Middle East meets Mexico

Tonight's dinner was kind of an evolutionary process. I was first going to make Tortilla Soup, but realized I was out of veggie stock. So, that wasn't an option. I put a pot of stock on, and we'll have the soup tomorrow. I had planned on a night of a few different hummus flavors and some different things for dipping. So that was the route I thought I'd go tonight. But the more I thought about it, the less I wanted that. I started looking around to see what I needed to use up and came away with some cilantro, some limes, some green onions and a cucumber. Cilantro, limes, and onion meant something with a sort of Mexican vibe. So, what I finally came up with was the Chipotle Lime Two Bean Hummus, and a sort of Mexican style Tabbouleh (replacing the lemon with lime and the parsley with cilantro). This dinner worked really well, and tasted very good. It was so refreshing, and will definitely become a go-to on those hot summer nights that I don't want to turn the stove on. Not to mention this meal came together in about 15 minutes, and you can't beat that!!

Mexican Style Tabbouleh

1/2 cup bulgur wheat

1 cup water

1/2 vegetable bouillon cube

1 medium cucumber, finely chopped

4 green onions, finely diced

1 large tomato, finely diced

1 1/2 cups finely chopped cilantro

juice from 1 1/2 large limes

salt and pepper to taste

Place bulgur in small sauce pan with water and bouillon cube. Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer until liquid is absorbed, about 10 minutes. In the meantime, dice veggies and mix together in a large bowl. Add cooked bulgur, add lime juice, salt and pepper. Mix well. Refrigerate until ready to use. This can be eaten right away, warm, but is nicer when the flavors have had time to combine

I also wanted to post a picture of our lunch today.........sort of a "Mexican" salad type day I guess. For lunch I made a bean salad. I just mixed some pinto beans with diced tomato, avocado, green onions, cilantro, and thawed corn kernels. I drizzled it with olive oil and the juice of half a lime, then salt and pepper to taste. Again, this was very good and very refreshing.