The Joy of Bulgur

No I didn't steal this post title from the most recent title of our ward's home storage cookbook. It's sincere, I really do find joy in eating bulgur wheat. And although this may come as a shock, so do Kate and Ryan.

If you read the word "bulgur" and your mind immediately jumped to weird medical conditions, don't tune out! Bulgur is a grain commonly used in middle eastern dishes. It is so versatile, I love trying lots of different things with it. Although it's not really good with chocolate, at least that's what I hear ;) Also, it's soo good for you! Trivia: bulgur has more fiber than oats or buckwheat!

So you have to cook bulgur like any other grain before you use it. I like to make a big batch and have lots leftover so I can try different combos at lunch.

Here are some of my favorite ways to eat this yummy grain. I apologize ahead of time because the measurements are by no means precise. I just wanted to throw some fun ideas out there for healthy meals. And remember, with all of these you're basically making a salad, so if you like or don't like ingredients there is no problem with tweaking them. I serve all these variations in pita pockets, but you can eat them alone too.

#1 Traditional Tabbouleh
I learned to make this from an Iranian lady I worked with as a teenager. You can find a great recipe on allrecipes.com but here are the basics I use:

2 cups cooked bulgur (1 cup uncooked turns into about 2 cups cooked)
2-3 roma sized tomatoes, seeded and chopped
2 cucumbers, peeled and chopped
1 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/3 cup fresh mint leaves
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup lemon juice
salt to taste

#2 "Greek" Tabbouleh
Really it just has feta, but Greek in the title sounds fun

2 cups cooked bulgur
2-3 roma sized tomatoes, seeded an chopped
1/2 - cucumber, peeled and chopped
1-2 tblsp fresh dill, about 1 1/2 dried
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 - 3/4 cup feta, mmm!
1 cooked, chopped chicken breast (I put lots of seasonings on mine and then just bake it in the oven)
salt to taste
lemon juice to taste

Note : Let the bulgur cool a bit before you mix, other wise the mixture gets gooey

#3 Annie's "Tabbouleh"
Have you ever had "Annie's" shitake mushroom salad dressing? My sister Audrey introduced me and I'm a goner for it. MMM! This is totally just an idea to use up some bulgur, no measurements at all

Cooked bulger
Cucumber
Tomato
Shitake Mushroom Dressing, lots of it.