Cous Cous Salad Easy Recipe"Cous Cous Salad?" you say. "I've never heard of it." That's okay; most people haven't, so read on for more info... Whenever I suggest that we have salad for dinner, Andrew always starts chanting, "You can't make friends with salad," from The Simpsons. However, once he tried this recipe, he made an exception to his rule! Cous Cous is a kind of wheat. It's a breeze to prepare, and looks a bit like cream-of-wheat cereal once cooked, just a tad bigger and darker. Add a few other goodies to it and you've got yourself a super-healthy and delicious salad. Great for bringing along to dinners or BBQ's when you're asked to "please bring the salad," or just for eating at home as a simple meal.
-10 cloves garlic, peeled and cut into 1/2s or 1/3s-6 stalks asparagus, cut into 1-inch pieces -3 Tbsp olive oil -16 grape/cherry tomatoes, cut into 1/3s -1 yellow pepper, cut into small pieces -4 Tbsp fresh basil leaves, finely chopped -3/4 cup black olives, sliced -100 grams/1cup feta cheese, chopped into small cubes -1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar -1 cup cous cous (uncooked) -2 tsp dried oregano -salt and pepper to taste 
1. Preheat oven to about 190 degrees Celsius (375 F).2. Place garlic and asparagus on baking tray and drizzle with about 1.5 Tbsp of olive oil. Bake for about 35 minutes, or until the garlic turns golden. 3. Put dry cous cous into a bowl (even a cereal bowl will do) and pour boiling water over it so it is just covered. It will absorb the water, cooking it. Set bowl aside. 
4. Chop tomatoes, yellow pepper, basil, olives, and feta cheese, and put into a salad bowl.5. Add cooked cous cous and baked garlic and asparagus pieces to the salad bowl. Mix thoroughly. Add the remaining olive oil, balsamic vinegar, oregano, salt, and pepper. Mix again gently. 6. Serve and garnish with a fresh basil leaf (if desired). Makes about 4-6 servings, depending on serving size. Tips:1. After you've poured the boiling water over the dry cous cous and it's been standing for a while, sample a small spoonful of it. If it's still a little crunchy, add a bit more boiling water and let it sit for a few more minutes. Fluff it up with a fork so it can cool down somewhat before adding it to the vegetables and cheese in the bowl.2. Feel free to add or substitute other vegetables for those above. I've also made this recipe with some spinach thrown in, which tasted great. 3. Remember that you can take a lot of liberty with ingredients in recipes. For example, this recipe calls for 16 cherry tomatoes, but if you open your fridge and discover that you've only got 12, don't toss the recipe. No one eating it will say, "hmmm, I think you're missing 4 cherry tomatoes." Just do the best you can and give'er!
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