Got Mint?

Warning:  This is being posted completely unedited tonight.  Read with a smile!

One of my favorite perks of summer is the abundance of fresh herbs.  I love to grow my own, but the farmer's and supermarkets are bursting with fragrant leaves as well.  On Monday I was purusing my local fruit market when huge and glorious bunches of mint caught my eye.  Of course I had no plans to make anything containing mint, but as soon as I saw it the wheels started turning.  Hmmmm..... I have couscous and fresh veggies at home, I think to myself.  I'm already buying the green onions and parsley for my chili, so why not throw the rest into a fresh herb and couscous salad!

If you're a regular reader, you already know that I keep fresh, chopped veggies in sealed containers in my veggie drawer.  My staple items are bell peppers, shredded carrot, cucumber, green onions, and grape tomatoes.  These are all so handy to toss into meals and salads.  As it happens, these all combine great with fresh herbs and couscous :-) 

When I made this salad today I was actually decided to measure a few things.  For those of you who like your measuring instruments, this one's for you!

First I measured about 3/4 c dry couscous and poured that into a little over a cup of boiling broth.  I immedietly turned off the heat, stirred in a little salt and about a tablespoon on good olive oil.  I put a lid on it and left it to sit.  (you can fluff this with a fork after about 5 minutes.) After fluffing I put it into the fridge to cool while I chopped the herbs.

To the cooled couscous I added (these are approx. measurements):
1/2 c each: shredded carrot, diced cucumber, diced red and yellow pepper, quartered grape tomatoes, finely chopped parsley, finely chopped mint. 
I also added 3 finely sliced green onions (white and green parts)
Once this was tossed together I drizzled it with about 2T olive oil and 2T lemon juice.
At this point I added salt and pepper to taste.

I served this with thinly sliced garlic toast (freshly made at home), topped with hummus (I'll post the recipe another day), sprinked with chopped parsley, drizzled with good olive oil and sprinked with salt and pepper.

The combination was fabulous!  It was a light flavorful, meal that left us satisfied and feeling good :-)  If you give this a try, I hope you enjoy it as much as we did.

Note:  Feel free to experiment the the types of veggies that you use and the measurments as well.  Remember that cooking is all about being creative and using what you've got.