Tabbouleh Salad

Sometimes, a recipe fights me.  It just wants to do its own thing, no matter what I try and tell it to do.  This salad was like that.  Bad, bad salad.  But soooo good.

And speaking of bad….

I recently hired a handyman to hang a few things around the house ( oddly, we do not own a concrete drill; pretty sure it’s not because Tim wouldn’t want one, it’s just that he hasn’t thought of it yet).  I wanted someone good who knew what he was doing.  What I got was Mr. Encyclopedia from 1950.

Apparently, he works for a lot of women, doing things like building them shelves for all the shoes and purses they have, because they’re, you know, women, and women do silly stuff like that. Have too many shoes. You know what I mean?

And you are telling me about how silly women are because I am what…..a frog?  Why don’t we talk about how silly men are?  Yeah.  I could tell this was going to go well and we were going to be BFFs.

I told him EXACTLY where I wanted each thing hung…and he questioned each and every one.

”you sure you want it there?  Maybe higher would be better.  I don’t think that’s centered on the wall.  Don’t you think this would look better over there?”

Oh, so you’re a decorator now?

Well, silly little old me, you know, the woman, actually measured things and put some thought into how things should go all by my silly little self  before you got here.  And no, I do not think that should be hung higher because I am not nine feet tall and won’t be able to see it if you hang it that high.  I also can use a level just like a big, strong man, and know how to draw a straight line.

‘And, if you keep talking to me like that, I am going to think of a new place to hang something.

Like I said, sometimes things fight you.

Ingredients:

• 3 cups of chopped baby kale
• 1/2 cup chopped parsley
• 1 cup of seeded, diced tomatoes
• 1 cup of seeded, peeled and diced cucumber
• 1/2 cup sliced scallions ( about 3 large, white and light green parts)
• 1/4 cup finely chopped mint
• 1/2 cup (uncooked) quinoa

For the dressing:

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/8 teaspoon salt ( more to taste)
• pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Rinse the quinoa in a strainer and cook according to package directions in 1 cup water ( bring to a boil, cover and simmer 15-20 minutes.  Let sit 5 minutes, then fluff with a fork). Cool.
2. Baby kale is much more tender than regular kale, but be sure to cut off any really long stems (they can be a bit unpleasant to eat). Make sure the kale, parsley and mint are all dried thoroughly before chopping, otherwise you can end up with gooey herbs.

3. In a large bowl, mix the kale, parsley, tomatoes, cucumber, scallions, and cooled quinoa.  Refrigerate till ready to eat.

4. To make the dressing, combine all ingredients in a small jar or container and shake vigorously.  Pour over salad, enough to wet and flavor it, but do not overdress.  Serve immediately.

Enjoy!