Summer's End Tabouleh

The last day of Summer and the first day of Fall. Every year I wonder where the season went, both with saddness and some relief. It is always satisfying putting the garden to rest, cleaning up, tilling, composting, covercropping, mulching, knowing that a rest in the action is coming.

But it is always a little sad as well, summer rushes by in an instant to be replaced by cold, dark nights and the coming snow. So in anticipation of the long cold, we have begun stocking our home with the hardy roots and squashes that people have been relying on for centuries. But there are also a number of wonderfully hardy greens that we can revel in while it is cool. The last few weeks we have been eating parsley with almost every meal.

Now this recipe is not a true representation of the Tabouleh you would find in authenic middle eastern restaurants, but it is a simple, easy, variation of it that I have come to enjoy very much. And I will apologize in advance, I don't measure the ingredients, so if you are a strict recipe follower and it turns out funny, I'm sorry!

Tabouleh

serves 2 people

1/2 cup bulgur wheat (can be or omitted or subbstituted for quineoa if Glutten free is desired)

1-2 bunches parsley

1 tomato

2 cloves garlic

1/2 red onion

Splash white wine vinegar

Splash balsamic vinegar

Olive Oil

Salt and Pepper to Taste

Place bulgur wheat in bowl and fill with water allowing an extra 1/4" of water on top. Allow the bulgur wheat to soak for an hour. Chop parsley, garlic, tomato and onions, mix together in bowl. Add bulgur wheat. Add oil and toss salad until glistening. Add a splash of white and balsamic vinegar and salt and pepper to taste. toss salad and adjust vinegar and S/P as necessary. Eat right away or cover and refrigerate to really mix and meld the flavours together for a few hours.

A few fun ways to mix it up, we will also add cucumber, kale and cabbage if we have some lying around, or even add to pasta or couscous salads for a little more greenery.