knees pose). This is the intermediate/advanced class, it takes me to the limits of my abilities and I love it. The teacher was talking about ecstasy (not the drug) and how Patanjali (a sage) said that it's the good experiences that cause suffering. I buy that completely. I am cursed/blessed with an excellent memory and sometimes I look back on good times and get wistful. But yoga takes me out of that into some different place altogether and it really was kind of like a rave (not that I've ever been to one). Anyway. I paid attention to the teacher's sequencing, which was all over the place and not like Desikachar's (this book that we're reading). This teacher did: standing poses, pigeon, one forward bend, inversion, arm balances, backbends, forward bends, shoulderstand, then savasana.

Here's what we had for din-din:

Baked Couscous with Spinach and Pine Nuts (thanks, Jeanne Lemlin)

1 c couscous
1 1/2 c boiling water
1/2 t salt
1/4 c olive oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 large onion, diced
1 28-oz can tomatoes, chopped and drained (reserve 1/3 c juice)
1 t dried basil
1/3 c pine nuts
5 c loosely packed fresh spinach, stems removed and leaves torn into small pieces
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 c grated Muenster cheese

1. Combine the couscous, boiling water and salt in a large bowl. Cover with a plate. Let sit 5 min, then fluff with a fork.
2. Preheat the oven to 375 F. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Saute the garlic and onion 10 min, or until tender. Add the drained tomatoes and cook 10 min more, stirring frequently.
3. Stir the tomato mixture into the couscous and mix in the reserved tomato juice, basil, pine nuts, raw spinach and pepper.
4. Spread half the couscous mixture in a shallow 2 1/2 quart baking dish. (I use a 9 X 12.) Sprinkle on the cheese, then top with the remaining couscous. Cover the dish with foil and bake 25 min, or until hot and bubbly.

The only problem with this recipe is it takes much longer than one would think. I see the 25 minutes and think, oh, it's quick and easy. But you have the chopping and 20 minutes of sauteeing first. So allow lots of time!