Shabbat Cooking: Moroccan Spiced Couscous Salad

A lot of potluck Shabbat meals happen 'round these parts and while I enjoy them, coming up with something healthy and creative to make does not come easy. I was asked to make a side dish for dinner this Friday night. something that I myself could eat, considering that the remaining guests are omni eaters. I finally settled on some sort of grain salad. The options were either barley or couscous and seeing as couscous cooks faster, whole wheat couscous it was going to be. That was the easier part. Finding a recipe that worked with what I had around and that was appealing was the real challenge. What can I say? I'm picky. When I exhausted Pinterest and the rest of the internet, I turned to my book shelf. One of the first books I picked up was.. you guessed it, Thug Kitchen. Almost immediately I saw the recipe for the Moroccan Spiced Couscous. Although I gave the book a lukewarm review, I decided to give it a go knowing that I'd doctor it to bulk it up anyway.