Doing Some Grilling...with a Couscous salad on the side

I love when the weather starts to change and you can just tell that summer is just around the corner.  We've had some pretty summer-days in recent weeks, but this past week was a chilly one.  Enjoying the weather is at a premium after rainy, foggy mornings have been the recent status quo.  So, this morning I headed out on my long run - almost 13 miles - and even though it was a damp morning, the temps were perfect and I started to think about doing some grilling for supper.  When I made it home, I asked the hubby if he was up to bbq chicken and baked sweet potatoes, which I knew would be a yes but then I mentioned cooking up come couscous salad.  He wasn't nearly as enthusiastic about that.  Although he's pretty up for trying my new creations, my last attempt at couscous was a boxed mix about three years ago and it wasn't a success to put it nicely.  So, I've shelved the couscous discussion but couldn't resist buying some from the bulk foods room of our little natural foods store.  I promised he didn't have to eat it if he hated it and did some searching for a recipe, and came across this one.  Perfect!  Just a few tweaks to fit my family like taking out the garbanzo beans because hubby and beans don't get along and taking out the onion since I didn't have any on hand and then adding in some garlic powder and a bit of salt.

I made it about 2 hours before dinner, enough time to head out and do some gardening.  I love that my little garden is coming along so well.  Today I took a brave step and planted rows of organic sweet corn on the bottom of our hillside.  It's an experiment that I'm hoping does well and pays off but if not, it wasn't that hard.  So now my garden includes peas, broccoli, spinach, chard, three kinds of tomatoes, strawberries, carrots, green onions and green beans.  I will try to get some cucumber and squash seeds in the ground before too long but am just not sure of where they're going.  But I'm getting sidetracked....back to the couscous salad!

Here's what awaited us at dinner...

It was perfect and light but filling at the same time.  Hubby thought it was good, but bland so he added some hot sauce.  I don't understand but I don't really try to either.  We don't share palates, that's for sure.  And, just to be sure you're really craving some grill time...



I know, the picture's not my best, but the chicken looked so perfect that I just wanted to share it!

Here's my adapted Couscous Salad Recipe:

1 cup of uncooked couscous cooked according to directions and fluffed

1/2 cup or so of chopped cucumbers

1 chopped tomato

sprinkle of sea salt across salad

1/2 tsp of garlic powder

3-4 sprigs of mint finely chopped

2 T of lemon infused grapeseed oil....this was my answer to the lemon and olive oil combo in the recipe.  You might not have this on hand, I just happened to.

Mix together and let sit for two hours in refrigerator before serving.  I think it could have used an extra hour really, to be well chilled.

Hope you enjoy it!

Sheri