Ahhh .. Tabouleh

If you don't know as yet then let me tell you that I am a big fan of making, eating, and just trying food.. any cuisine is fine as long as it does not have any meat.. (yes, I am a Pescaterian now for almost 5 years.. Bravo!)...

So one day, when it was super hot in SoCal, I wanted to eat something super refreshing.. nice cool salady something.. I was talking to my friend Tina, both of us are foodies and we definitely talk about food at least twice in one single conversation....She mentioned that a friend of her's who is from UAE makes this super nice salad called Tabouleh, which they eat with Pita bread.. She gave me an outline of how to make it and I was tempted.. So, I googled the recipe and found one at About.com. I had almost all ingredients at home and gathered whatever was missing in one single trip to wholesome choice market.. I love wholesome choice market for you will find ingredients for any cuisine that's on your mind.. from Iran to India, China to America, Mexico to whatever place...

So here it is.. from About.com

• 2 bunches of fresh parsley (1 1/2 cup chopped, with stems discarded)
• 2 tablespoons of fresh mint, chopped
• I medium onion, finely chopped
• 6 medium tomatoes, diced
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 cup bulghur, medium grade
• 6 tablespoons lemon juice
• 6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• Romaine lettuce or grape leaves to line serving bowl (I used Romaine Lettuce)

Preparation:

• Soak bulghur in cold water for 1 1/2 to 2 hours until soft.
• Squeeze out excess water from bulghur using hands or paper towel.
• Combine all ingredients, except for salt, pepper, lemon juice, and olive oil.
• Line serving bowl with grape leaves or romaine lettuce, and add salad.
• Sprinkle olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper on top.

Once done, I let me salad cool and left it overnight so that all the flavors and juices get nicely absorbed.. And next day enjoyed it with my Pita bread.. sure to make it again....