New Bulghur and Kale Recipes

It is so summer!  Most of the things on this plate came from the farmers market.

Herbed Bulghur with Za'atar (see below), 

Balsamic-Glazed Kale and Carrots (see below), 

Watermelon Tomato Salad with Basil and Cashew Cheese, 

Squash and Chickpeas Sauteed with Garlic

The bulghur was an improvised, last-minute, nearly-instant kind of thing.  I've always meant to do a post on bulghur, a rather amazing and ancient food.  It's wheat that is cooked, then dried, then cracked, resulting in a delicious, high-fiber, high-protein, fast-cooking, nearly-impossible-to-spoil staple grain.  What's not to love?  I also love that at Jons it comes in four different grades of grind (#1 to #4), just like sandpaper.

(for more about the history of bulghur, see this great page)

Herbed Bulghur with Za'atar

Ingredients

bulghur, prepared according to directions*

*(pour 2 parts boiling water over 1 part bulghur and let stand 10 minutes--that's it!)

lots of za'atar

fresh parsley, chopped

olive oil

lemon juice

salt and pepper

*

This isn't going to be my favorite kale recipe ever, but I was just really happy to have a new kale recipe, period.  The kale bandit has been working really hard this summer.  I'm not a big fan of putting sugar in savory dishes, and you have to do it here to make the flavors work.  The rich tamari and the sweet balsamic-sugar and carrot flavors hold their own against the slight bitterness of kale.

I've probably mentioned this before, but Vegan Planet is my favorite all-around cookbook of all time.  The recipes are not only delicious, they also feel simple and intuitive without eliciting the "why is this in a cookbook?" reaction (like, for example, some macrobiotic cookbooks with recipes for "Steamed Spinach").

Balsamic Glazed Kale and Carrots

(from Vegan Planet)

 Ingredients

1 bunch kale, de-stemmed and chopped

2-6 carrots, cleaned and sliced

1-2 TB olive oil

1-2 TB tamari

2 tsp balsamic vinegar

1-2 tsp sugar

2 tsp cayenne (or to taste)

Instructions

1. Boil veggies in salted water about 5 minutes.  Drain.
2. Heat olive oil in a very large skillet.  Add veggies and everything else all at once.  Cook over medium-low heat until liquid has evaporated.