When's Spring?

I'm ready for it now!

It was cold and rainy/snowy yesterday.  Now the skies are beautiful and blue, but more mixed weather is on the way.  I'm getting restless for the bounty of the spring and summer.  I want to wear a skirt.  I want to leave the house without a coat.  But most of all, I want light fresh flavors.

Never fear, my friends.  You can get light fresh flavors in the dead of winter, and you don't even have to bend the local rule too much if you're willing to read lots of labels.

This is a light couscous salad.  The first time I had this was with my dear friend AC when I was visiting her back in college.  It's a simple dish, but the flavors are light and fresh, which tastes really good after a whole lot of winter root veggies.

Chop up some veggies.

I like red onion, cherry tomatoes (grown in a greenhouse in Conneticut!) and not so local yellow bell pepper (nobody's perfect, but Mexico is closer than Isreal, so it could be worse).

Dress your veggies up with the juice of one lemon:

Good extra virgin olive oil:

And season with salt and pepper to taste, of course.

I added a can of chickpeas, drained, to bulk this up into a meal.  It would also be a great side to grilled chicken or fish.

Make a cup of couscous according to the package instructions.  I like to use whole wheat couscous because you really can't taste the difference.

When the couscous is done, I throw it in the freezer to quickly chill it.  You can eat this salad warm if you like but I like it cool.

Mix the veggies with the cooled couscous, top with chopped fresh parsley, and enjoy.

A taste of spring in the dead of winter?

Absolutely.

Playing,
Meredith