Garden Tabbouleh Salad

This is the salad that I would make using mostly the vegetables from our garden if our garden was up to our usual standards.  Due to our move we got our garden in pretty late and were not able to start any seeds indoors this year.  I am just happy that we were even able plant a garden this year.

 Bulgur wheat is made from whole-wheat kernels that have been parboiled and dried.  It has a great texture and I absolutely love it.Wheat, in general,  contains vitamin E (mainly found in cooking oils like safflower and canola) and is difficult to get all 30 international units of vitamin E daily in your diet because many foods do not contain this essential vitamin.  Studies on vitamin E suggest that it plays a role in lowering cholesterol and preventing cholesterol from sticking to artery walls.

In addition, wheat contains insoluble fiber, which absorbs large amounts of water as it passes through the intestine.  Not to get too graphic, but this causes things to pass through the body more quickly, which means that any harmful substances they contain have less time to damage cells in the colon.  Studies show that getting more fiber in the diet substantially lower their risk of developing colon cancer.

Garden Tabbouleh Salad Recipe

Ingredients: 

1 c Bulgur wheat
1 1/2 c boiling water
1/4 c olive oil
1/4 c lemon juice

1 T mint, dried
1 c fresh cilantro, chopped (You can use parsley if you don't like cilantro.)
1 c green onion, sliced
1/2 c cucumber, chopped
2 yellow patty pan summer squash, grilled and diced
1 tomato, diced
1/4 c red onion, chopped
1/2 c sugar snap peas, cut into bite sized pieces

salt and pepper to taste

Directions: 

1. Combine bulgur wheat, boiling water, olive oil and lemon juice in a large mixing bowl and let sit for one hour.

2. Add the rest of the ingredients to the bulgur wheat mixture and stir well. Season to taste with salt and pepper.  Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.  It gets better the longer it sits in the fridge.