Love:

Two weeks ago my girlfriends (the TBC’s- tall bitches club) were in town. When we all lived in SLC we got together every Friday morning for ‘Coffee Tawk’ or cocktail night with the husbands and kids a few times a month. Now days that is much harder considering one of us lives in France one lives in California and two of us live here. When I found out that this little reunion was going to happen I wanted to have the girls to my place for nibbles and cocktails, and I knew exactly what was going to be on the menu, my friend Moudi and Derek’s Tabouli. Moudi and Derek are the bad asses behind Laziz Foods, they make Hummus, Muhammara and Toum (a garlic spread) and periodically Moudi will share recipes for his favorite Lebanese dishes on their Facebook page, this Tabouli is one of them. I have made it a handful of times and everyone loves it!

I don’t know about you but within my circle of friends I have friends that are vegan/vegetarian, gluten-free/Paleo and some that are just fine with anything I make. I am picky myself so I don’t mind the challenge of coming up with menu’s that appeal to everyone. The food pictured above I have served at my last two cocktail nights to some of my friends who fall under one of these labels and needless to say there was something for everyone. I have a feeling these dishes will show up a lot during the summer when we can get everything fresh at the Farmers Market. Cheers to friends and cocktail night- Enjoy!

Food:

Tabouli- recipe straight from Laziz

3 bunches of flat Italian parsley ~ roughly 5 cups of parsley leaves (packed really well)

1/2 cup of lightly packed mint leaves

1 bunch green onions (5-6 sticks)

2 medium tomatoes

1/4 cup bulgur (check the bottom of the recipe for a gluten-free alternative)

1/2 cup lemon juice

1/2 cup olive oil

1/4 teaspoon salt and black pepper

Pluck the parsley leaves and discard the stems. Chop the leaves very finely, spending a good 5-7 minutes (you could use a food processor to ease the process if you are inclined).

Similarly, chop the mint leaves and green onions very finely, although the green onions may be a bit harder, and I find running them through a processor helps the process a lot.

Chop up the tomatoes very finely as well, and mix in the bowl with the parsley, mint, and green onions.

Soak the bulgur in hot water till puffed up (5 minutes), and discard of any excess water. Mix in with the salad.

Mix the lemon juice, olive oil, salt, and pepper, and mix well throughout.

Serve with lettuce or just eat it with a fork.

NOTE: This will not keep in the fridge with good flavor past two days, so keep the dressing aside if you must, and mix as needed.

 NOTE: for a gluten-free alternative to bulgur, cook 1/4 cup of quinoa and use instead. This does alter the taste a bit though.

Also pictured above:

Laziz Hummus drizzled with olive oil and garnished with a sprinkling of salt and pepper

Crackers with Beehive Cheese and Muhammara

Carrots

ChickPea Flatbread (new recipe for me, I love it! My TBC Kim in France shared the recipe with me)

Nutrition:

Parsley: One of my favorite recipes using parsley

Mint: Fun Spring recipe using mint

Chickpeas: This recipe uses ground chickpeas and Laziz

Cheese: Check out these recipes using Beehive cheese

Sometimes the best nutrition is hanging with your friends.