Israeli Couscous Salad with Smoked Paprika Dressing

I was watching the Food Network a couple weeks ago (sitting down with a bagel from the local place, a cup of coffee, and Food Network/HGTV has become a weekend morning tradition) when I saw Giada de Laurentiis prepare this recipe: Israeli couscous salad with smoked paprika dressing.
I've never been a particular Giada fan--we have disparate opinions on eating meat and frying things, among other points of culinary contention--but this recipe I absolutely had to make. I love Mediterranean salads in general, and this one made use of two of my favorite ingredients: smoked paprika and Israeli couscous, also known as ptitim.

For the most part, I made the salad as written--but I couldn't help making a few little changes:

• more spinach (and as you can see, the salad still isn't all that green)
• fewer cherry tomatoes (just not crazy about them)
• half as much cheese (it's a salad, after all)
• a can of rinsed and drained garbanzo beans (for extra protein and tastiness)
• whole wheat couscous rather than white (since I had some on hand, and since I prefer the flavor)

The finished product was wonderful, savory and smoky and sweet. I think the salad could use a little kick to balance out the two types of sweet pepper (roasted and paprika), so next time I'll add a pinch of cayenne, or maybe some Aleppo pepper, but there will definitely be a next time.

All Week Pasta Salad

Younger daughter here with my first post! I haven't been carrying my weight in the salad-making department, but today I made an extremely weighty salad, hoping to make up for some lost time: this veggie-laden pasta salad, so big I had to stir it in my largest pot because it didn't fit in any mixing bowls. (The photo here shows the salad after a few portions were put in lunch containers.)

The weather here on the east coast is hot and muggy, making it perfect salad weather, so I figured I'd make an enormous salad for my roommate and me (and a few friends) to eat for dinner tonight--and to eat for lunch all week. It's just a pound of pasta and whatever veggies caught my eye, and I plan to add things throughout the week to change it up: soy chicken or tofu, more beans, other veggies. It can also work with any dressing, though I've made a big bottle of Rolf's Mother's Chinese Dressing to use, now that my mom's post reminded me how much I like it!

Here's a list of what's in this iteration of the salad, though it's good with whatever vegetables are fresh and on hand:

• a pound of whole wheat elbow macaroni
• a pound of fresh broccoli, cut into small florets and tossed in with the pasta when it was almost done cooking
• ten ounces of frozen peas, tossed in with the pasta and broccoli
• a bag of carrots, peeled and shredded
• two large zucchini, shredded
• two cans of kidney beans, rinsed and drained
• a bunch of radishes, sliced thin
• eight ribs of celery, chopped