OK, sometimes in my haste I don’t even follow my own recipes to a tee. And this past Sunday morning was no exception. (This is happening more and more as advancing years have their way with me!) So, instead of reading my recipe on how to soften the bulgur for this salad, I followed the Red Mill basic cooking instructions on the package. Huge mistake. I basically made porridge. (BTW, not Bob’s mistake. The instructions were perfect if you wanted a soft cereal.)

So what do you do when you realize your mistake and it’s 10:00 am and you have 37 guests coming for a meal at 1:00 pm? Well I’ll tell you what I did. I carried on as if no faux pas had occurred. So the salad was a little soggy, it still tasted just fine. But I knew it could have been better. (Sometimes you just have to suck it up and hopefully learn not to make the same mistake again! In my case, I’m not holding out much hope that it won’t happen again. But I have confidence in you, so not too worry!) Anyway, the salad was still delicious.

So next time you want a wonderful, nutritious, and different salad to serve to your family and friends, I suggest you make Tabbouleh. It’s perfect as a part of a Mediterranean menu, or just as a nice change of pace beside a simple meat entrée. And it keeps really well. Perfect for lunch the next day, be it in your home or in your office lunchroom.

So moral of this story/confession. Stuff happens. You simply have to make lemonade out of the lemons. And – you don’t need to tell anyone about your little mess-ups in the kitchen. Most of the time no one will notice anyway! Happy cooking.

FYI: Bulgur is the traditional grain of the Levant. And since you wondered, the Levant region includes Syria, Lebanon, and southern Turkey.

• 1½ c. med. sized bulgur (I use Bob’s Red Mill Whole Grain Red Bulgur)
• 1½ c. boiling water
• 1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
• 1 English cucumber, partially peeled, seeded, and cut into small chunks
• 8 green onions, finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, finely minced
• 1 c. chopped Italian parsley, or more to taste
• ½ c. chopped fresh mint, or more to taste
• 6 T. fresh lemon juice, or more to taste
• 6 T. extra-virgin olive oil
• ½ tsp. kosher salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• 1 c. crumbled feta, or more to taste
• ½ c. coarsely chopped Kalamata olives, or more to taste 

Combine the bulgur and boiling water; soak for one hour. Drain the bulgur in a fine sieve, pressing firmly to release any excess water. Place on a plate, fluff a little, and allow to cool to room temperature.

Meanwhile prep the tomatoes, cucumber, green onions, garlic, parsley, and mint as described above.

When the bulgur is cool, whisk the lemon juice, olive oil, salt, and pepper together in a large bowl. Add the bulgur and toss until every grain is coated. Then gently stir in the cut veggies. Finally add the crumbled feta and Kalamata olives. Taste and add more of this or that until you reach the desired taste you want.

Tabbouleh is best if it has an hour or so to meditate in a cold place before being served.