What is farro?!

Thank you to my friends who emailed me, I realized that I posted that amazing farro risotto recipe, but didn't properly describe what farro is! Here's a quickie explanation taken straight off the package: "farro is one of the oldest unhybridized forms of wheat and has been a part of the Italian diet for centuries...high in fiber and minerals, it is very versatile. It's a hardy plant which does not require the use of fertilizers or pesticides."

Don't feel bad if you'd never heard of farro before my last post. I was first introduced to farro a few years ago when I took a "Healthy Cuisines" professional development course at the Culinary Institute of America's Greystone campus with my dear friend, Cindy. Ah, fabulous memories of that week. When not donning our chef whites and holding our own as the only two women in the kitchen, Cindy and I were trolling vineyards and restaurants and filling our suitcases with farro to bring back home. Nowadays, it's much more readily available so do give this delicious farro risotto recipe a try!

As promised...my Farro-Butternut Squash Risotto recipe

Really, is there anything better than a comforting, healthful meal on a cold, rainy night? After basically ignoring my family for a few days as I prepped and then taught several cooking lessons this week, yesterday was my day to redeem myself. My older child read and hung out in the kitchen with me, and my little one brought me Lego creation after Lego creation to admire as I stirred the risotto. Unlike most of the recipes I have passed along to you that have quick assembly and then a half hour or so cook time, this one requires you to attend to the pot for that half hour. But it is worth it, trust me.

Farro-Butternut Squash Risotto

(Makes 8-10 servings)

olive oil

whole farro (I used a 1.1 lb package b/c I wanted to make enough for a small army)

2 lbs butternut squash, chopped

1 onion, chopped

a few cloves of garlic, chopped

fresh sage

2 quarts of broth (vegetable or chicken, your choice)

5 oz. tub of shredded Parmesan

1/2 cup boursin, marscapone, goat cheese, cream cheese or heavy cream (optional)

In a large saucepan, heat a bit of olive oil. Add the onion and butternut squash and cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until onion is golden and softened. (The squash will not be cooked through, that's ok as it will continue to cook with the farro.) Add the farro and cook for about 1 minute, stirring to coat it with the oil. Add enough stock so you can still stir the risotto without it sloshing out...proper risotto recipes will tell you to "warm the stock and add it 1 cup at a time", but let's be realistic-- who has time to do that? It'll be just fine adding the whole first quart as long as your pot is big enough to hold that much liquid. (And room temp is just fine.) This is the half hour you'll be at the stovetop, so grab a glass of tea or wine and relax. Gently stir the risotto while the liquid is being absorbed. After that first quart of broth is absorbed, I add a handful of the Parmesan, stirring so it melts, and then I add more broth from the second quart-- this time go easy, adding the broth a little at a time while you're stirring so you don't overdo it on the liquid. (Last night, I went through about 1 1/2 quarts of broth.) Towards the end of the cook time, you may add a little extra creaminess (marscapone, goat cheese, boursin, heavy cream) if you'd like, and the remainder of the shredded Parmesan and the fresh sage. The farro is done when it is al dente (farro grains don't melt into each other like Arborio rice) and enrobed in the thick, creamy liquid, about 25-30 minutes total. Season with salt and pepper.

The benefit of using farro is that farro risotto holds up much better to reheating than regular aborio rice risotto. So, once it's cooled down, you can package up the remainder for a delicious lunch or dinner in the next few days. Simply add a bit of the leftover broth to your risotto when reheating it.

Here is the recipe in photos. Enjoy!

In a large saucepan, I sauteed the onion and butternut squash over moderate heat until the onion was softened.

Add the farro...

and cook for about 1 minute, stirring to coat it with the oil.

I wasn't kidding when I said I poured the whole first quart of broth in. Patience is not my virtue. It works just fine this way. Then you simply stir the risotto until that first batch of broth is absorbed.

I forgot to take a photo of the risotto when the first batch of broth was absorbed... this was about halfway through the cook time. I had added more broth, the fresh sage, and a handful of Parmesan and continued to stir the risotto.

