Testing

Hunger often strikes me hardest when accompanied by writer’s block.  There once was a time when such urges for food would have prompted a phone call to one of my local pizza/Chinese/sub delivery services, but no longer. Last night I decided to give in to the procrastination in a different way and Voila!!!… Tabbouleh (or tabouli or tabuleh or whatever).

There are few rules to tabbouleh and that makes it perfect for on-the-fly procrastination cooking.  According to Wikipedia, tabbouleh is a “salad traditionally made of bulgur, tomatoes, finely chopped parsley, mint, onion and garlic, and seasoned with olive oil, lemon juice and salt, although there are various other variations…” So, we might do best to consider this just another of those variations.

Here’s my mise-en-place ( a.k.a my prep).[Going Clockwise in the picture above-left]   I don’t keep bulgur (or even cracked wheat) around so I replaced its role with a combination of brown rice and lentils, a 50/50 mix, 1/4 cup each, or there about. About 1/2 cup of diced tomatoes, I used canned diced tomatoes because they actually taste better and richer. 2 cups of Italian Parsley, finely chopped. 1 cup of raw chopped carrots. 1 lemon (remove the seeds). Then about 2 cups of cilantro and 1.5 cups of green onions, both chopped finely (they are in the same bowl in the picture).  Garlic powder, olive oil, and sea salt. Cilantro is not a typical ingredient in tabbouleh, but I don’t typically keep mint leaves either, so cilantro is it.  The carrots are mostly there for me to munch on while I cook, but they will prove their worth later on.    

First I cooked the brown rice and lentil mix.  I usually bring it to a boil, then cover it and lower the temp down to a simmer, the rice/lentil mixture is about 1/2 cup in total so I cooked it with 1.5 cups of water.  Basically cook it like you would typically cook rice.  I’ve never been able to follow anyone else’s rice recipe, so I don’t expect mine to work for anyone else, I’m convinced the laws of physics change at the rice pot.  Anyways, on the picture above and to the right, the rice and lentils are cooked.  Actually, if you look closely you’ll notice I overcooked them a bit, by turning up the heat to high and letting it pan-fry a bit until dry.  So I gave it a bit of a pegao feel as the bottom seared on high, then I turned it a few times.  You’ll notice the consistency in the picture, I think. (This isn’t necessary, but I did it to  give it a bit of crunch and transform the texture a bit. Don’t do this your first time, most people will burn it and ruin the flavor, so think of it as an advanced technique you can try the second or third time you make this.)

At this point I took the rice/lentils off the heat and added the chopped Italian parsley.  The sauce pan was too small so I switched to my caldero, but the cooking is done, so you can use a large mixing bowl, I just don’t have one.

Then I added the green onions, cilantro, tomatoes, and a good drip of olive oil (about 1tbsp, but you may want more of less, just add it slowly and mix it well and see if it is to your liking.

Then I added the sea salt and garlic powder (chopped garlic cloves would have been better, but I didn’t have any). Mix and taste. (Never use garlic salt, btw.)

I tasted it and tasted it, made sure it was well mixed, tasted it again… Everytime pausing to think: Is it good? does it need more salt or garlic? Remember, that tabbouleh is supposed to taste fresh and leafy, not salty savory, so be careful. Some will likely think mine needs salt, but when in doubt I add more garlic instead.

 Then I took an entire lemon, scraped the skin for zest, then squeezed it dry over the mixture (make sure you have already removed the seeds, and scrape the zest before you begin squeezing, it’s easier).

Taste again… and its good.

I then placed it in my austere and empty refrigerator to cool completely. It’s good warm, but there are a lot of complex flavors at work here and they need time to settle together, so give it at least an hour or more.  FYI – the tin in the picture is ground coffee and the covered bowl is a.p. flour – these are not relevant at the moment…

…unless you decide to make a flatbread with the flour, which I did while waiting for the tabbouleh to cool.  Once baked, I brushed it with canola oil and dowsed it with garlic powder and toasted it golden brown, except for that spot flour that just didn’t bake right. I know this will require another recipe post- but basically make a dough of just oil,water, and flour, without leavening, flatten, then punch holes throughout it with a fork and bake. It should stay flat). 

I cut the flatbread into geometric but irregular shapes, this is about plating so do what you like (but people like eating triangles, trust me, make sure you have some points). 

 So here is the basic plating – tabbouleh on flatbread. You might ask, “Hey Mike, what if I want to make it a bit sweeter?”

Well, how about we take the left over raw carrots from my munch bowl and finely chop them – This gives you a sweeter taste, but with a heartier texture.  Then you might ask, “Hey Mike, what about something nuttier and savory?”

Well, take whole cashews and chop them finely and place them atop of the wedges. You can also pan roast these before hand with a sliver of butter, to punch up the flavor it you like. “But what if I want something really sweet, sweeter than carrots, but still healthy?”

Easy, take some raisins, or any other dried fruit/berry, and place them on top – like in the picture below. I highly recommend using dried dates.

My plating from last night: One with just the tabbouleh, one for each individual topping and one with all together. Like so…

 “But wait… What should we drink with this…?”

What ever you want, have a Mountain Dew for all I care. But, if you find yourself in the mood to do it right, I would go with a muscat grape wine, it’s light and sweet and goes great with the taste and texture of tabbouleh.  I had Moscato, the Sutter Home cheap single serving bottle, served on a used mason jar I keep around the apartment. Why cheap Sutter Home? Because when it comes to muscat grape, there really isn’t much need to pay more. This is one of the most popular wine grapes and almost all on the market are blends of some sort, so don’t stress the wine selection here. Why a mason jar?  Because 1) I don’t own a wine glass, 2) because I’m not serving anyone else but myself, 3) and most importantly, because the feel of the thick mason jar glass complements the rustic feel of the tabbouleh on flatbread, in my opinion.

Eat what’s on the plate and store everything else for the next day.

Oh, yeah… I’m supposed to be writing.

I finished my first two semesters with a 3.8 GPA, presented at three conferences and one symposium, and I have been accepted to present a two more conferences in the fall (more on that later).  I have met a number of really great people whom I enjoy talking with and who challenge me intellectually.  Also, I have made progress toward my dissertation, which is the reason I’m here.  All in all, not a bad time here in Arlington, TX.

Money is always an issue, however.  Living on the $15,000 a year stipend is a continuous financial juggling act.  Thankfully, any expensive tastes i may have once had were beaten out of me long before I came here.  Nothing like poverty to prepare you for poverty.  I think the first words I ever learned from my mom were “We’re on a budget.”  For nostalgia sake, and because it fits my budget, I still sometimes dine on sliced bread and sliced cheese, if the electricity is on I might just grill it.

To stretch the budget further I moved into a cheaper apartment than the one I first rented here in Arlington.  Also, I gave my car to my brother in Orlando to save on gas, insurance, and tickets.  This means that I walk everywhere, which makes me late to things, but is very healthy.

On that particular healthy note, I should add that I’m down to about 290lbs, from 354lbs last summer.  And that is good. Additionally, I joined the department’s softball team, the Wayback Machine.  Which is, at least, the best softball team on the second floor of University Hall, and no one can take that away from us.

More updates to come… Chao.