Hello all! It’s been a while since my last post, hasn’t it? One month…two months…over a year!
I could write a long, lengthy entry as to why I’ve been AWOL from this blog, but I think it can be summed up into these two main reasons.
1.aMy family got a dog.
Meet Amy. She’s our sweet golden-labrador-border collie mix. She’s brought us so much joy and happiness, but has also taken up a lot of time and energy.
Between getting her trained, making sure she gets enough exercise, and keeping up with my studies, there just wasn’t any time left for creating quality recipes, blog posts, and photos. More dog time = less blog time.
P.S. Amy is already a year and a few months now, but I wanted to share her puppy pictures because they are just so darn cute!
2.aI lost my inspiration, and I fell down the dangerous rabbit hole of comparison. They say that comparison is the thief of joy, and I had many moments with this blog and its Instagram where this statement resonated very strongly. I felt like I had to keep up with all the other food bloggers and got caught up in follower and like counts. I was no longer blogging for the right reasons (the right reasons for me that is), and I knew I needed to step back from this site and social media in order to find them. This break was honestly the best thing I could do for myself, my blog, and the love I have for cooking, food photography, and creating recipes.
Now, enough personal talk, you’re here for the quinoa tabouleh recipe, aren’t you?
Tabouleh is probably one of the most versatile dishes out there. It’s great as a side, a perfect addition to salad, and a super star on it’s own. Traditionally, tabouleh is made with cracked wheat (bulgar), but for this recipe, I decided to use quinoa instead, making it gluten-free and high in protein.
With the days finally getting warmer and sunnier (although we did get some unwelcome snow falls last month …classic Ottawa), my body is craving lighter, fresher fare.
Move over heavy stews. Hello bright, flavourful tabouleh!
One of the ingredients that gives tabouleh it’s incredibly fresh flavour is mint.
When I was younger, I always felt that mint only belonged in things relating to hygiene, like toothpaste, floss, and gum. The thought of putting mint into food items completely baffled me. Now that my tastebuds have (thankfully) grown up a bit, I’ve come to appreciate mint and the wonderful flavours it lends to dishes.
I didn’t have any mint when I first decided to make this dish, and a small part of me wanted to forgo this lovely herb (silly me I know). But how could I possibly make a stellar quinoa tabouleh without the mint? The answer was, I couldn’t.
And so, since I was very dedicated to making my quinoa tabouleh the best it could be, I biked out to the grocery store, in the rain, to get this must-have ingredient. I was soaked when I came back, but it was so worth it because the mint really makes this quinoa tabouleh taste incredible.
While flavour is the true winner of this dish, the fact that this quinoa tabouleh is incredibly simple to make is a close runner up. All you need is a pot for cooking your quinoa and a knife and board for chopping the other ingredients. That’s it, that’s all. No fancy shmancy kitchen gadgets required.
So what are you waiting for? Whip up this quinoa tabouleh and enjoy a big bowl of it out in the sunshine (at least that’s what I’ll be doing).
If you make this quinoa tabouleh, don’t forget to share a picture of it on Instagram and tag @thehappinesskitchen and use #thehappinesskitchen so I can see it.
Gluten Free Quinoa Tabouleh
Tabouleh is such a nutritious versatile dish. It's great as a side, a perfect addition to salad, and a super star on it's own. Traditionally, tabouleh is made with cracked wheat. This gluten-free quinoa tabouleh uses quinoa instead, making it gluten-free and high in protein.
Ingredients
- 1 cup quinoa, dry
- 2 cups water
- 1-2 cups diced cucumber
- 1-2 cups diced tomatoes
- 1/2 cup mined red onion
- 1 cup chopped parsley
- 1/2 cup chopped mint
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 lemon, juiced (about 1/4 cup lemon juice)
- salt and pepper to taste (I used a 1/2 tsp of salt and a 1 tsp of pepper)
Instructions
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Rinse quinoa in a sieve until the water runoff is clear to remove any bitter tannins. Fill a pot with 2 cups of water and add in rinsed quinoa. Bring to a boil. Once boiled, reduce heat to a simmer a cook quinoa for 15 minutes.
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While the quinoa is cooking, chop and combine remaining ingredients in a large bowl. Place your bowl into the fridge while the quinoa cooks.
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Once the quinoa is done cooking, spread cooked quinoa in a single layer on to a large plate or baking tray. Place quinoa into the fridge for 5 minutes to cool.
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Once the quinoa has cooled, remove quinoa and the bowl with the remaining tabouleh ingredients from the fridge. Add quinoa to the large bowl and mix until everything is combined.
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Season with more salad and pepper if desired.
Quote of the Post:
“Light tomorrow with today”
– Elizabeth Barrett Browning
Welcome back!
PS Amy is adorable.
Thank you for your sweet message Sheree!