Side Salad

Tabouli is not what most people think of when they hear "side salad" but really, they should.

It's a great salad to go with grilled meat, as part of a tapas-style meal, or for a quick lunch all on its own.

(It also makes for a quick blog post when you've already done 5 hours of school and 6 hours of work)

Tabouli

What you need

• 1/2 c bulgar wheat (aka "cracked wheat")
• 1/2 c water
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp lemon (or lime) juice
• 1 c parsley
• 1 clove garlic
• 1-2 tbsp minced onion (I like red for the colour)
• other stuff...
  • mint
  • dill
  • oregano
  • tomato
  • sundried tomato
  • red or green pepper
  • cucumber
  • pine nuts or walnuts

What you gotta do:

Put the bulgar wheat into a heatproof bowl and add a bit of salt and pepper. Nuke the 1/2 c water until it's just boiling. If you have a tiny student-sized microwave it should take about 2 minjutes.

Pour the water over the bulgar and cover the bowl. If your bowl doesn't have a lid, a plate works fine. Leave this for about 10 minutes or so, while you chop some stuff.

So, really, the only things tabouli desperately needs (in my opinion anyway) is parsley and onion. If that's all you have, that's just fine. But a lot of the time it comes with a bunch of other things in it.

I happened to have some garlic (always have garlic), sundried tomatos, and some pine nuts so that's what I used.

After 10 minutes or so, your bulgar will be nice and fluffy and the kernels will have busted open. Fluff it up with a fork, and leave the lid off so it can cool a bit. I like my tabouli to be at about room temp, and by the time I've done everything, it's pretty much there. Transferring it to a cool bowl helps too.

If you're using nuts of any sort in your salad, they're much better if you've toasted them a bit. Heat a dry pan over medium heat for a couple minutes, then add the nuts. They only need about 3-5 minutes in the pan, but make sure you roll them around every minute or two so they don't burn.

Dump all your chopped stuff (parsley, onion, and whatever else you decided you wanted) into the bowl with the bulgar, and toss it all together. Herbs like mint and dill really work well in this salad, but they need to be fresh. If you feel like adding a dried herb, I suggest oregano.

Pour in the olive oil.

And lemon juice. Yup, I totally measured both. Didn't eyeball anything. Totally did.

Have a taste and add more lemon juice, olive oil, salt, or whatever it needs. If it needs anything.

Sprinkle the nuts on top.

I had this for dinner with some pickles, and then for lunch the next day. It'd a lot more filling than your typical iceburg lettuce side salad, and a lot more flavourful. Seriously, this and a bit of grilled chicken breast (man, what I wouldn't give for an apartment with a balcony so I could grill again) makes a perfect spring meal.

What kind of side salad do you usually make?

I Want My Cheesy Poofs!!

Obviously that was probably not the picture that popped into your mind when you read the words cheesy poofs.  Well, I have something so much better than those bright orange, artificially flavored, crunchy cheese snacks.  My cheesy poofs are little, two bite hors d’oeuvres.  Their texture is somewhere between a muffin and a biscuit and they’re loaded with smoked sausage, green onion, and tons of cheddar cheese.  Seriously, look up at that picture again.  Haven’t seen many things more drool worthy than that, have you?  And best of all, they’re simple to make!

Here’s what you’ll need:     

1 ¼ cup flour
1 cup light cream
1 egg
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon coarse pepper
¼ teaspoon garlic powder
1 ½ cups grated cheese
½ cup green onion
1 cup diced smoked sausage

I used 10 of the little Beeler’s smoked sausages.  If you can’t find that brand, I’m sure you can use one of the others.  Take each little sausage and cut it into quarters lengthwise. 

Then cut those strips into little pieces. 

Throw them into a pan over medium heat and cook them just long enough to cook off a little of their liquid and brown them slightly.  Then just set them aside to cool while you work on the other stuff.  Go ahead and grate your cheese, I used a combo of extra sharp and medium cheddar, and chop your green onions.  I think I used 7 or 8. 

If you grind your own black pepper, turn it just about as coarse as it will go, and crack about ½ teaspoon. 

Throw all your dry ingredients into a mixing bowl and whisk them together.

In a separate container, whisk together the cream and egg.

Add the cheese, onion, and cooled sausage to the flour mixture. 

Stir until everything is evenly distributed and coated, then pour over the cream. 

Stir just until the liquid is incorporated.  It’ll be a fairly thick mixture, more like a dough than a batter. 

Spoon the mixture into a mini muffin tin.  My pan is coated with silicone so things won’t stick, but if you’re pan isn’t, you might want to spray it or butter it. 

Fill each up to the top, pressing the mixture down to level it out and fill the corner of the cup. 

Place the pan into the freezer for 30 minutes.  This step helps to chill the fat and relax the gluten, which in turn makes them tender and well… poofy!  After 15 minutes, preheat your oven to 375°.  When the 30 minutes are up, pull the pan out of the freezer and pop it into the oven for 22 – 27 minutes.  During that time, glorious things are going to happen. 

They should be just starting to brown on top, and will probably have brown cheese extracurriculars (as I like to call them) around the edges.  Don’t worry about those… they are crispy and delicious. 

Remove them from the pan and allow them to cool for just a few minutes before devouring.  Pile them onto a plate for your guests… or yourself. 

Ok, I might not recommend eating that many in one sitting, but you might not be able to stop yourself.  I mean, just look at that sausagey, oniony, cheesy goodness. 

If can pretty much guarantee you’ll be singing this song after your first bite.