I experienced a whopping great fright (tinged with consternation) at my doctor’s clinic yesterday.
True story.
Scene: Doctor’s clinic
Time: 10:00am
Hannah pushes open the door to her doctor’s waiting room and approaches the front desk.
Hannah: Hiya, I’m here for my appointment with Dr. Awesome Pants Of Gives Me Faith at 10:15?
Receptionist: Sure thing. You’re a little bit early for Dr. Awesome Pants Of Gives You Faith, so take a seat.
Hannah smiles at the receptionist and walks towards the seating area, reaching absentmindedly into her bag for The Boat by Nam Le, her current reading material of choice. Suddenly, a deep male voice calls out from a chair to her left.
Unknown Older Man: You can come and sit on my lap if you’d like, young lady.
He pats his lap enthusiastically.
All five women in the room (that would be Hannah, two patients, and two receptionists), jump in shock.
Hannah looks over at the man and takes in the situation. She collects herself, breathes deeply, and then strides over to him, preparing a strong retort that will restore the situation to normal.
She leans over the man, ready to give him a piece of her mind.
Hannah: Hi Grandpa! Fancy seeing you here!
And then she kisses him on the cheek, sits down on a chair, and tells him about the birthday dinner she’s cooking that night for her dad. The grandpa then gives the lady some lovely, lovely, much-needed-and-appreciated words of support in regards to a certain life decision she’s recently made, and all is well with the world.
The End.
And now, the food! My dad’s birthday was over a month ago (you can read about his birthday dinner at Ottoman Cuisine here), and my present to him was the promise to cook a father-daughter dinner on a night when my mother was out. We bided our time, and then… BOOM. Mum went to yoga, I popped over with a swag of ingredients to which my mum is allergic, and then I cooked. Oh, how I cooked.
For those of you so inclined, I must admit that the main dish wasn’t vegan. You see, I’d promised my dad that I wouldn’t serve him tofu. However, the dessert was vegan, so be sure to check back here in future for that particular chocolate-y delight.
Now, though, I’m going to show you some Tunisian-Style Beef. (Please don’t ask me what makes this dish “Tunisian”. If you’d like, I’ll promise to report back if/when I ever make it to Tunisia myself.)
Tunisian-Style Beef
Adapted from The Australian Women’s Weekly “From The Shelf” Mini Cookbook
Serves 2*
- 1 clove garlic, crushed
- 2 tsp grated fresh ginger
- 2 tb (40ml) fresh orange juice
- 3 tsp (15ml) white wine vinegar
- 1 1/2 tsp ground coriander
- 1/2 tsp ground allspice
- 3/4 cup (75g) wholemeal couscous
- 3/4 cup boiling water
- 2 tsp butter
- 1 tb olive oil
- 1 small red onion, finely chopped
- 250g beef mince
- 1 medium zucchini, finely diced
- 2 medium tomatoes (250g), finely chopped
- 1/4 cup fresh mint, finely chopped
- 2 tb fresh parsley, finely chopped
- 2 tb lemon juice
1. Mix together the garlic, ginger, orange juice, vinegar, and spices, and set aside.
2. Combine the couscous, boiling water, and butter in a medium heatproof bowl and cover with clingwrap. Set aside for 5 minutes or until water is absorbed, and then fluff with a fork.
3. Heat the oil in a large wok or frying pan, and stir-fry beef and onion until beef is browned. Add zucchini and orange juice mixture, stir-frying until zucchini has softened a little.
4. Add tomatoes and heat through, stirring. Last but not least (cliche alert!), throw in the couscous, herbs, and lemon juice, then season with salt. Stir to mix and heat through,. Serve, preferably to a father who is all kinds of magnificent.
* You might want to increase the amounts a little bit. After eating this and the dessert (to be blogged), I found myself toasting a cinnamon-raisin bagel and topping it with peanut butter and Ghirardelli chocolate chips before the night was out. And then there was more chocolate. And some oatmeal. And more chocolate. But shhhh…
ahahahaha you crack me up
Glad to be of service!
ROFL! I held me breath when your grandpa said that and Mr NQN asked “What’s wrong?”
Oh my gosh, really? Hahaha! Were you prepared to jump in and defend my honour?
You bet I was!
Well answered, my dear friend. Well answered.
I think that’s as close to Tunisia as I want to get at the moment. But it was close enough to absorb some of the flavours! And I think we need more details of the chocolate!
You’re the only one here who already has the details of the chocolate, dear father! And I’m glad you liked this
haha your stories are awesome
Thank you my dear! P.S. We need to catch up soon!
ahhahahahahaha *choke gasp gaggg*!! You’re sooooo funny Hannah! My eyes were like 0_0 as I was reading the suspenseful part
You’re a great writer you know that? That dish looks awesome! So hannah…what makes this dish Tunisian? oops!
Oh Ellie, thank you! That really means so much to me
Um… I’m going to say that it’s the coriander and mint that makes it Tunisian?!
I, too, was holding my breath when I read about the little scene at the doctor. I think I would have been nasty though and told the dude to eff off =/
I must admit that seeing “beef” on your blog did surprise me a little, then I saw that there was none in the dish, heh. I must say that it does look like it works really well with couscous though, probably more so than beef!
Libby, I think you wouldn’t have if it you’d realised the voice belonged to your own grandfather like I did
*laughs* I just like to keep you on your toes! Raw vegan raw vegan raw vegan BEEF raw vegan….
Oh, and look again, there’s definitely beef in this!
Just had a look.
Oops.
My bad
I completely understand you not realising there was beef involved. For, as you say, beef is not a regular participant in my blog
HAHA. I love the waiting room story. Funny things happen in waiting rooms all the time.