You can see that the broth is getting a sort of "creamy" look to it...

Towards the end of the cook time, I added a hearty dollop of Boursin I had in my fridge. This just makes the risotto a little creamier, but it's totally optional.

The last handful of Parmesan went in...

and the farro is done when it is al dente (try a piece) and enrobed in the thick, creamy liquid, The whole cook time should take 25-30 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Enjoy! Oh, and if any of you have trouble finding farro in your local market, here's a link to order some. I bought mine at Whole Foods, in the pasta aisle (Rustichella d'abruzzo brand).

Sides to have on hand for quick summer dinners: Quinoa Salads

We are having a great summer. But, with days chock full of swimming, parks, tennis, and running around the yard, dinner is often times an afterthought. In the fall and winter I love to fill our home with the smell of something delicious bubbling on the stove. In the summer? We usually roll in minutes before dinnertime. The key to avoiding chaos is to have some good sides on hand. Then you can just pop some chicken or fish on the grill and dinner is made in minutes. The black bean salad I posted a few weeks ago is excellent and will hold up for several days. Quinoa salads are packed with protein and are another favorite here.

Quick Quinoa Salad with Lentils

Quinoa (cooked according to pkg, usually 1 cup quinoa: 2 cups water, covered at a simmer for about 15 minutes)
Trader Joe's Black Beluga Lentils (which come fully cooked in a pouch)
Veggie of choice (I used tomatoes)
Fresh herb (I used fresh mint)
Scallions, white part chopped
Lemon, zested and juiced
Smoked paprika
Vinaigrette (I used olive oil, lemon juice and a dash of kosher salt)

Combine everything in a bowl and let the flavors meld. Will last for up to a week in the fridge. Great served alongside grilled fish, chicken, veggies or meat.

You can vary the taste of your quinoa salad based upon the veggies/beans/etc. you add and the vinaigrette. For more of my variations on quinoa salads, you might like to click here or here.

Make Ahead Side Dishes: Wheat Berry Salad with Cranberries & Pecans

Having some interesting sides already made, in my fridge, makes putting lunch and dinner together a snap. Here’s the recipe for a wheat berry salad I recently made that was absolutely delicious. You do need some time to make this, since the wheat berries have to cook for 1 hour. So, it’s a good one to make when you’re home for the afternoon, overseeing homework, etc. Admittedly, this was a side I made for us, more than for the kids. The night I made it, I served it with a simple mustard glazed salmon and some edamame. Then during the week, I had it for lunch, and I did put a scoop on my children’s plate a couple different meals. My older child loved it; my younger child picked the carrots, cranberries and pecans out of it. Not bad. You pick your battles, right?

Wheat Berry Salad with Cranberries and Pecans

4 cups of water
1 ½ cups of wheat berries

Handful of shredded carrots
Handful of diced celery
Hanful of diced onion or scallion
Splash of olive oil
Handful of cranberries
Handful of pecans
Splash of red wine vinegar (start with just a little, as you can always add more)
Salt & pepper, to taste

Bring the 4 cups of water to a boil; add wheat berries (shown above, before they've been cooked).

Reduce the heat to low and cook the wheat berries (uncovered) for about 1 hour or until they are tender and moist (as shown above, see how they puff up and turn a pretty, rich brown color?). Drain any extra liquid.

Return the wheat berries to the saucepan and toss in remaining ingredients. Stir so everything is nicely combined. Once it sits for a couple minutes and the flavors meld, feel free to add a bit more vinegar (to make it more zesty/tangy) or you can add another splash of olive oil if you went too heavy handed on the vinegar the first go round!

Comforting (Vegetarian) Barley Stew

I have a cold. And when I have a cold, I want soup. Here’s a simple, delicious, comforting soup recipe I whipped up yesterday. It comes from the December 2009 issue of Bon Appetit in their “Fast Easy Fresh” section. I served it last night with hunks of the most wonderful bread ever. (More on Charlotte's Super Bread later, when I track down some details...)

