My family often laughs at the lack of pasta in my diet. Don’t get me wrong, I am a carb lovin’ fool, but I just don’t eat much pasta. If I do eat it, I am usually left feeling overstuffed and not so good. It could be because, deep down, I LOVE it. This fear of pasta (not carbs, I promise) was overtaken yesterday by an insatiable need for some veggie loaded, protein stuffed, pesto deliciousness.
William has been at the office almost non-stop since we returned from our honeymoon. As I’ve mentioned before, he’s studying for his CPA exams…yuck! He has made it home for dinner most nights, but this week he’s been overtaken by a need to stay at the office and get some serious work done. Apparently, I’m a distraction….I guess that comes with the territory of being a newlywed. I don’t take offense to this one bit. Instead, I used it as an opportunity to get creative in the kitchen.
Whole grains were on my mind…
For some reason, I could not get tabbouleh off my mind. I love the stuff, but have never been able to master its preparation. I have to admit that I’ve never really looked at a recipe for the stuff, so that could have something to do with it. It just always seemed like something was missing, so yesterday I cheated and looked up a recipe on Cooking Light magazine’s website. I cannot believe I didn’t figure this out sooner…CUMIN was my answer! As I read the recipe, I could not believe it. I had every other ingredient correct, except for that one key thing. I was thrilled…no…ELATED…when I realized the secret!
After my trip to the store, I quickly got busy. There was a ton of multi-tasking. Oh, I forgot fill you in on the pasta…
I decided on whole wheat farfalle. Once the pasta was boiled, I steamed some asparagus, caramelized onions and garlic with some mushrooms, and began chopping fresh herbs. Once all this was done, I tossed the pasta with the veggies, added some chopped tomatoes-sundried and fresh-and some pesto (Sorry, I cheated and used a “high-end” jarred kind. We haven’t gotten our food processor yet.) I baked 2 chicken breasts that I basted with pesto. Once it cooled I diced it into small cubes and threw that in with everything else. I also toasted a few walnuts, and added that along with crumbled goat cheese. I seasoned it to taste with salt and pepper. I can’t wait to eat it tonight for dinner!
Back to the tabbouleh…
The addition of cumin=perfection! I am so excited about this amazing revelation. Lunch today was better than delicious. I added lemon pepper chicken for some protein and put it over mixed greens, crumbled feta cheese, and a little balsamic vinegar. There is plenty left for lunch tomorrow too!
Now that I’ve gotten my whole grain fix, I’m thinking about desserts. Perhaps it is because I have banned them from my life for a little while. I had a little too much fun on our honeymoon, and want to love those couple of pounds that crept up on me. However, I’m now on a manhunt to lighten up some desserts. I think the first victim might be my famous chocolate cake. I have to say, it’s pretty tooth-aching fabulous. It should be, I did go to school for that kind of thing.
I’m going to keep brainstorming, so I will get back to you on that one!
It just occurred to me that I did not give you the recipe for tabbouleh! Sorry about that one…
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| Prepping tomatoes, cucumbers, and fresh herbs for the tabbouleh. |
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| It's important to mix everything together a day ahead. It helps the flavors meld together. |
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| Loving my new cookware! |
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| Asparagus, farfalle, tomatoes, garlic, onions, mushrooms, and tomatoes. |
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| Completed tabbouleh! |
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| Jake was being a good taste tester. |
I like mine with a little less parsley and a little more cucumber.
1 ½ c. bulgar wheat (boil water, pour in bulgar, cover, and let sit for about 2 hours)
1 c. chopped tomatoes
1 ¼ c. chopped cucumbers
Fresh parsley, chopped
¼ c. lemon juice (I added the zest of 1 lemon too)
1 ½ tsp. ground cumin
Fresh dill (to taste)
1 TBSP balsamic vinegar (may need more to taste)
Salt and pepper to taste
½ c. crumbled feta cheese
2 chicken breasts, baked with lemon pepper and diced.
It’s so easy. Just mix it all together!
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