For the Love of Food

Have you noticed anything different here…or rather the same? Yes, this is the same bowl from the last post.

As many of you have read in previous posts, I have been in the middle of a move since February because the renovation company working on our apartment (Pravexx GmbH) is “a bit” behind schedule. Not to get anyone’s hopes up (including my own), but it actually looks like we could be moving in sometime in the next 2 weeks….I actually have flooring in the kitchen and if all goes well the new parquet will be delivered today and the walls painted tomorrow. And, my brand new kitchen is being delivered on Monday!!!

So, what does that all have to do with these awesome light turquoise bowls from Ikea (IKEA 365+)? Well, since ALL my things have been packed away in storage since February and I had been eating off of the same 4 plastic yellow pick nick plates and using tuperware as a cereal bowl (our temporary situation was only supposed to last a few weeks…not 4 months!!) I decided, on a recent trip to Ikea, to pick up some decent bowls. So, I walked out of Ikea with a big smile and 4 really pretty bowls. And, since they’re currently the only 4 bowls I have, they are going to pop-up in a lot of my food photography until we finally move and get the kitchen all squared-away.

On to the food…

I really enjoy bulgar. For some reason I don’t like couscous as much, but they are very similar. I buy instant bulgar which is ground up and only needs some boiling water poured over it and waiting about 3 minutes before you can consume it. It makes for a great, quick, and healthy meal – oh, and it’s pretty cheap here in Germany.

The one “down-side” to this bulgar salad is that it’s so good you will need a HUGE bowl to make enough for your family if you want to feed it to them for more than one meal (I only cook once a day for two meals).

My recipe is partially inspired by this bulgar salad recipe on Kayln’s Kitchen and partially by the great tips I received from my local Turkish grocer. Both recommended that I use fresh mint leave..and believe me I would love to..but I am still breast feeding, and nothing will dry up your breast milk like eating mint!

Ingredients:
1 Cup Instant Bulgar
1.5 Cups Boiling Water
Zest of 1 Lemon
3 Tablespoons Lemon Juice
3 Tablespoons Olive Oil
2 teaspoons minced Garlic
Salt and Pepper, to taste
1 Cup diced fresh Parsley
2 Green Onions, sliced
3 Cups quartered Cherry Tomatoes
1 English Cucumber, peeled, diced
1 Cup cooked Chick Peas (no liquid)
1 Tablespoon Pomegranate Syrup*

Directions:
Place the bulgar into a really large bowl, pour the boiling water over it, and let sit until the water has been fully absorbed (about 3 minutes). Fluff the bulgar with a fork.

In a small bowl whisk together the lemon zest, lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper. Pour the dressing over the bulgar and mix well.

Add the parsley, cherry tomatoes, cucumber, and chick peas and mix well until everything is evenly distributed. Drizzle the pomegranate syrup over the top and mix very well.

Adjust salt amount at this point and serve with extra pomegranate syrup and/or lemon if desired (let everyone adjust to their own liking after serving).

Makes 3 main dish servings.

*If you don’t have access to pomegranate syrup, just squeeze on some more lemon juice. Pomegranate syrup is thick and very tangy, so please start off with a little, taste, and add a little more at a time.

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