Barley Stew with Leeks, Mushrooms and Greens
Slightly adapted from Bon Appetit, December 2009 issue

Olive oil
1 bunch of leeks, white and pale green parts, chopped
2 containers of sliced baby bella or cremini mushrooms
6 garlic cloves, pressed
A couple stalks of fresh rosemary, pulled off the stalk and minced
1 14.5-oz can diced tomatoes in juice
1 cup of pearl barley (found by the dried beans in any supermarket)
4-6 cups of vegetable broth
2 bunches of kale, trimmed, center stalk removed b/c it’s really tough, leaves torn into smaller pieces
Salt and pepper to taste

Heat olive oil in a large soup pot over medium heat. Sauté the leeks until softened. Add mushrooms, garlic, and rosemary, increase heat to medium-high until mushrooms soften and brown a bit. Add tomatoes (and juice) from the can. Then add barley and 4 cups of broth. Bring to a boil, then cover and lower heat to low. Simmer 20 minutes, or until barley is cooked (it will look puffed up and moist). Then you’ll add the kale, (which will fill the pot!) and cover again until the kale is wilted, just a minute or two. You may need to add another cup or two of broth at this point, so the moisture wilts the kale, and the soup is desired consistency.

Here’s the pictorial version for those who want to see the soup made step by step…

Heat olive oil in a large soup pot over medium heat. Sauté the leeks until softened.

Add mushrooms, garlic, and rosemary. Stir everything, and increase heat to medium-high until mushrooms soften and brown a bit.

Add tomatoes (and juice) from the can. Then add barley...

...and 4 cups of broth.

Bring to a boil, then cover and lower heat to low. Simmer 20 minutes, or until barley is cooked (it will look puffed up and moist, as in photo above).

Last step, you add the kale (which will fill the pot!). Stir the soup a bit, and then cover the pot again to wilt the kale. It will just take a minute or two. Note that you may need to add another cup or two of broth at this point (especially if, like me, you added a LOT of kale). The warm broth will wilt the kale, and the soup can be made desired consistency by adding more broth.

This soup is delicious with the earthiness of the rosemary and mushrooms. It will keep for a couple of days, covered in the fridge, and you can simply heat up individual portions.

Two Potluck Offerings (that use Giada's Basil Sauce)

(I replaced the photo of our vacation with the green bean one but seemed to have accidentally erased the quinoa one off my camera. So, enjoy the vacation photo instead!)

Wanted to share two potluck recipes I’ve made while on vacation, since many of you may be gearing up for Labor Day BBQs and the like. As you may remember from an earlier post, I fell in love with Giada’s Grilled Chicken with Basil Sauce that my friend, Christine, made for our Wednesday dinner swap. So, for these two potluck dishes, I simply whipped up Giada’s Basil Sauce and used it for a green bean side, and later for a quinoa salad. The sauce lasts for several days, so I double Giada’s recipe (the doubled recipe is posted below) and keep in on hand so I can use it in various ways throughout the week.

Green Beans in Giada’s Basil Sauce

Green beans, blanched
Giada’s Basil Sauce
Mixed greens (as a base)
Slivered almonds, lightly toasted
Lemon zest, for garnish

Trim the ends off the green beans, blanch them, and then toss in Giada’s Basil Sauce. I layered the platter with mixed greens, drizzled that with a little of the sauce, then put a mound of green beans, and sprinkled them with slivered almonds and lemon zest.


Quinoa Salad with Giada’s Basil Sauce

Quinoa, cooked according to package
Chicken broth (I used it to cook the quinoa, instead of water)
Feta, crumbled
Cherry tomatoes, halved (unless they’re already tiny)
Roasted Peppers, chopped
Pistachios, roasted
Basil, chiffonade
Giada’s Basil Sauce

Toss everything together, and dress with an ample amount of Giada’s Basil Sauce. Serve room temp. Will last several days in the fridge, and you can turn it into an entrée with the addition of some roasted veggies, grilled chicken or shrimp.

