Mexican Bulgur Salad

I used to sneer a bit at new years. Sad but true. But I didn't get the point. An abitrary mark in the planet's orbit, a mere day no different from any other. If it had fallen on the vernal or autumnal equinox, then maybe it would have made sense. As it was, I didn't get it. Resoutions? No way. I was in bed by 11:00 p.m.

Okay, I'm still in bed by 11:00 p.m. But I get the day a little more. It's a chance to take stock, to look back, to look ahead. It's a chance to breathe, particularly at the end of a busy holiday season.

I'm still not too good at resolutions, but here's one for you: get out of the kitchen more quickly. You know we're all about that around here. After all, we teamed with COOKING LIGHT to write the tome on the matter. (Click here if you want to know more.)

So in keeping with a new year filled with great, healthy, but fast meals, here's one of my favorite from the book: a bulgur salad with a Mexican flare, complete with a citrus-jalapeño vinaigrette. It's just the thing for lunch--at home, at your desk, or on the run. It's also so easy that you only have to turn on your stove to boil water! Now that's the way to start the year off right.

For four servings, combine 1 cup (160 grams) fine-grain, whole-grain bulgur in a large bowl with 1 cup (240 ml) boiling water. Cover and set aside for 30 minutes or until the liquid has been absorbed. (Never had whole-grain bulgur? Check it out here.)

Stir in 1 3/4 cups (425 grams) drained and rinsed canned black beans, 1 small chopped zucchini, 1 cup (125 grams) corn kernels, 3/4 cup (85 grams) chopped Monterey Jack, and 3 tablespoons minced cilantro leaves.

In a small bowl, whisk 1/4 cup (60 ml) orange juice, 1/4 cup (60 ml) lime juice, 2 tablespoons seeded minced jalapeño chile, 1 tablespoon (15 ml) olive oil, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper. Pour this over the bulgur mixture; toss gently. Serve the salad at room temperature or cover and chill for up to 2 days.

Make-Ahead, Seriously Multi-Grain Muesli

As the holidays head toward us, I wish each and every one of you a happy, blessed season, filled, not with things, but with the people and comforts that bring you peace.

One of the things that brings me peace is breakfast. No joke. I have it every morning. I don't skip, even when we're on photo shoots or at publicity events. For me, breakfast is a quiet time--to read, to write some emails to friends, just to sit with the dog and enjoy the morning.

At home, he and I have a set routine. We come downstairs. I let him out, bleary-eyed, then fix his breakfast. Then I make myself a French-worthy bowl of cafe latte and some whole-grain cereal of some sort. In the warmer months, it's granola (which you can find here). In the colder months, it's muesli.

Both are make-aheads that Bruce has squirreled back in the pantry for the weeks ahead. After the jump, I'll tell you how to make some of the tastiest muesli you can imagine.

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Kamut and Spelt Chocolate Chip Cookies

Wow, life has been running at breakneck speed. I cannot believe it's been so long since I posted. Almost three weeks? How's it possible?

Easily. As you may know, Bruce and I promised ourselves that we were not leaving our home this summer. After months of travel and hard work in the winter and spring, I couldn't bear being away from my gardens--and my bed!--anymore.

Once summer wound down, we stepped up again. In earnest. We've been in New York City for a four-day photo shoot. And we've been in Birmingham, Alabama, for a three-day video shoot. And are now home briefly before we head out again on the road.

One of the projects we're working on for next year is a whole-grain book. Not baking. But cooking: roasting, braising, and stewing. Even stir-frying!

I'm so excited about whole grains that I can hardly sit still. They are definitely real food. And one of my favorite food groups. So much more to come. Rye berries. Triticale. Whole-grain polenta. Brace yourself.

But today, I wanted to offer you these great cookies made with kamut and spelt flakes. You may know spelt, that ancient grain often used in whole-grain baking recipes. But you may not know about kamut, another ancient wheat varietal, now grown extensively in the United States. It's chewy and sophisticated, a wonderful addition to the whole-grain baking catalogue. Both spelt and kamut can be rolled into whole-grain flakes--and thus make wonderful additions to baked goods like these. Along with chocolate chips, of course.

You can find kamut and spelt flakes online or at almost any health food store. Just don't use rolled oats. They'll turn gummy. These are whole-wheat cookies: chewy, hearty, and wonderful.

Here goes (after the jump):

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Summer-Fresh Whole-Grain Bulgur Salad

Have I told you that Bruce and I have gone crazy for whole grains? You'll probably be seeing a lot more of them in the year to come on the blog.

