Potato Kibbe (Potato & Bulgur Pie)

Got this delicious recipe from a fantastic cookbook, "Classic Vegetarian Cooking From The Middle East and North Africa". It's a mashed potato and bulgur dish with a layer of sauteed onions and almonds in the middle layer. I think mine could have been crisper and browner on the top but I was so impatient to eat that I have burnt roof of mouth as result!


Served with a lemon garlic sauce (vegan mayo, lemon juice, garlic, salt, parsley).

Bulgur, Beans & Broccoli Burrito.

I was seriously stumped as to what I was going to whip up for dinner tonight. I wanted to eat something filling yet something that would take no time at all to make. I opened up my pantry and the first thing I saw was a container of bulgur. I've been following the 'My Veggie Kitchen' blog which recently featured some quickie meals made out of bulgur. I decided to try the beans and bulgur taco filling but use it for a burrito. I used pinto beans instead of refried beans and I also added a couple tablespoons of La Victoria taco sauce. It was the perfect filling for my whole wheat tortilla along with steamed broccoli, avocado, "sour cream" (made from Vegenaise, lime juice and taco sauce mixed together) and habanero hot sauce!

Chickpea and Bulgur Patties (Kibbet Hummus)

Recipe from "Classic Vegetarian Cooking from the Middle East and N. Africa" cookbook. Golden brown patties of chickpeas, bulgur, onions, cilantro, garlic and spices fried in olive oil. These were pretty good. Next time though I might cut back on the bulgur and use more chickpeas. A very carb-errific lunch!


And just to up the carb content even more, I made baked fries to go with it.

Two-Bean Chili with Bulgur

Got this recipe from a cookbook that my husband got me for x-mas last year which I haven't had the chance to use yet. It's called "366 Delicious Ways to Cook Rice, Beans and Grains". Considering it's got a whole section on beans, there were no more than 2 or 3 chili recipes. This one looked interesting to me because of the use of bulgur for thickness and texture. I've never tried that before so this was a first. I think I like this much better than using soy ground crumbles. I tried a little bit for lunch and it was deliciously hearty and spicy. Will be having again for dinner which will go very well with "buttered" whole wheat flour tortillas.

I Made Baklava! And a Sandwich! And Kabob!

I love baklava. I never thought I'd be able to make it myself. It just seem so complicated, all the layers of gooey, juicy, walnut-ty sweetness. I used a recipe from a cookbook called "Tables of Lebanon" and just went for it. I had to switch out the butter for Earth Balance margarine which was no big deal. I sprinkled the top with chopped almonds as I did not have pistachios. It came out pretty.


One of these delicious pieces goes a long way. It's ridiculously sweet! I may have to share these with friends.


Bonus sandwich. My lunch today.


Bonus broiled tofu and veg (squash, onion, green pepper) kabob. My dinner. I seasoned the tofu and veggies with olive oil, lemon juice, garlic and a kabob seasoning blend (granulated onion, garlic, sumac, parsley, salt, pepper, tumeric and other spices). I served them with hummus and bulgur relish with lots of chopped tomato and onion.

Meze: Hummus, Bazargan and Za'atar in olive oil

This is the perfect kind of meal for a hot (not quite summer) night. No need for turning on the stove. I prepared the hummus and bazargan (Syrian bulgur relish) this morning so they were ready to eat when I came home from work. I topped the relish and za'atar dip with fresh tomato and onions. I had whole wheat pita and sesame crackers for dipping. The bazargan is a recipe from 'Olive Trees and Honey'. It is a bulgur relish that is flavored with olive oil, lemon juice, pomegranate molasses, cumin, tomato and cayenne. There are chopped walnuts in it and fresh cilantro (didn't have parsley) as well.


My salad from lunch. Just green leaf, red peppers, walnuts with an olive oil/lemon juice dressing

Bulgur Pilaf Stuffed Peppers

I've been trying to cut back on white rice and incorporate more whole grains into my diet. I am hopelessly addicted to white rice as it's what I grew up on. There is always a large rice cooker of fluffy white jasmine rice in every Thai household and we could go through giant 50 lb. bags of rice in a snap! As a kid I would eat a bowl of rice sprinkled with fish sauce as a snack. That's how much I loved it.

I don't cook with bulgur as often as I'd like so I thought I should today since husband was on his own for dinner (he's alright with super healthy food but not always). Bulgur is a whole wheat grain that is usually found in middle eastern dishes such as tabbouleh and kibbe. It's highly nutritious (more so than rice or couscous) and has a mild nutty flavor with a fluffy and slightly chewy texture. I used my Olive Trees and Honeycookbook and made the basic Turkish Bulgur Pilaf and then cooked some onions, eggplant, tomatoes and swiss chard to add to it.



I didn't stop there. I had some yellow peppers (and one red one) in my fridge that needed using up so I stuffed them with the pilaf and baked them in the oven. I made a simple tomato sauce to pour on top that consisted of tomato puree, cumin, lemon juice, agave syrup, salt and pepper.


Beautiful presentation and delicious too!

VeganMoFo: Mini Meze

It's been so hot the past couple days I've been feeling reluctant to cook. I just want to chill out with an iced tea and nosh on little nibbles. A meze is a small snack or appetizer assortment that can be consumed as a starter course or as an entire meal. Tonight's supper will consist of a mini meze spread with three delightful dips/spreads that go well with pita and crackers. Also we'll be enjoying something new that is here to stay: garlicky edamame.

Our spread:

Hummus: A creamy Middle Eastern dip made of chickpeas, tahini, garlic and lemon juice that is drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with sumac. (Recipe from Tables of Lebanon cookbook)

Bazargan: A tart and fruity Syrian bulgur relish which contains bulgur, walnuts, lemon juice, olive oil and pomegranate syrup. (Recipe from: Olive Trees and Honey cookbook)

Za'atar: A Middle Eastern spice mixture of thyme, oregano, sesame seeds, salt and sumac which is mixed with olive oil for dipping. My favorite Lebanese restaurant provides this at every table with chopped onions and tomato so I copied them. You can find prepared za'atar spice mix at a middle eastern grocery or ethnic market.

Garlicky Edamame (recipe at the end of this post)

Pita Bread and Sesame Crackers
Iced tea, Beer, Water


A little mountain of bazargan surrounded by creamy hummus and za'atar in olive oil.




Garlicky Edamame. Wow, this is really good. I got the idea for this from a PPK'er who made a breaded garlic parmesan edamame but unfortunately used non-vegan parmesan. I wanted to try something similar and came up with this. I used 'Parmezano Sprinkles' (which is always available in my fridge!) which gave them a beautiful nutty bite.

Garlicky Edamame

2-3 TB olive oil
2 cups steamed edamame
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 TB Parmezano Sprinkles (you can get this recipe from The Ultimate Uncheese cookbook...or you can email me!)
salt and pepper to taste

Heat the olive oil in a pan on medium high heat. Add edamame and stir fry for a minute or so to coat them with the oil. Add the garlic and toss a few times. Turn off heat and sprinkle with Parmezano Sprinkles, salt and pepper. That's it! They are so garlicky and salty and addicting! Be careful!