How to cook without groceries? Maybe?

Over the holidays, I realized that my bank account is looking sad.  So I am making it one of my new year's resolutions to make do with whatever I have sitting in my pantry, rather than running out and buying extravagant ingredients to make a single dish every time I need to eat or update this blog.  Fortunately, the roommate and I have built up a fairly impressive collection of spices, kitchen instruments, and dry goods for young 20-somethings, so that should help...

Got home from the new job today (apparently I am a "natural" at steaming milk for lattes...I call it beginner's luck) and was starving because leftover baked goods are not really a filling, tide-you-over-until-lunch type breakfast.  Rooted through the cupboard and found some of this stuff:

Last time I tried to use this as a shortcut dinner, I was really upset because it tasted TERRIBLE.  Whatever was in the "spice sack" was bland and awful and processed, so this time, I opted to throw out the spice sack and make up my own blend.

A local restaurant where I was employed for all of two weeks offers a delicious madras curry chicken dish with Israeli couscous on the side that I have been longing to try to make for myself, so you could call that my inspiration.  Unfortunately, their dish has apples, onions, sultanas, and arugula.  All I had were raisins.  And really, those don't even belong to me but the roommate was nice enough to let me use them.

I was feeling adventurous and recipe-less, so I boiled the couscous with some olive oil, tossed in some minced garlic, then put in the following blend of spices:

(That first one is cayenne.  I should also resolve to become a better photographer.)

I have NO IDEA how to season curry-flavored stuff, so I added a teaspoon of curry, a 1/2 teaspoon of cumin, about a 1/2 tsp. of cinnamon, some salt, and a pinch of cayenne pepper.  Then I tossed in some raisins.  No clue if that's the "correct" way to do it, but this is what it got me:

Believe it or not, it tasted OK.  Was it delicious?  Meh.  But it COULD have been awesome with some sliced apples, red onions, arugula or spinach, and maybe a touch more cinnamon.  Mostly I was impressed that the spice blend wasn't totally off...  I crumbled up some candied/spiced pecans (I would have preferred toasted almonds, but again, I was going for free) that I made for Christmas on top, and voila.  A lunch that was tastier than cereal!

I need to figure out a way to add protein to my meals since I don't each much meat at all, beans are hard to sneak into stuff, I hate chickpeas and am not crazy about quinoa, and I can't eat eggs very often, BUT I figure I'm off to a good start for creating meals on the cheap.

In the meantime, I have a bunch of spices in my cupboard that I need to learn how to use.  Coriander?  What does one put that in???

And now I really do need to run to the grocery store....