Long may logic reign!

I want you to join in my celebration of the fact that my son did something logical. This is youngest son, who for years, refused to eat pasta, unless it was Mac 'n' cheese. No logic in that. However, over the past year, he seems to have come around to the joy of pasta and now readily sits down over a steaming plate of penne and chows down,. This is a relief, if for no other reason than because it seemed to be the only thing that sustained his older brother during the massive and continued growth spurt he experienced in the early teen years. Without pasta, the poor lad would have starved. However, youngest son was clearly not ready to wholly embrace logic, as he still refused to touch couscous, despite being confronted with the proof on the packet that it really is only pasta, just in tiny bits. Neither was it the tininess of the bits that was the problem, as he will happily chow down on other similar textural delights, such as bulgur wheat and quinoa. Sometimes it really does feel like dinner time is just an opportunity to mess with Mum's last remaining threads of sanity. There aren't that many left, people. Play nice with those!

Anyway, I think we have finally turned a corner, as a cous cous recipe was eagerly consumed by not one, not two, but all three children just last night. Some people wait their entire lives to achieve olympic gold to prove their worth. I think I may have just peaked last night. The rest could all be downhill. Nevertheless for now, I will just wallow in my relative success :-) And may you get the same result (not the downhill bit, the success bit!)

Lime Cous Cous with Summer Veggies
Adapted from Family Choice
Serves 4 as a main dish

10 oz wholewheat cous cous
1lb carrots, peeled and cut into 3/4" chunks
2 TBSP olive oil
1 zucchini, cut into 3/4" chunks
1 yellow summer squash, cut into 3/4" chunks
6 green onions, sliced into 1/2" slices
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
zest of one lime
1/2 cup fresh lime juice
1/4 cup olive oil
1 TBSP honey
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
3/4 cup chopped walnuts
3 oz shaved parmesan cheese

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
2.  Mix carrots, zucchini, squash, green onions and all but 2 TBSP of parsley on a large, rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle over 2 TBSP olive oil, and toss to coat. Place in preheated oven, and roast for 40 minutes, until vegetables are tinged brown at the edges.
3. Meanwhile, prepare cous cous, but putting into a pan with 1 2/3 cups cold water. Bring to the boil, turn heat off, put lid on and leave to rest for 5 minutes.
4. Toast walnuts in a dry skillet until tinged brown and fragrant (don't leave them unattended, as they burn really quickly).
5. Mix vegetables with cous cous in a large bowl and leave to cool slightly.
6. While they cool, make the dressing by whisking together lime zest and juice, 1/4 cup olive oil, honey, salt and pepper. Taste, and if a sweeter dressing is required, then add a little more honey.
7. Toss dressing with cous cous mixture, which should have cooled to warm/room temp. Sprinkle toasted walnuts, remaining parsley and parmesan shavings over the top to serve.