Note: The market out here only had one box of regular quinoa left on the shelf, so I also cooked up a second box of black quinoa (which I had never seen before). The black quinoa was costly, so I probably would just stick to the more easily found regular kind, but it sure was pretty.

Giada’s Basil Sauce is linked here, but for those who like everything in one place, I will copy the recipe below as well:

Giada’s Basil Sauce (makes about 3 cups)

2 cups olive oil
½ cup fresh lemon juice
2 cups lightly packed fresh basil leaves
4 cloves of garlic
2 teaspoons grated lemon peel
salt and pepper, to taste

Put everything in a food processor or blender, and pulse until smooth. Store in a tight fitting container, in the fridge, for up to 1 week.

Monster Mush (aka Spinach Risotto)

Here’s another simple dinner, though this one requires you tend to it while it’s cooking. I recently made this on a night when dinner wasn’t ready (truth be told, I probably hadn’t even figured out what I was going to make) but the kids were hungry, tired and I seized the opportunity to make something easy and get them to bed! If you have kids who like oatmeal, risotto can be an easy sell.

While risotto from scratch is just as easy, I keep a box of Trader Joe’s Wild Mushroom Risotto in the pantry for those nights when I am in a pinch. So, this recipe included:
Trader Joe’s Wild Mushroom Risotto
Chicken Broth
1 bag Organic Frozen Spinach
Parmesan, shredded

I simply toasted the risotto in a bit of olive oil (which coats each grain of rice in a bit of fat) until the grains were translucent. I know this isn’t the way you’re technically supposed to do it, but I never have time to also heat the broth so I add it room temp (straight from the pantry) in small amounts while stirring the rice, almost constantly. In case you’re wondering if it works, yes. This is the way I’ve always done it, and it’s just fine. You’ll see the broth becoming creamy as the rice cooks and takes on some of the starch from the rice. Keep adding a bit more broth until the rice is also a creamy consistency but still a bit al dente. It takes a little practice because you want the liquid mostly absorbed, but the rice not too mushy. Texturally you want individual grains, so watching it as it is cooking is key and you should taste away as it cooks!

Because I was tossing in a bag of frozen—yes folks, straight from the freezer—spinach, I left the burner on low even though the rice was technically done. But normally, once the rice is cooked you’d remove it from the burner and stir in the cheese as a creamy finale. Count on the risotto taking about 20-25 minutes, start to finish (a tad bit longer than normal, since the broth wasn’t heated).

Experts always say you need to heat it right away, but in our house you’ve often got the kids eating early with me, and my husband eating much later. Maybe I’m not a purist, but I think my risotto heats up just fine with a little additional chicken broth to prevent it from becoming too dry.

If your children are bummed by the addition of veggies, try giving one of them the opportunity to name the meal something funny. We called this risotto with spinach, “Monster Mush” and they laughed at their wittiness as they ate it all up.

Quinoa Salad for a Potluck

Tonight my Wednesday Supper Exchange will be dining together. It’s been an amazing treat to cook once for the group and then receive meals the next three Wednesdays (click on the link above if you want to set up your own supper exchange, which I highly recommend for a healthy alternative to take-out when you need a break from cooking). Since this is the first night we're actually dining together instead of cooking/picking-up meals at each other's homes, we’ve divvied up the menu. Shocking, I know, that I offered to make one of my quinoa salads. As mentioned in earlier postings, I like quinoa because it’s healthy, it's quick to cook, and very versatile-- really you can add whatever you have on hand to come up with a delicious end product. Plus, it’s an easy sell if your children already eat cous cous…similar consistency.

Potluck Quinoa Salad

1 box of quinoa (prepared with vegetable stock which adds more flavor that cooking it in water)
Zucchini and Squash, drizzled with olive oil and grilled, then chopped
Trader Joe’s Roasted Red Peppers, drained and chopped
Cherry tomatoes, chopped
Feta cheese
Lemon Zest (a microplane zester comes in handy for zesting)
Vinaigrette (in a blender I combined lemon juice, olive oil, 2 cloves of garlic and a dash of Kosher salt)

Combine all ingredients and let sit for a couple of hours so flavors blend. Will last several days in the fridge, so makes an excellent lunch the next day...and the day after that...