I can't believe the solid range, the breadth and depth of flavors. I used to think whole grains were a wintry staple. No more! Now I realize that whole grains are right in every season.

That said, there's something about fresh summer produce and whole grains. It's a match made in . . . the kitchen! The best of all worlds: hearty yet light, bright but comforting.

Bruce made this salad for lunch today--and at the first bite, I knew I wanted to share it with you. I sat on the porch and had a plateful with a glass of iced tea. Now that's summer!

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Teff Gingerbread Muffins

Teff? Really? You bet. I love teff. Because I love whole grains!

Teff is originally from Africa. It's related to millet but with a much deeper, more sophisticated, almost molasses-like taste. It's stocked with phosphorus and thiamin; it's got seventeen times (!) the calcium as wheat or barley. And it's got a great fiber profile. As you may know, the specific mix of fibers in whole grains makes the nutrients more readily available to the body, far more accessible than refined grains that have those very same nutrients "added back" after processing.

Teff is the world's smallest grain, tiny little grains about twice the size of the period at the end of this sentence. In fact, "teff" in Amharic (a language of central Ethiopia) means "lost," probably a reference to how easy it is to lose track of those Lilliputian grains.

Ground, teff grains become a whole-grain flour. If you've never tried teff, now's the time! You can find teff flour in almost all large supermarkets--and in any health-food store, as well as from online suppliers. And since the flour is just the ground whole grain, you're getting the full teff punch in every bite of these muffins.

I'm going to give you them in two forms: one with butter and one with walnut oil. Either way, they're spicy and delicious, a real treat in the afternoon or for breakfast. Let's get to it.

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Peanut Butter Oat Cookies

Can you believe it's almost 2011? I've probably told you this before but one of my favorite quotes from Toni Morrison's masterpiece, BELOVED, is when Sethe tells her daughter this: "It's so hard for me to believe in time. Some things go. Pass on. Some things just stay."

Gorgeous, no? Just to be able to say "I don't believe in time anymore."

Still and all, it's the time of year when we all measure time's passing. And mostly, we do it by making resolutions. (Well, that and by drinking too much champagne. A pretty gorgeous thing, too.)

If I can be so bold, I'd like to propse a resolution for us all, me included: let's all nudge ourselves one step more whole in our food choices. Which means one step browner.

In other words, let's eat more whole grains.

We don't have to go nuts and chow down on millet the first week out. I said "browner," not all the way to Birkenstocks.

It's a simple resolution. There are plenty of whole-grain recipes on this blog. And great books by the likes of Lorna Sass and Robin Asbell.

Here's what I'm talking about: a recipe that sneaks the grain in without too much trouble. It's a great treat--and with whole grains, even better. Again, browner. You don't have to give up cookies. Just make better ones. As in these from our ULTIMATE PEANUT BUTTER BOOK:

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Caramelized Leek Tabbouleh

Continuing on with our week of summery salads in anticipation of the publication of our seven-step plan to get off processed food, here's a delicious, easy tabbouleh, a great second salad on the plate with that lentil one from the other day.

When I was in graduate school, I hated tabbouleh. Maybe it was because it was in an English department where they issued Birkenstocks on the first day. Maybe it was because of the prairie skirts. Maybe it was the patchouli.

Whatever the reason, I wanted to wolf down hunks of roasted, sweating meat, if only to be outrageous. Have you ever done that? Just be outrageous for the sheer sake of it? It's so satisfying! (Especially if you were raised in a world where people were constantly outraged by depravity without being outrageous themselves!)

These days, I love tabbouleh salads: light, easy make-aheads. And with caramelized leeks, even inspired.

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Whole Grain Waffle Mix

My heart leaps up when I behold. . . .

Spring has sprung in my part of the world. Everything's up and blooming. And early. Way early. Six weeks early. We already have azaleas in our part of New England! How is that possible? It's almost preternatural. But I will say this: it's gorgeous. Daffodils, forsythia, tulips, azaleas, fruit trees--everything's singing at the same time. Usually the whole fandango stretches out over several weeks, if not a month of more. Not this year.

No wonder I want a quick breakfast so I can get to the computer, get my work done for the day, and get out into the garden. (Oh, that first picture isn't my house! Ha! I wish! More on that in a second.)

Bruce always has a whole grain waffle mix ready to go in the pantry. All the dry ingredients are whisked together--all I have to do is add the liquids to make a batter (and heat up the waffle iron, of course).

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