Chickpeas and couscous

I was right - that recipe rocked socks. It was hearty and delicious and we had strawberries on the side. Here's the recipe for anyone inclined to try it:

Crock-Pot Chickpea Stew Over Couscous

1 lb. dried chickpeas
1 medium onion
2 tbsp. dried oregano
3 small zucchini squash
1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes (or dice your own, whichever you prefer or have time for)
1/2 tbsp. cumin
1/2 tbsp. smoked paprika
1 can vegetable broth
1 box whole wheat couscous
Crumbled feta, optional

Soak chickpeas overnight
Dice onion and place in slow cooker with chickpeas and 1 tbsp oregano - cook on high 3 hours or low 5 hours.
Drain chickpea/onion mixture and return to slow cooker.
Cube zucchini into roughly 3/4 inch pieces, dice tomatoes or use canned tomatoes, stir into slow cooker with chickpea mixture and 1 can vegetable broth. Add cumin and paprika. Cook 2 hours.
Prepare couscous in accordance with package instructions.
Add 1 tbsp oregano to stew just before serving, and salt/pepper to taste. Spoon over couscous, top with crumbled feta.

Addendum 4-15-10: It's even wonderful the next day!!! I'm glad it made so much... I'm going to be all over it for the next few days.

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So at first, I started engorging myself on this rather tasty dish, before I realized I'd forgotten the feta. The dish was wonderful on its own, but when I added the feta it just took a leap up. So great! It was a little bland before I added the cumin and paprika, the oregano faded into the background quickly. I did numerous taste trials throughout the cooking period to make sure it was coming along well, and I really had my doubts until it made it to the bowl. I thought it was going to be very dry (I might try using an extra can of broth next time) but it ended up being quite pleasantly not. It wasn't soupy, but it wasn't as dry as I thought it would be. I wolfed down my portion and headed to the couch.

On said couch, I watched ANTM Cycle 9 (see also: guilty pleasure) and Joe worked on some audio projects he is in the middle of. Have I yet mentioned how proud I am of him? Allow me to do so in the least-verbose manner I can manage. He started at Grand Valley as a History/Education major, hoping to teach high school history. In his second year, something else clicked and he thought he would like to try being on the radio. Grand Valley has a student-run radio station that anyone can volunteer for, so he did while also taking Communications 101. It wasn't long before he decided to change to the Broadcasting major. Since then, he's done numerous audio projects that are -wonderful- (and that's not just simple insouciance, he's REALLY talented!) and worked at GVSU's student-run radio and also WRHC, Harbor Country's local low-power station. This summer he got into an internship with WGVU, the public radio of greater Grand Rapids (and surrounding areas). I am EXTREMELY proud of him. He is a talented, hard-working person and I think it's really awesome that he chose the path less traveled by.