lemon-yogurt chicken with raisin-pecan couscous

So Mamatouille was just mindin' her own business one day when WHAM! This luscious combination hit her with full foodie force. She wrote the idea down and the dream became reality yesterday. It's another yasashii (gentle)-to-you-in-the-heat-of-summer meal - you don't need a rice cooker this time, though, just a slow cooker (oh, and a pot on the stove for about five minutes).

The sour/creamy chicken is SO delish with the sweet/crunchy couscous underneath - I hope you try it, and if you do, let me know how it works out for you!

These are all approximate amounts because I was just conjuring, so do as you like if you decide to make it in your neck of the woods.

For the chicken you'll need:

• 15 boneless chicken tenders, left whole
• healthy slosh of white wine
• a few generous splashes of lemon juice
• 1 onion, chopped
• minced garlic to taste
• 2 t. salt (this was a bit salty for me but just right for hubby)
  
• a few sprinkles of ground cumin
• a dash or two of cayenne pepper, depending on your heat tolerance

For the yogurt sauce you'll need:

• 450 g (about 2.5 cups) plain yogurt (one full Japanese carton)
  
• 2.5 T. flour
• chopped parsley
• seasoned salt
• turmeric (for that nice sunshiney color)

For the couscous you'll need:

• 1 c. couscous
• 1 1/4 c. water
  
• olive oil
• 1 chicken bouillon cube
• 1/2 c. raisins (or golden raisins or chopped dates)
  
• 1/2 c. chopped toasted pecans (you can toast them in a 350 F/180 C oven, spread out on a pan, for about 5-10 minutes, stirring them halfway through - it took mine about 7 or 8 minutes)

Do this:

Combine all the chicken ingredients in the slow cooker and cook for about 8 hours on low or about 4 hours on high (I did it the slow way and it was nice and tender). Then shred the chicken with forks, right in the slow cooker.

Whisk the yogurt and flour together in a bowl (this will keep the yogurt from separating), then add the rest of the sauce ingredients. Pour that into the slow cooker with the chicken, and allow to heat up for a few minutes. Shouldn't take long.

In a pot on the stove, boil the 1 1/4 water, crushed bouillon cube, and olive oil, then add the couscous and raisins, turn off the heat, and let sit for about 5 minutes till the water is all absorbed and the raisins are plump. Stir the pecans in with a fork.

Plate it up, enjoy all the contrasting flavors and textures, and say, "Oishii!" (Yummy!).