Last week, Oprah had a show on about "Freegans". In a nut-shell, these are people who opt out of consumerism and live on what other people throw in the garbage. They showed people going through grocery store dumpsters, finding food that was perfectly good to eat. Now, I don't want you to think that I am about to start doing this. However, last Thursday, while picking up my milk and groceries at the Clean Food Connection, I found myself looking at things a bit differently.
There were big bags of apples that were set off to the side. They were obviously past their prime but for the first time, I pictured a huge pot of apple sauce. For a much discounted price, I took two bags home and that afternoon, we enjoyed the smell and taste of homemade applesauce (16 cups or so of quartered, peeled, and cored apples, 3/4 c. brown sugar, 1 T. cinnamon, simmered on the stove until they were mushy, then mashed a bit more with a potato masher). After cutting out all the bruises and any rotten parts, there were still tons of apples for the sauce and we all loved it.
Then, I saw two containers of organic feta cheese in a brine. They were a few days past their sell-by date, and marked down half price. Both containers were fine and I used one for the tabbouleh salad and the other one in the spinach pie wrapped in phyllo, from the Barefoot Contessa's first cookbook. All in all, I probably saved at least $15 and saved some food that was perfectly fine, from going to either the landfill or to Bob's cows (I hope they didn't go hungry waiting for apples!). I wonder what great finds I will come across this week?
Just a few notes about bulgur... The recipe I used, from a magazine called "Cooking for Two", said to soak the bulgur in boiling water for an hour. In my haste, I actually boiled the bulgur on the stove for over an hour. It was really mushy and at that point I realized I had made a mistake. I had already added it to the rest of the salad though, so I continued on and it was still very tasty. Afterwards, I looked up cooking bulgur on the internet. There are many slightly different takes on cooking bulgur but here are a few that seemed keep coming up...
*Don't wash or rinse bulgur before cooking.
*Bulgur can be prepared either by soaking (for salads) or cooking (for casseroles, etc.).
*To soak bulgur, add twice as much liquid as bulgur, stir, let stand covered for 30 minutes or refrigerate overnight.
*When soaked or cooked, bulgur will increase in volume by twice or more, depending on the amount of liquid used.
*You can use stocks or juices instead of water to add more flavour to the bulgur.
*Bulgur is actually whole wheat kernels that have been boiled, dried, and crushed. It can be red or white and comes in a variety of textures. Bulgur is different from cracked wheat because it has been pre-cooked.
So, there you have it - everything you always wanted to know about bulgur! This salad is really very simple, quick, and healthy. It will taste even better when the veggies are in season (I'm dreaming of a vine-ripened Harrow tomato in August!). Is there anyone reading this that still doesn't know where Harrow is??
Tabbouleh with Feta
1 c. dried bulgur wheat
2 c. boiling water
2 c. tomatoes, seeded, and diced
2 c. chopped fresh parsley
1 1/2 c. cucumber, seeded, and diced
1 c. feta cheese, crumbled
1 c. green onions, sliced
1/2 c. chopped fresh mint (I didn't have any so I would consider it optional)
1/4 c. fresh lemon juice
1/4 c. extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher salt to taste.
1. In bowl, pour boiling water over bulgur and cover with plastic wrap. Let sit for 1/2 hour. Drain well before using.
2. While the bulgur is soaking, toss the tomatoes, parsley, cucumber, feta, and green onions in a large bowl. Drain the bulgur and add to the salad ingredients. Pour the lemon juice and olive oil over the salad, season with salt, and toss gently. Chill salad until ready to serve. Makes 4 to 6 servings.
*I doubled this recipe from the original.
