Bulgur Salad with Marinated Feta

This weather is messing with my mood. Gloomy one day, sunny the next. Even now, it's beautiful out and we're expecting snow. SNOW!!!  What the what?!?!?! I never know how to dress or what I'm going to want to eat. Do I need to put on a sweater and a scarf or is it shorts weather? Should I put up a pot of soup or are we having a light salad for dinner? I just don't know anymore. 

For times like these where I'm not sure what to prepare for dinner, I prefer hearty salads. I made this bulgur salad to serve with some grilled fish (it was one of those nice days when we wanted to fire up the grill). It's topped with feta that's marinated with herbs and lemon zest. Any leftover feta can be added to other salads. It goes nicely with tuna or, if you're like me and prefer savory breakfasts, can be added to a bowl of chopped tomato and cucumber and hard-boiled egg (yup, that's the kind of thing I eat in the morning).  

Bulgur Salad with Marinated Feta

Serves
6-8, as a side

Ingredients
For the marinated feta
1/2 cup feta, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 tablespoon lemon zest
1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh oregano leaves
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoons coarsely ground black pepper
Olive oil

For the bulgur salad
1 cup bulgur wheat
1 1/2 cup boiling water
1/4 cup minced fresh mint leaves
1/4 cup minced fresh parsley
1 cucumber, seeds removed with a spoon, diced
1/2 cup diced tomato
2 tablespoons lemon juice
Salt

Whole mint leaves, to garnish

Directions
For the marinated feta
1. Place the feta in a bowl. Add the lemon zest and oregano. Season with garlic powder and black pepper.
2. Transfer feta mixture to a tupperware or jar with a lid. Cover cheese with olive oil. Cover the container with the lid and refrigerate for at least 12 hours. 

For the bulgur salad
1. Place the bulgur in a bowl and cover with boiling water. Give it a quick stir and let sit at room temperature for 45 minutes, until slightly softened.  

2. Strain the bulgur of any remaining liquid. Mix in the parsley, mint, chopped cucumber, chopped tomato, and lemon juice. Season with salt, to taste. (At this point, you can either serve it or let the bulgur salad sit in the refrigerator for a few hours to let the flavors develop). 

To serve: Transfer bulgur salad to a serving platter or bowl and top with marinated feta.  

Tom Kha Tofu (Thai Coconut Soup)

On Monday, we returned from a long weekend in Florida with my family. Yes, I know we were just in Hawaii (and there may be a trip coming up to Mexico. It's really rough). This was a mini-reunion. My parents, sister (and her family), my aunt, uncle and cousins all traveled to Captiva. Even with the so-so weather, we all had a great time. We spent our one perfect day lounging on the beach and by the pool (heated to a perfect 80 degrees). My nieces were big fans and spent hours splashing around in their swimmies. On Sunday, we went to Bowman's Beach in Sanibel for some shelling. Despite the clouds and wind, it was a fun (and very successful) experience and we came home with some gorgeous shells.

Exiting Logan Airport was a bit rough as I hadn't packed a jacket with me. I wrapped myself up in a scarf and ran to the car as fast as I could. While we were away, we got a couple inches of snow. Now, it's a little early to say, but the reports have been saying that we're going to get our first major snow storm of the season this weekend.  To prepare for the nasty weather, I'm making sure we have enough firewood and bourbon to keep us warm and cozy. A big pot of soup, like this hearty, vegan Tom Kha Tofu (a take on Tom Kha Gai, which has chicken in it instead of tofu) will do the trick as well.

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Tom Kha Tofu (Thai Coconut Soup with Tofu)

Yield Serves 4

Ingredients
2-14 oz can full-fat coconut milk
2 cups water
2 tablespoons grated ginger
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tablespoon red chili paste
1/2 large red onion, peeled and sliced lengthwise
1 red pepper, sliced lengthwise
1 lb shiitake mushrooms, rinsed, dried and sliced
1-14 oz container of firm tofu, drained and cubed
Cilantro
Lime
1 Thai chili pepper, seeds removed and sliced thinly
2 cups cooked white or brown rice

Directions
1. In a medium pot, add the coconut milk, water, ginger, garlic, Thai chili paste and red onion. Season to taste with salt. Bring to a low boil. After a few minutes, add the red pepper, shiitake mushrooms, and tofu.  Cook for another five minutes.

2. Spoon a 1/2 cup of rice into each bowl and ladle soup over it. Garnish with fresh cilantro and, if you want more spice, sliced Thai chili pepper. Serve with lime wedges.

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Clementine, Avocado + Crispy Carrot Salad

It's good to be back in the kitchen. Ten days is the longest I've gone without cooking a meal. Not that I'm complaining about the food we had while we were away. It was some of the best seafood I've ever consumed (we ate ALL the poke and sushi we could get our hands on) and we drank enough Mai tais to keep a steady buzz going for the majority of the trip. But I missed holding a knife. I missed peeling and chopping and sautéing.

As soon as we got back, I was immediately thrust back into work. It wasn't until yesterday that I had some free time to prepare recipes I've been developing over the last few weeks (some of which were inspired by our travels).

While I know a chunk of the country has gotten slammed with snow, it's been unseasonably warm here in Boston. For those who don't remember, this is exactly what happened last year. Warmth and sunshine and blue skies for all of December. We all said, "Where's this snow everyone's been saying we'd get nailed with?" and we laughed and thought we were having the mildest winter ever. And then February came. And the snow never ended. And we cried.

Oh gosh, why did I even bring that up? Let's try to enjoy the good weather we're having and spend as much time we can outside. Let's eat citrus salad and drink bottles of crisp white wine. Cold, dark days are ahead of us... so let's just soak this all in.

Clementine, Avocado and Crispy Carrot Salad

Yield
Serves 2

Tools
Mandoline

Ingredients
2 clementine, peeled
1 large carrot, washed well
Olive oil
1 avocado, pit removed and flesh sliced lengthwise
5-6 parsley leaves
Salt
Black pepper

Directions
1. Using a sharp knife, carefully cut the clementine into 1/4 inch slices.

2. Using a mandoline, slice the carrot to create very thin rounds. Then, heat a small skillet with 1 tablespoon of olive oil and set over high heat. Working in batches, add the sliced carrot in batches and cook for 2-3 minutes, flip and cook for another 1-2 minutes or until it gets crispy, but not burnt (a little darkness around the edges is fine). Transfer chips to a plate lined with paper towels.

3. Transfer the sliced clementine to the plate. Top with avocado, carrot chips, and fresh parsley. Season with coarse sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.