add the bulgar and chill.

If right now was a year ago, I would probably be eating tabouleh with Millie. It's that kind of hot night, where all you want to do is chop, maybe boil just a little bit, and then sit around and soak something up with a pita. Instead there's nobody left here but boys. And they all eat at the Route 1 brass and ferns and don't really chop much at all.

If right now was a year ago, actually, Millie and I would have already eaten a good portion of the tabouleh (along with Rob, though he from the special onion-free dish) and Millie would be sound asleep, or nearly asleep and wishing Erik and I (mostly just I) were quieter with the Playstation. Rob would chuckle and go give Millie hugs to help her fall asleep, and eventually I would head off for home with my little dish of leftover tabouleh which I would have to absolutely swear to return to Millie.

Sometimes in the middle there were a couple of beers (generally Sam Adams as long as they had been left properly standing upright in the refrigerator), or a bike ride to the grills (with veggie burgers wrapped in foil and zip-tied to my handlebars), or a softball to the noggin followed by a trip to the doctor (and Millie with softball-stitch imprints in her forehead and one bleached eyebrow), or Harry Potter talk about how hard it was to do anything other than finish the fourth book (like even brush your teeth or lock the door), or maybe just lazy speculation about what Princeton would be like when we didn't all live there anymore.

Well, I'm still here. It's still hotter than I can bear (and I have the A/C on, thank you) and I'm still obsessing over boys and Millie's still got more tomatoes than me, but now hers grow somewhere just outside of a major metropolitan area on the wrong coast.

But in the spirit of dwelling on the past (a spirit that's taken up permanent residence here in this house) Millie dropped me an e-mail tonight to see if I'd like to cut out of work early and hit the quarry for a swim before dinner. Millie, I sure would. I'll meet you guys there. Do I still have veggie burgers in your freezer?

She also sent the tabouleh recipe. Go chop with a friend and enjoy.

_____________________________
Here you are Kate :)
Enjoy,
Love,
millie

Tabouleh

1/2 c. lemon juice
1 c. bulgar wheat
1 T. olive oil
1 t. pepper (or less)
1/4 t. salt
3 tomatoes, chopped
1 c. flat-leaf parsley
1 red onion, chopped
3 scallions (green part only), sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced

Bring the juice and 1 and 1/2 cups water to a boil. Stir in bulgar, oil,
pepper and salt. Remove from heat. Cover and let stand until the water is
absorbed, 20-25 minutes.

Mix everything else together, add the bulgar and chill.

Posted at 11:25 PM in category Old (this category is huge!)