2019-11-01 In The Moment

92 CalmMoment.com

1

Rinse the bulgur wheat, then cover

in boiling water, adding the half

stock cube for extra flavour. Leave for

15 minutes, then drain and pop the bulgur

in the fridge to cool.

2

Chop all the vegetables into small

pieces. Don’t bother peeling the

cucumber as the peels hold in the water

and keep your salad fresher. Drain the

excess juice from your tomatoes.

3

Put the chopped vegetables, herbs

and chilled bulgur into a serving bowl.

Add the vinegar, tasting as you go, the

olive oil and salt, then mix. Keep in the

fridge until ready to serve: the crisper the

salad the more the herb flavours pop.

Herbs are underappreciated.

What would eating experiences

be without their subtle flavour

and cheerful splash of colour?

Tabbouleh is all about the herbs.

In the Levant this simple dish is

traditionally served as part of a

mezze, its fresh flavours sharpened

with lemon juice. You can achieve

the same acid zing using a locally

produced apple cider vinegar.

INGREDIENTS

SERVES 6

Colourful Swiss Chard stems,

stripped of leaves (save these for

a salad) and cut into slim 5cm

(2 in) lengths

1 cup (250ml) rice wine vinegar

A pinch of sugar

2 tsp each mustard seeds, onion

seeds and cumin seeds

Salt

as an interdependent part of the

natural world, if we choose to let it –

and that is eat. Pause for a moment

and consider how every morsel of food

that you have ever eaten has been

brought to you by a well-nigh magical

collaboration of people, plants,

animals, wind, water, soil, sun and

countless tiny microorganisms that

you will likely never see.

Food is the great connector of life.

Each time we put a bite of food in our

mouths, we are in a process of

exchange with the entire natural

world that created and sustains us.

The word ‘exchange’ implies

reciprocation. And when we exchange

gifts, we give as well as receive. What

an opportunity for mindset shift!

Tabbouleh

METHOD

This is an edited

extract from

The Mindful

Kitchen: Vegetarian

Cooking to Relate

to Nature by

Heather Thomas

(Leaping Hare

Press, £ 20 ).

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