Morocco brought out a cooking-spirit in me that I couldn’t harbor inside any longer. My obsession with couscous and tangines grew with each mile that the plane put between me and Fes. I sit here in my apartment, and I can still smell the combination of donkey manure, argan oil, and animal hide.

Coincidently, I’m hungry. Here’s a way to transform your bell peppers into bowls. First, I prepared the couscous. I followed the instructions on the packet and added about one cup of chicken stock. Make sure you “fluff” the couscous. It will give you the desired texture.

I also sautéed green onions, peas, and carrots. You can also toss in a few stamens of saffron. It really adds to the color and flavor. After that, I put the couscous aside and roasted the bell peppers whole, on an open flame on top of my stove (careful, if you’re clumsy like me because it can be a bit dangerious). After I got the char marks I wanted, I carved the tops off like a Halloween pumpkin. Voila! bell pepper bowls, or stuffed peppers–as normal people call them.