Garden Grown Tabouli Salad

Last year I tried my hand at planting parsley from seed. I ended up with a ton of parsley plants which I put in pots in and outside of the house, as well as in one of my front gardens. I was delighted at the end of winter to see several parsley plants poking their heads up under the yard waste and snow. I now have more than a half dozen plants growing in my front garden and became very large by the end of April.

I finally went out and took the first harvest from the plants this week. The plants have yielded a large haul so far, and I realize I am going to have to find several uses for the parsley to both eat it fresh, and keep it over the winter.

I'll be freezing some. Parsley is easy to freeze, and doesn't need blanching in order to do so. It won't be crisp when you defrost it, however it's great for adding to soups or any other cooked dish. Hang parsley in a dark, dry area (or bake it at 100*F) to dry it out and keep it as a dried herb. I did this with my harvest last year, and my husband was amazed at the flavour our dried parsley had. No way we could go back to the store bought stuff yet. But it's early in the year and I'm craving fresh garden greens. I never thought I'd get some at the start of May! In addition to my parsley, I have quite a lot of mint growing in the same garden. It struck me that I could make a tabouli salad out of it!

Here is a general guide to making tabouli. I didn't measure a thing, but added ingredients to taste. It's fantastic to eat it by scooping it up into a lettuce leaf. Also tasty on a spoon!

Wheat Bulgar (traditionally little is used, I like to add extra)
Chopped Parsley
Chopped Mint (I use 2x as much parsley as mint)
Diced Tomatoes (I like to use cherry tomatoes)
Sliced Scallions or Onions
Olive oil
Lemon juice or juice of one fresh lemon
Salt & Pepper to taste
Cayenne pepper (optional)

The veggies are growing, the veggies are growing!

I've been working on growing a small vegetable & herb garden in our tiny backyard this year. I'm growing five kinds of heritage tomatoes, two kinds of eggplants, zucchinis, two types of peppers, parsley root, broccoli, etc.

It's been such a soggy year here this summer. Almost nothing has actually ripened and what started as an amazing growing season is turning into a late harvest. I've taken one zucchini out of my garden so far, although plenty of herbs.

We've had a bout of hot weather, finally. Suddenly it looks like everything wants to grow again. I have tomatoes on at least three plants, and am hoping the sun and heat will get them to start to ripen. I finally have a cayenne pepper growing, and plenty of flowers on both pepper plants. And an eggplant is growing! I'm very much looking forward to harvesting some more food from my garden soon.

The zucchinis are struggling, although still growing like mad. I have a mildew problem that I am attempting to beat with a chamomile infusion. One of the zucchini plants is also displaying blossom rot, so we've recent ground up some egg shells and added to the soil. *fingers crossed*

In better news, my small ground cherry seedling has bloomed into a strong plant with a lot of fruit on it. It gets plenty of sun, so I am sure we'll get a decent yield from it. And, I have cucumbers growing! One is quite large now and I am sure we'll be eating it this week.

Still, with all the work that's been involved with the garden this year, it's been completely fulfilling. The one zucchini we ate tasted amazing. Something about the taste of something you've worked hard and grown yourself. Also, the view out our patio doors is fantastic, all lush and green and symbolic of all the work I've done out there. Working in the garden is hard, but I always feel refreshed and accomplished.

It's been great slowly turning my thumb from black to green.