Pasta and couscous with salmon, grilled and raw veggies

Summer is here, which means time to start putting my favorite salads into the weekly rotation. If you don't know, I heart heart HEART salads.

Tonight I'm serving my family a pasta/couscous based salad with raw and grilled vegetables and baked salmon. You can grill your salmon if you prefer. Oh, and don't forget the cheese!

Instructions: 

Cook and chill: 

Tri colored pasta

Couscous

Salmon (My family doesn't prefer salmon as the focal point in this salad, but rather as an accent. YMMV.)

Raw vegetables:

Basil

Grape tomatoes

Beet greens

Red, orange and yellow sweet peppers

Thawed corn
Radish

Baby radish tops

Cilantro

Grilled vegetables:

Carrot

Asparagus

Zucchini

Garnish with:  

Grated Parmesan

Feta

Dress with: 

Newman's Own Italian Dressing, or your favorite Italian dressing 

Enjoy!

Couscous and Red Quinoa Garden Salad

Quinoa and couscous make delicious bases for salads of all sorts. When it's garden season, I throw whatever is ready for harvest into chilled quinoa and couscous and mix it all together. I dress it lightly with balsamic and olive oil or the delicious vegan French dressing referenced here in this blog. So delightful!

Ingredients:

1 cup cooked quinoa, chilled
1 cup cooked couscous, chilled
**or 1/2 cup each quinoa and couscous depending on side of salad**

Fruit:
strawberries, mango, peaches

Fresh, raw veggies:
kale
red onion
salad greens
tomatoes
yellow, orange or red sweet bell pepper
cilantro
basil, ripped

Trimmings:
blanched almonds, or
Marcona almonds
raw sunflower seeds
raw pepitas
feta cheese, or
goat cheese

optional: black beans

Enjoy!

Raw Banana Brownie Ice Cream

2 - 4 frozen bananas, in pieces
4 - 6 raw brownie bites
1/4 cup water to start
optional: cayenne