Cooking with Sage.

ok, so, i think i made bulgar.

but i’m not sure.

this all started with a trip to honest weight on sunday following an adventure trying to find a farmer’s market in march in upstate new york (don’t get me started).  as it was the first time i had been there, i was experiencing far too much wonder and awe to be paying much attention at all to what i was doing (which is pretty typical for me).  i purchased a few grains from the bulk bins, but didn’t feel the need to label what i bought.  so thusly, i’m about 95% sure about this bulgar situation.

the food co-op, by the way, was pretty wonderful.  i purchased 2 summer squash, a pound and a half of brussels sprouts (more about this later), 2 cara cara navels (also more on this later), polenta, bulgar (?), and red quinoa (!!!)… for $9.70.  holllerrrrrrrr!  so, i made the brussels sprouts last night, something i have never tried before, and used a recipe from one of my new website obsessions, 101 cookbooks.  they were… awesome.  crispy, salty, cheesey.  really i’m all about anything golden crusted.  the cara cara navels?  wikipedia them.  seriously.  they are like the most deliciously delectable sweet orange i have ever experienced.

anyway, the bulgar recipe.  i tried to do that fancy thing where the rest of this entry would be in a link in case you aren’t interested in my experience with bulgar, but during that attempt all that i had typed up til this point disappeared and i had to start over.  so until i become more tech savvy, you will have to deal.  i also want to point out how it currently says its 11:28 am, when it is most definitely 10:28 pm.  hmmmmm.  i got a few ideas for this recipe from smitten kitchen.

bulgar and israeli couscous pilaf.
makes about 5 cups.

(this is not technically a pilaf because i did not brown the couscous before i boiled it.  i did this the last time i made it, and i wanted to try it a different way.  attribute the weird amounts of ingredients below to me wanting to use up what i had in the pantry)

ingredients:
1/2 cup israeli (pearl) couscous
3/4 cup bulgar
1 summer squash
1 pint grape tomatoes
drizzle of olive oil (this is a really exact measurement)
sea salt and old bay seasoning to taste (don’t go overboard on the old bay like i did)
feta cheese (optional)

1.  i put the oven on 325 (a number i randomly chose) and chopped the summer squash to bite size pieces and the grape tomatoes in halves.  i put them on a baking tray with some olive oil and sea salt and started them roasting in the oven.  i ended up keeping them in for about 30 minutes, but this is personal preference (read: i like really crispy things).
2.  i boiled 1 1/2 cups of water for the bulgar and then let that simmer for about 20-30 minutes until it appeared to be soft, absorbed, and all that good stuff.  (i had to strain some water out in the end, but from what i read about bulgar this is sometimes normal?  i’m not sure.  this is the first time i’ve made it.)
3.  then boiled 1 cup of water for the couscous, let that simmer for about 5 minutes until it was good and done.
4.  can you guess what comes next?  i mixed the bulgar and the couscous and seasoned with (too much) old bay.  it evened out when i added the veggies though, so all’s good.  i sprinkled it with some feta cheese before i ate it and it was delicious!

since i’ve got that whole nutrition thing going, here’s some info on this dish (according to my various resources/calculations):
1/2 cup israeli couscous: 285 kcal, .75 g fat, 0g fiber, 9g protein.
3/4 cup bulgar: 113 kcal, .3g fat, 6g fiber, 4g protein.
1 summer squash: 31 kcal, 0g fat, 2g fiber, 2g protein.
1 pint grape tomatoes: 50 kcal, 0g fat, 2g fiber, 4g protein.
1 T olive oil: 124 kcal, 14g fat, 0g fiber, 0g protein.
totals:  603 kcal, 15g fat, 10g fiber, 19g protein.
per serving:  120 kcal, 3g fat, 3g fiber, 6g protein.
(1/2 oz of feta cheese adds an extra 40 kcal, 3g fat, and 2g protein.)

i promise, the next time i make food i will take pictures so i don’t end up with such a boring looking blog update ever again.  if i can learn to make food look artistic/pretty.  shap will have to teach me.  i just want to say this took me like 2 hours to write.  i’m serious.  okay bye!