Rosie Has A Hankerin' Fer Some Tabbouleh And Mr. Hawthorne Does Tile Fish. A Winning Combination.

I wanted something a little different for snacking yesterday and I was trying to think what. Checking out my pantry and the fridge, I came upon something that really was going to hit my spot - Tabbouleh.

I poured about 2 cups of boiling water over 1/2 cup bulgar wheat, covered it, and let it sit for 2 hours until the bulgar absorbed most of the water. Then I strained the leftover water (bulgar joos?) and added my fixin's.

Here, I have: fresh mint and parsley 1/2 cucumber 1 lemon 1 lime 2 Roma tomatoes 1 green onion

I juiced the lemon and lime and ended up with 1/2 cup of citrusy goodness. Then I whisked in 1/4 cup olive oil, added freshly ground salt and pepper, and there's my dressing.

I used about 2 TB each of the mint and parsley.

I finely chopped the parsley and mint sliced the green onion, and diced the cucumber and tomato.

And here's everything ready for mixing.

The cucumbers and tomatoes went in.

And the mint and parsley.

Then the dressing is poured over top.

Tabbouleh in a Tostito Scoop. Every bite was a burst of fresh flavor. You can taste every ingredient in every bite. This is happy food to me.

Mr. Hawthorne picked up some tilefish on his way home from work. Here, he's pulling the bones out of the tilefish fillets.

He heated up his pan, added butter and olive oil and heated that, then put in his lightly seasoned tile fish fillets. (Just salt, pepper, and Old Bay.)

Maybe 3-4 minutes each side, depending on the thickness of your fillets. Mr. Hawthorne can tell when they're ready by touch. They will have a firmness to them. Or you can just take a fork and fork 'em. They should flake easily.

Here's our lovely dinner. Mr. Hawthorne had made cole slaw the day before. I steamed some broccoli until tender/crisp. And I topped the tile fish off with some tabbouleh. Excellent meal.

Tabbouleh atop seared tile fish. The light, fresh flavors of the tabbouleh perfectly complemented the delicate tile fish. All in all, a terrific combination.