Cold Salad for Summer Picnics

When the weather starts to get nice and the grills start to fire up people's minds turn to eating outdoors. Whether it's a barbecue in your backyard or a picnic on the beach, enjoying a meal together outside with family or friends is one of life's great pleasures.

This year, I decided I needed something easy and unique to be able to throw together on a budget that would work for any cookout or picnic. The answer?

Refreshing Couscous Salad



Ingredients:
- 1 cup dry couscous (cooked to package directions)
- 1 Red Delicious, Gala, or Fuji apple (cored, diced, and tossed with 3-4 drops lemon juice)
- 1 cup chopped broccoli, steamed and cooled OR 1 cup frozen chopped broccoli, thawed (with 1 or 2 runs of the knife through it to make slightly smaller)
- 1/2 sweet or Vidalia onion, diced and caramelized
- 1/4 cup raisins
- 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

Dressing:
- 1/4 cup champagne wine vinegar
- 2 tbsp grapeseed oil OR 2 tbsp light olive oil
- 1 tbsp orange OR lemon juice
- 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp dried sage, crushed
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp dried rosemary
- Salt & Pepper

Method:
- Prepare couscous, apples, onions, and broccoli.
- Toss first four completed ingredients in large bowl with raisins. Set aside.
- In small bowl, combine all dressing ingredients and whisk for 30 seconds to combine.
- Drizzle dressing evenly over couscous mixture. Toss so that the dressing coats everything evenly.
- Add grated parmesan cheese and toss.
- Transfer to portable bowl that has a lid (such as a Tupperware or Pyrex container) and put in fridge for at least 2-3 hours to allow ingredients to blend. For best results, prepare the night before. Serve chilled.

So far I've brought this to a picnic with friends and a pot-luck cookout with our small Bible study group and haven't taken much home either time. Tomorrow I'm going to another small cookout with some close friends and I'll be bringing it then too. My litmus test is always how often Steve asks me to make something, and this is one that he has asked me to make for each event since the first time I made it.

My thought: It's got a light flavor that is definitely a great accent to a summer or spring outdoor meal. Plus, it's super easy to make - start to finish takes 30 minutes or less. Tomorrow will be the third appearance for the salad, and hopefully the weather will hold out for our cookout!

Thoughts While At the Gym

It occurred to me that my brain goes all over the place when I'm at the gym. Today I tried to remember some of the random things that passed through my head...

- Do I want to listen to my iPod or watch the Today Show? Not feeling music, Matt Lauer it is.

- I feel like Al Roker doesn't match today.

- Why can't Republicans and Democrats remember WHY they are doing what they're doing instead of fighting with each other? It's never good for a family when mom and dad just fight all the time, what makes them think it's good for the country?

- Why did I bring my phone in?

- Wow, "Atlas Shrugged". That's some pretty heavy reading for the gym.

- I wonder what the story is with those two. He started to talk to her recently, I never see them with anyone else, no wedding bands... romance at the gym?

- I wish Planet Fitness offered aerobics classes...

- Michelle Obama made the Maxim 100? OK then.

- Jim Cramer was awfully calm this morning... so different than when he's on "Mad Money".

- Oh man. Maybe they'll do the Cosby Show reunion while I'm at the gym. Better pay attention.

- Wow! Even the guy who played the grandfather is going to be on the reunion... he has a walker? Wow. Time has certainly passed...

- I love the little old ladies at the gym. They're so cute.

- Glad those people who got lost at sea scuba diving are OK. I wish I wanted to scuba dive because Steve wants to...

- Has it really been 25 years since the Cosby Show debuted? I wish I had DVR... oh well. I'll just look on Hulu later and see if the interview is posted.

- Why oh why do women get all dolled up with hair and make-up to go to the gym? I guess that's not as bad as the perfume though... makes me gag when I'm trying to work out. I can't be the only one. How do you address that with someone? It's awkward like the BO conversation...

Grampa's Faith

"Who's that blonde woman sitting next to your Aunt Shirley?"

In a room that saw anywhere from 125-175 people over the course of the day and knowing that my family is larger than I could ever put my head around, I looked at this small blonde woman in the black raincoat sitting with her legs crossed on the other side of the room. She looked sad and respectful, occasionally glancing over at Grampa.

"I have no idea... but, there's a better than 90% chance I'm related to her. I'll ask my mom, she'll probably know."

A few minutes later my mom came over to where we were sitting. "Who's that blonde woman sitting next to Aunt Shirley?"

This meant I was not related to her, but I could tell from the way that she was sitting and the way she kept looking at Grampa that she definitely played some sort of important role in his life. My mom walked over to her and introduced herself with a smile; a trait she definitely got from Grampa. I watched as the woman stood up and spoke to my mom, holding her hands as she explained her relationship to him. At the end of the conversation, my mom gave her a big hug and left the room.

I went after her, because she was crying.

"Mom, what happened? Are you OK? Who is that woman?"

"She's some sort of minister. For the last three years she has found Grampa on Sundays when he can't be at church and made sure he received Communion. She visited him in rehab, and in the hospital, and always made sure he received."

This small blonde woman with the respectful smile and the black raincoat was my Grampa's Eucharistic Minister.

I thought back to one of my early visits with him at Greenbriar (the rehab facility he most often went to in order to get his strength back). On the wall I saw that they had Mass on Tuesdays rather than Sundays. I brought this up to Grampa, and he expressed his frustration that the rehab had no way to serve Communion on Sunday. This was very important to him... and God responded by sending him someone who would serve him each week. This small blonde woman in the black raincoat was indeed a very important person to Grampa.

When I think about Grampa, I think about a lot of things. I think about french toast and baseball and puzzles and coffee and good books and a big happy smile. But... I also think about his faith. This was a man who carried his rosary with him to every hospital visit, every surgery, every recovery in the rehab. A man who shed a tear when he heard the song "Amazing Grace". A man who lived and breathed Christ's love through his love of his family and his work through the Knights of Columbus. A man who when he found out that I had come to Christ wanted to see the program from my church, and who was more excited than my other family members when he found out we were running a youth group. "That's very, very important," he told us.

I haven't cried much this week. I thought and prayed about it this week because I find it strange that I'm NOT crying.

Then I realized...

I'll miss Grampa terribly. He was a cornerstone of our family and taught us what family meant. He was an amazing person.

But he was strong in his faith in Christ. Grampa is at peace now, and has taken his place in God's Kingdom. I'll see him again, not for a long time, but I'll see him again in Heaven.

And there is an amazing comfort in that.