Friday

I went into work for a little bit this morning. Had a mouse greet me there - twice. I don't really care for that type of greeting; however would rather meet a mouse at work than at home. Frankly, I'd much prefer anyone else greet it than me though.

This next salad is really huge - because it's a layered salad, it's best made in an attractive bowl; it's a good one for potlucks. However it also tastes really good in a pita.

Layered Moroccan Salad Yield: 16 cups

1 ½ cups prepared chicken broth

1 ½ cups couscous (roasted garlic & olive oil)

Boil broth, add couscous and stir. Remove from heat. Let stand, covered, for about 5 minutes until liquid is absorbed. Fluff with fork. Transfer to extra-large glass bowl. Chill, uncovered, for about 30 minutes until cold. Combine the next 9 ingredients in medium bowl:

1 cup mayonnaise

1 cup plain yogurt

¼ cup each chopped fresh mint & parsley

2 Tbsp liquid honey

1 Tbsp ground cumin

1 tsp ground cinnamon

½ tsp salt

1/8 tsp pepper

Add ½ mayonnaise mixture plus 540 ml can of lentils (rinsed and drained) to couscous. Stir and layer the next 5 ingredients in the order given and top with the remaining mayo mixture.

2 cups thinly sliced carrots

2 cups sliced English cucumber (with peel)

2 cups cherry tomatoes

Scatter with ½ cup each of dried apricot, dried cranberries & seeds or nuts. Serve with lettuce if desired.

This next one is a variation on your basic marinated vegetable salad, because it uses Asian vegetables and an Asian-type marinade as well. The original recipe called for edamame however it's not recommended for people with thyroid problems, as Ruth has, so we've substituted chickpeas, which we get for free anyway.

Marinated Asian Vegetable Salad

Yield: 9 cups

2 - 3 cups chick peas or edamame, cooked

398 ml can cut baby corn, drained

350 g package of firm tofu, cut into ½ inch cubes

1 cup baby carrots, halved lengthwise

1 cup celery, sliced diagonally

1 cup diced red pepper

1 cup grape tomatoes

1 cup snow peas, trimmed & halved

Dressing

1/3 cup apple cider vinegar

¼ cup canola oil

4 tsp fish sauce

1 Tbsp finely grated ginger root

1 Tbsp sugar (or substitute)

2 tsp chili paste

Marin