Lemony Israeli Cous Cous

Hope everyone is having a wonderful week!  I'm getting more interviews for several jobs, but I have my fingers crossed for the one with full time and benefits :).  I should know by Friday if I get the job, so lets hope!

The weather in Spokane has not been incredible lately, but the next few days should be in the mid-seventies and beautiful.  I've always loved pasta salads when summertime comes around, but most pasta salads you find at BBQs or picnics are loaded with mayo or oil, unfortunately.  So, I decided to try to make a yummy "pasta-like" salad to fit perfectly with the coming summer weather.

Ingredients:

• Cous Cous Salad
• 1 cup uncooked Israeli Cous Cous (whole wheat if you can find it)
• 1/4 small red onion, finely chopped
• 1 medium bunch cilantro, finely chopped
• 1 cup sliced black olives
• 1 cup sugar snap peas, ends removed and cut into 1 inch sections
• Lemon Tahini Dressing
• 3 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 2 Tbsp tahini (sesame paste)
• 2 Tbsp water
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 1/2 tsp fresh minced garlic
• 1/2 tsp black pepper

Directions:

1. In a small pot, bring 2 cups of water to a boil.  Once boiling, add the uncooked Israeli Cous Cous and simmer covered for 8-10 minutes.  Place in a strainer and run cool water over the cooked cous cous to cool for the salad.
2. Place all of the chopped vegetables and cooked and cooled cous cous into a medium sized bowl.
3. In a small bowl or cup, mix together all ingredients for the lemon dressing with a fork or whisk until smooth and creamy. 
4. Pour all, or as much as you desire of the dressing over the salad.  Mix well until all the salad is well coated.
5. Serve chilled and store in the fridge.

Amy's Notes: I didn't realize that the cous cous I used was essentially "white" cous cous, so next time I make this I will try looking for a whole wheat cous cous, and I would recommend that you do the same.  For those of you that are not as big a fan of lemon, substitute one or two of the Tbsp of lemon juice for some more water.  Warning, this leaves you with a bit stinky breath, so bring some tictacs if you bring this to a picnic.

What foods do you love that just scream "summertime" to you?