Tabouli and Hummus

 My tomato plants are all producing in profound abundance right now, so I'm always thinking of innovative ways to use them.  I've already preserved chili sauce or tomato relish as its called in New Zealand.  But since my last couple blogs were about canning, I thought I'd give that a break here.
I've made fresh salsa twice this week and a pasta with fresh tomato and bacon.  But today I'm going to share my recipe for Tabouli along with my recipe for Hummus. 

These are the heirloom tomatoes.

 These are the sweet one hundreds, and the big boy's.

I also have several parsley plants and fresh lemons.  So these ingredients were readily available.

Recipe:
 1 cup uncooked Bulgar Wheat
1 1/2 - 2 cups boiling water
1/2 cup lemon juice, or about two lemons
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 - 2 cloves garlic, minced
4 green onions or scallions in their entirety, sliced very thinly or minced
1 very large bunch of Parsley - use the stems and leaves, either chopped very finely or thrown into a food processor with the scallions.
12 - 24  Mint leaves
2 - 4 large tomatoes- diced by hand very finely
Salt and Pepper

Place the Bulgar wheat into a heavy glass bowl (this can be your serving bowl if it can take boiling water and also chilling temperatures).  Pour about 1 1/2 cups of boiling water on the Bulgar wheat and let it sit there for about half an hour on its own.   OR   Boil the Bulgar wheat and 2 cups of water in a covered pot for 15 mins (exactly like you make white rice - so any method you like, works)

After it has absorbed all the water, mix, using a spoon, and stir in the lemon juice, salt, pepper, minced garlic and oil.

Cover with plastic or a lid and place in your refrigerator for an hour, or more if you like.

Then mix in the parsley, scallions, tomatoes and put back in the refrigerator for another hour, then serve chilled.

Serve this with Pita bread and Hummus. For a light refreshing vegetarian meal.

I also like to serve Hummus with sliced cucumber.

 My  Hummus Recipe:

1 can chic peas or garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
1 Tbsp organic tahini butter (sesame butter)
1 lemon juiced
salt and pepper
1/4 c sun dried tomatoes in oil
1 tsp roasted garlic
1/4 c olive oil
1/4 filtered water
6 basil leaves

Place all in a blender and run on high until combined. 
Can add prepared pesto if you don't have the fresh basil or sun dried tomatoes.
Drizzle with a little more olive oil and sprinkle with freshly pan roasted pine nuts.
Serve with raw vegetables or pita chips.

I have herbs in abundance

These are not my chickens, but I like the photo.

This is my garden, and where I swim each day.
Happy Adventures in Food to you. 

Bread and Butter Pickles

 Its July 4th and I'm making potato salad, baked beans, spinach salad, BBQ chicken, sliced fresh tomatoes, corn on the cob. Potato salad the way I like it .........is with Bread and Butter pickles.  I like the sweet mustardy flavor of these pickles.  Here's the recipe that is super easy to make and only takes minutes to complete.

You'll need Persian cucumbers, pickling cucumbers or zucchini.   The smaller the variety the better.  I used about 14 of them. Wash and slice them and jam pack them into the glass jars.  Really smush them down and hard as you can.  Cut up one large onion and put that at the top of each jar.

 In a large pot heat together 1 tsp celery seeds (or celery salt), 1 tsp mustard seeds 4 c sugar, 2 c vinegar ( I used white vinegar), 2 Tbsp salt. 1/2 tsp turmeric and a generous pinch of black pepper corns.  Bring this mixture to a boil and pour over the cucumbers, leaving 1/2 inch space from the top of each jar.

Meanwhile heat to boiling a large amount of water in a very large pot.   Seal all the jars and add each one to the boiling water.  Once the water is rapidly boiling again........time for 10 minutes.  Remove and cool.  If the lid pops in, it has correctly sealed and can be cooled and stored on a shelf.  If not then store it in the refrigerator.

   So yummy!

Ingredients:
12 Persian cucumbers
1 onion
1 tsp celery seeds
1 tsp mustard seeds
4 c sugar
2 c vinegar
2 Tbsp salt
1/2 tsp turmeric
generous pinch of black pepper corns

Pack the jars with the sliced cucumbers and onion.
Boil all the other ingredients and add to the jars, leaving 1/2 inch.
Process the sealed jars in a water bath for 10 mins at a rapid boil
Can be stored for a year.