Homemade Tabbouleh yum yum yum

Here's a pic of the super delicious tabbouleh salad I made for dinner.

Have you ever made bulgar? It's so easy and good. You don't even have to cook it! You just soak one cup of bulgar in one cup of water for 30 minutes.

Then I added...
3 cups chopped fresh parsley
1/4 plus cup chopped fresh mint
One green bell peper finely chopped
On medium cucumber peeled and chopped
Some chopped tomatoes
Three chopped green onions
Juice of two lemons
Some cumin
Salt & pepper to taste

Seriously, you should try making it. I'm thinking that the next time I make it I'm going to make some sweet potato falafel with wheat naan. Mmmm.

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Cheesy grits

So good with biscuits and eggs of various sorts. Got this from the vegetarian's bible...How to Cook Everything Vegetarian book (by Mark Bittman):

Heat two cups water and a half cup of milk until it's about to boil, then slowly add 1c. of corn meal while whisking. Heat on low and simmer and whisk frequently until thick, about 10 minutes.

Add 1T butter, salt/pepper to taste, and a small hunk of cheddar (maybe 3 slices worth), mix until all is melted. Pour the mixture into a buttered 8x8 baking dish. Top with about a cup of shredded cheese (we used a mix of parmisan and asiago) and throw it under the broiler until the cheese melts and browns slightly. Serve in squares with breakfast!

Mushroom and Peas in a cardamom cream sauce

I admit, the picture doesn't look like much. But if you like cardamom you'll really enjoy this.

It's a bit of a take on a recipe that Julie Bares (yes, that Julie Bares from the old 'hood) sent me.

Here's what I did...
*make some sort of wild rice (I use wild pecan something, it's awesome... And also the only rice I seem to not screw up)

While the rice is cooking...
* Saute one pint of mushrooms (and some chopped onions if you like) in a Tablespoon of butter
* Saute one pint of fresh peas in about a cup or so of organic broth of some kind (veggie or chicken would probably work best). It takes a while for the peas to soften if they're fresh, but once they're al dente...
*Add the mushrooms (and onions) to the pea mixture along with about a half cup of light organic cream, some salt and pepper, and 2 teaspoons of ground cardamom.
*let it simmer for maybe five minutes then sprinkle the top with white flour (to thicken). let simmer again for a couple of minutes (repeat if you like it thicker, but know that it will thicken on it's own a bit when you let it sit for a few minute)
*turn off the heat and let mixture sit for 2 minutes
*serve large scoop of wild rice with 2 scoops of veggies in cardamom sauce.

Eat.

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Baked sweet potato falafel

Make this recipe http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/baked-sweet-potato-falafel-recipe.html

Stuff a tasty pita with lettuce, feta, hummus, avo, and two sweet potato falafels. Insane good.
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Pozole Salad

Here's what I was able to get at the grocery store... 2 cans hominy, some carrots, a head of iceberg lettuce, 2 lemons (juiced) and some feta cheese. Threw in some spices, a little tajin, and voila Pozole salad. It was actually really good.
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Butternut Squash Soup with Sizzled Sage

1/4 c olive oil

2 or 3 small butternut squash (abt 3 lbs)

6 unpeeled garlic cloves

2 large spanish onions, peeled and quartered

1/4 c water

3 c apple juice or veggie stock

1/2 tsp dried thyme

1/4 tsp ground or freshly grated nutmeg

1 tsp salt, or more to taste

ground black pepper to taste

2 tsp butter

20 fresh sage leaves, sliced on the diagonal

brush the bottom of large baking pan w/ 2 T oil

cut squash through stem ends into halves, prick skin in several places with knife, and scoop out seeds

brush cut surfaces with 1 T oil, nest garlic inside where seeds were, and place squash halves in the oiled pan with the cut side down

add the onions to the pan and brush with remaining olive oil

pour the water into the bottom of the pan, cover with aluminum foil, and bake for 50 min

uncover, bake 5-10 min more

When squash is cool enough to handle, scoop out flesh, squeez garlic cloves out of their skins (discard skins)

in batches in a blender or food processer, combine baked veggies, apple juice/stock, thyme, nutmeg, salt, and pepper and puree until smooth

heat this soup gently in a pot (stir constantly or cover with top to prevent splattering)

in a small skillet, melt butter and saute the sage leaves until dark and curled

garnish each bowl of soup with sage leaves

praise the lord for butternut squash

Chickpea salad

Just ate this tasty salad at Firehook. I'm thinking I might make it at home.

Ingredients:
Chick peas
Chopped red, green, and orange peppers
Diced Red onion
Parsley
Lemon juice
Olive oil
Dijon mustard
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