Oh gosh, I bet you have so many stories about waiting rooms!
I just hope it is only his granddaughter he makes such offers to!
I’m sure it is … I know the man pretty well!
Don’t worry, Grandma. I talked to the receptionist and she promised that
a) Grandpa doesn’t usually proposition young ladies, and
b) she’ll give me a call if he does, so I can let you know.
(I’m really not joking. We discussed this.
)
I would have thought you would be used to lap offers by now Hannah?
Oh god that sounds wrong, which is not surprising as I meant it to sound wrong, but the amount of wrongness is still a little alarming. I will not retract it though.
If you retracted it, you wouldn’t be the Conor I know and love.
Personally, I love the balance you’ve hit between complimenting me and somehow making me sound like a hooker. Bravo indeed! 
Haha! Cute story about your grandfather. I was a bit concerned at first, but I’m glad it was him and not some creeper!
Me too, Rach. Me too.
Oh, Hannah, you know just how to get us all wound up, don’t you?
I suppose the flavorings in the beef are vaguely North African, but most of all it’s the couscous, I reckon.
Teehee! Clearly I should be writing psychological thrillers for the big screen
Ah, you’re right, the couscous! It’s always about the couscous…
LOL. That meal does look delicious and fresh!
Thanks Susan!
ha, funny story!…and delicious meal!
Thanks!
What a sweet gift for your dad. This sounds very tasty, indeed. I have all of the ingredients except zucchini. Maybe I can try it with something else…beets, sweet potato? Leeks, perhaps? Not exactly Tunisia-esque, though…
Funnily enough, the zucchini was my addition, so if you leave it out then you’ll be closer to the actual recipe! (I’m physically incapable of making a dinner that doesn’t involve a green vegetable.) I say throw in whatever you like the taste of, or just increase the amount of tomato
I so look forward to both the lead in and the recipes in your posts. This was especially good…I was just waiting for the SLAP, the scream…..ahhhhh..Grandpa! Smile!
Michelle, thank you so much! Really really
P.S. I’m relieved I didn’t have to slap anyone in the end!
This story is so cute! But a life decision? Oooo, tell???? I’ve got one too and it is bloody freaking me out. Wish I had a grandpa to support me. Actually, I just wish I had grandparents
If you were still hungry why didn’t you just have more dessert? I mean, I know the dessert stomach is never full but you can always try…
Vaala, never you fear – the bagel and oatmeal involved chocolate, and there was more chocolate on its own, so there was definitely more dessert
(The actual dessert recipe only made a tiny amount, though.)
Lady, you know you can email me about life decisions, right? I can be just as good as a grandpa
Hehehehe.
I think the spices are typicial for Tunesia: parsley, mint, coriander, lemon. Couscous and tomatoes as well. Looks yum! 
I defer to your superior knowledge on the matter!
Gahh!! How can something so shuddering turn into something so heart-warming all at once? Haha! You got me…
I miss my grandpa now…I’ve never sat on his lap before, because he was estranged for us for a little while after my dad became a Christian missionary.
Booyah! I’m so glad, because I really wasn’t sure whether I was going to be able to tell the story well enough to get the experience across
Oh, I’m sorry to hear about your past distance from your grandpa! I say you should give him a call now to say hi
I don’t eat beef, but this dish looks gorgeous, with all of those ingredients – it sounds very flavorful – a great one-dish meal too.
Funnily enough, I think it had probably been over a year since I’d last had beef when I made this! It’s not something on my regular rotation – you could definitely try this with another protein, perhaps even crumbled tempeh?
what a nice present – I am looking forward to the dessert and of course to your research trip to tunisia
Oh Johanna, don’t tempt me! All I want to do right now is jump on a plane overseas…
hilarious! thanks for the little story. made my day a little easier to get by
Oh Penny, I’m so glad!!
Hah! Your story had me utterly fooled!
Woot! I’m proud as punch right now
Hahahaha your story at the beginning was so cute, and then popping over when mom went to yoga to cook stuff she’s allergic to, priceless!
Darn, I was hoping to learn a bit more about what Tunisian food was. Oh well, the recipe looks tasty.
Now that is an odd story girl. You sure know how to spin a tale!
I might be spinning, but it’s the truth, scout’s honour!
Oops, I’m sorry for misleading you… I’ll try to do more research next time 
You are too funny Hannah, but I must admit you have a knack of holding the reader with your style of writing.
Can’t wait for the vegan dessert.
Thank you Priyanka! And never you fear, I’ll post it soon!
Oh you are hilarious. And I love the idea of cooking for your dad as a present. I really should try and be a better daughter….(looks off wistfully into the distance to contemplate how she can do that)
I’m sure you’re a fabulous daughter, Tori! But baking always helps earn you brownie points. Particularly if you bake brownies. Yep.
Thank goodness you forewarned me, otherwise I definitely would’ve fallen over in shock!
I’ve got your back, BFF.
That’s all I can ask for!
hahaha how funny
can always count of you for a giggle (I know I always say this but it is TRUE!). I hope you’re feeling good about your big life decision! We seem to make so many during these years. Oh, and the beef? Beautiful! Such delicious ingredients in this recipe.
Heidi xo
Heidi, I can say with certainty that whenever you say such lovely things, it motivates me to keep blogging
And thank you for your words of support; I am feeling good about it.
I love the sound of this, it’s on my list to cook. And I love your doctor story, made me smile
I’m so glad! As for the doctor story, I smiled too… after I freaked out
Geez Hannah, I was thinking your awfully game standing up & approaching ‘old man’…., good thing he turned out to be your grandaddy
Your dads birthday dinner looked a treat too
Thanks Anna! I’m always super brave when it comes to hugging my relatives hello
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