Tabouli

Here's a delicious and fresh salad to put a little "spring" in your step. We all need a little of that when the weather reminds us that we're far from spring. Although, this is one of my favorite summer snacks paired with hummus and pita chips as well. Who am I kidding, this is a favorite snack just about anytime.

And just the other day, as those of you that follow me on twitter may have noticed, I was craving tabouli once I saw an unopened bag of bulgar wheat in my cupboard. The downside, there was a blizzard outside and for some reason I was low on any vegetable that wasn't colored green. So, I set out to make a very green tabouli salad.

The result? It was a success. A total winner. An explosion of green and texture, and guess what? It instantly lifted me out of the slump of winter. The next day, I sprayed on a tan, delivered a baby, dropped 25 pounds, and became a much more well-rounded, intelligent, and auspicious person. Well, not really, but the salad, friends, it's really that good.

The beauty of this salad is, you can just wing it, adjusting the ingredients of the salad as you like.

Our recipe:
2 cups dry bulgar
4 cups boiling water
2 cups fresh parsley - minced

(Sometimes, I use half parsley and half fresh mint. More is better here.)

1 diced cucumber

2 - 3 bunches green onions - sliced, both white and green parts
2 chopped tomatoes

1 clove garlic, minced (optional)
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice

1/2 cup fresh lime juice
3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 tsp. salt

1 tbsp. pepper

1 diced avocado for garnish

Directions:

Soak the bulgar wheat in the hot water until the water is absorbed, about 30 minutes. When it's ready, drain any excess water, if necessary.

Once bulgar is done, mix all the ingredients together. Chill for several hours or overnight. Garnish with avocado and serve.

Enjoy!