in the weeks directly prior to my recital, which were filled with like a gazillion hours locked in a disgustingly hot practice room {apparently when the air ducts of your practice room are connected to those of a dance room, you are 100% and royally screwed}, i sought solace during my breaks in running out the back door of the school and buying a little container of the ever-refreshing couscous salad from the gourmet garage. it was the perfect midday snackee. the coolness and the lemonness never failed to rejuvenate me for another two hours of vibraphone or twelve more clicks in famicom. ah. good, albeit sweaty, memories.

so it was recently that i stumbled upon a box of israeli couscous at the friendly neighborhood trader joe's and decided to tackle the beast on my own. i know, boiling couscous is no momofuku egg. but it is also no bike down the hill on 106th st in the park. so i figured it out and made it in one try {ok, yeah, it's actually really easy peasy}, and here it is:

ingredients

israel couscous

a rainbow selection of peppers

a cucumber

olive oil

a lemon

salt & peppa

looooove

clues

1. make the couscous. if you're like me and like a nice mushiness, add a few more cups of water than the directions tell you

2. slice and dice the veggies

3. add the veggies, the perfect amount of olive oil, the juice from the lemon, and salt & peppa to taste

4. add the love and toss that salad!

serve immediately or whenever you want. the gourmet garage version doesn't have cucumbers, but it does have dill. some people get offended by dill though, so i nixed it. it's the perfect noshy summer treat!! i recommend keeping some in the fridge at all times, in case you find yourself in the kitchen with an empty fork.

-yeh!