A New Frontier: Summer Recipe and New Trails

I can't believe it's already Saturday evening! Our weekend is finally beginning....who am I fooling, everyday is a weekend for me!

This morning Justin headed out for work, and I headed to Lewis and Clark Caverns State Park to hit some (new to me) mountain bike trails. It's a bout a 45 minute drive out of Bozeman, and there was completely different weather! Here in Bozeman today it's chilly with wild 50 mph winds, in the park it was warm, sunny and humid. The trails were lush, fluid and had some good climbs. The park was already blooming wild flowers and was bustling with campers. I think we might be taking a family trip there tomorrow or Monday.

Views of the Jefferson River from Lewis and Clark Caverns

(source)

Tonight our dinner was a recipe from Dash Recipes.

Justin found a Dash Recipes insert (it's part of Parade Magazine) in the newspaper at work and really liked the looks of all the food in it, so obviously he challenged me to make some. For this evenings fare I went with the Hearty Italian Couscous (which is the food so nice they named it twice).

HEARTY ITALIAN COUSCOUS

Turn a favorite side dish into a main course

INGREDIENTS:

1 lb sweet Italian turkey sausages

3 Tbsp olive oil, divided **I used Grapeseed Oil

1 medium onion, chopped

1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced **I used green

2 garlic cloves, minced **I used Wildtree's Roasted Garlic Grapseed Oil

1 cup plain couscous

Juice of ½ lemon

¼ cup fresh basil, sliced into thin ribbons ** I used Cilantro

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat broiler to high. Broil sausages until cooked, about 10 minutes, turning once. Slice on diagonal, ½ inch thick.

2. Heat 1 Tbsp olive oil in a saucepan over medium-high. Add onion, pepper, and garlic; cook until soft, about 4 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Add 1¼ cups water; bring to a simmer, then stir in couscous. Cover, remove from heat, and let stand 7 minutes.

3. Fluff with a fork. Transfer with sausage to a bowl; toss with 2 Tbsp olive oil, lemon juice, and basil. Season with additional salt and pepper, if desired.