Taboli

I had a "first" a few weeks ago - someone actually paid me to make food for them! One of my coworkers asked me how much I would charge to make her some taboli (or tabouli or tabouleh or however you spell it, it says taboli on the package I buy). She said she's tried taboli made by other people or at restaurants and she didn't like them, but she loves mine! Garsh ..... blush. Who knew I could make money by cooking for others?

Oh my goodness!! Doesn't that look delish?! I didn't like taboli until I was well into my 30's and I can't remember where I ate it, but I liked it so well that I learned how to make it at home. That happens to me a lot. If you see me at a restaurant and I'm staring at or examining my food, that means that I'm looking at every layer, every angle, trying to figure out exactly how they made it so I can replicate it at home. If I can't figure it out, I just ask my bff google. The first time I made taboli, I didn't have the right knife and it took me more than an hour and I almost never attempted it again because my hands were worn out. Then I switched to a larger, flat edged knife and voilà! We have success! Now, even if the package says you don't need to add lemon juice, I always adjust the liquid ingredients to add it. Here's my method, which is almost exactly as directed on the package:

Taboli

• 1 10-ounce package Taboli salad mix, I use Bishop Brothers, get the package that has dehydrated parsley and onions already in it, it may say "salad mix" on the package
• 1/3 Cup canola oil
• 1/2 Cup lemon juice
• 2 Cups cold water
• Salt, to taste, I like a lot of it, so I give a generous pour and I use sea salt
• Pepper, to taste
• 1 package Campari tomatoes, or whatever sweet tomato your store has
• 1 large cucumber, peeled and seeded
• 1-2 bunches of green onions, I cut off the green tops just past where it starts to split apart, but you can use the whole onion if you want

Dump the dry taboli mix into a bowl, pour in your salt-n-peppa then add the oil, lemon juice and water - in that order, this is different than the directions on the package. This gives the taboli the opportunity to absorb the lemon juice and oil before you add the water. While it's marinating in the liquid ingredients, chop the tomatoes, cucumbers and onions. Then stir in the veggies and mix 'em up! Cover and stick it in the fridge for about 4 hours and then it's done!

Note: Do not eat a large amount of the taboli before it's done plumping up. If you do, it will swell in your stomach and you will feel like ralphing and spend the rest of the night rolling around like a horse with colic. Take a little taste so you know if you need more salt, but stop yourself before you inhale half of the salad. This is the voice of experience talking.

 

Also, someone once asked me how to seed a cuke, so if you've never done it before, here's an easy method: After you peel the cucumber and slice off the ends, halve it lengthwise. Then halve each half. Use your knife to slice down the length of each piece, just under the row of seeds. It should peel off and stay together; if the seeds are spitting out all over the place, you're not slicing deep enough. Enjoy!!