Eat In. The Gladys Special.

Anytime someone visits our small apartment on Gladys Avenue in Long Beach, my roommate and I always make the exact same dish for our guest. It's a form of casserole, using a grain, ususally Israeli couscous, vegetables, and faux meat and it's amazingly tasty and inexpensive, and, if you're smart about it, you will have food for lunch the next day. This dish was almost all I ate for the first few months of this year.

You begin by warming garlic with a small drizzle of olive oil in a skillet on medium heat.

Add a whole veggie sausage, and gradually add vegetables according to how fast they cook. For instance, onions and bell peppers first. Zucchini and tomatoes last. Basically any vegetable would go quite well in this dish (artichoke hearts and asparagus are very tasty in this dish). And, of course, chop all the vegetables to be similar in size and shape.

Season with pepper, salt, balsamic vinegar, and lemon to taste.

Leave a lid to a large pot over the skillet to steam the vegetables and ensure they are cooked all the way through. Break apart the sausage into smaller pieces, so each bite of the mix has some

During this time, begin heating a tea kettle of water.

Add couscous, rice or other type of starch or grain totally dry. I like a blend sold at Trader Joe's of Israeli couscous, orzo, and some type of garbanzo, but the garbanzo's never quite cook all the way and are a bit crunchy. Still the blend is delicious.

Brown the grain a bit in the juices of the vegetables and faux meat, then add the hot water to the skillet. Reduce heat and allow water to be absorbed. You can use broth or concentrated broth packets to add flavor.

After all the water has been absorbed or steamed off, the food should be ready to serve.

Enjoy!

-- Lauren Williams