Quinoa Salad(s)

I’ve been averaging one Quinoa Salad a week this summer. Usually it’s first made for dinner, alongside grilled fish or chicken. And usually I make made way too much, so I have plenty for lunch in the days that follow, or I can leave my dinner host with an ample supply to enjoy later on. Each time I make it the ingredients are a little different, depending upon what I have in my fridge and pantry, but every time the results are equally delish. It doesn’t photograph well with my little rinky dink camera, so you’ll have to just take my word for it.

One Quinoa Salad That Was a Hit
1 package of quinoa (prepared according to the pkg, though I use vegetable broth instead of water)
Baby Heirloom Tomatoes (pretty colors), quartered
Artichoke hearts, roughly chopped
Kalamata olives, roughly chopped
Feta cheese, crumbled
Toasted Pine Nuts
Vinaigrette (see below)
Combine all ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Add enough vinaigrette to your desired taste. For this one, I emphasized the lemon in the vinaigrette so I also dressed it with some lemon zest curly q’s.

Another Quinoa Salad That Was a Hit
1 package of quinoa (prepared according to the pkg, though I use vegetable broth instead of water)
Bell peppers, roasted and chopped
Zucchini, roasted and chopped
Squash, roasted and chopped
Cherry tomatoes, chopped
Fresh basil, chiffonade (chop without bruising the leaves)
Feta cheese, crumbled
Pistachios
Vinaigrette (see below)
Combine all ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Add enough vinaigrette to your desired taste. For this one, I had tons of basil and pistachios, so I saved some of each to sprinkle over the top before serving.

Basic Vinaigrette
fresh basil
olive oil
lemon juice
garlic
splash of red wine vinegar
kosher salt
pepper
Toss all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth, adding more olive oil or acid (lemon juice or vinegar) to suit your taste and texture. If you want to thin it even more but are happy with the level of zing you’ve got going, you can add a bit of vegetable broth instead of citrus or vinegar.

This is a great make-ahead dish for the Waveny Concerts or other outings when you want a sophisticated side that will travel well. It’s hearty enough to please a vegetarian guest, and is a wonderful accompaniment to grilled veggies, fish or meats. (Hint: skewers travel well, and can easily be eaten in your lap.) You can play with the ingredients to create your own signature Quinoa Salad.

Chimichurri Rice with Sausage & Spinach

On the day my older son has Kindergarten soccer practice (otherwise known as: one very patient dad trying to herd cats), our whole evening routine is thrown to the wind. Normally I feed my kids around 5:00 and they’ve had their bath and stories and are in bed between 6:30-7:00, respectively. Friends balk at their early bedtime, but neither kid’s complaining (any more than they already would no matter when they had to go to bed) and there is a brief period of calm at the end of the day.

But on the days we’ve got "soccer", we don’t even get home until 6:15 or so. This means I feed my kids their supper at 4:30 then race around putting shin guards on, looking for the soccer ball…and then spend an hour trying to keep my little one off the field and out of the parking lot. Unless I really plan ahead, dinner these nights doesn't get started until well after my husband has gotten home so it's got to be quick and easy...or takeout.

Last night, after the kids were asleep I went downstairs to figure out what I could quickly whip up. I hadn’t been to the market in several days and the fruits and veggies from our CSA were pretty slim at this point in the week. Still, with a little digging around the freezer, dinner turned out great….and plentiful enough that we can both have it for lunch today.

Chimichurri Rice with Sausages & Spinach

1 pkg Trader Joe’s Chimichurri Rice (in freezer section)
1 pkg Trader Joe’s Andouille Chicken Sausage, sliced thin
1 large bag frozen spinach

In a large fry pan, sauté the chicken sausage in a little olive oil. Add the frozen spinach and sauté until warmed through. In the meantime, heat the Chimichurri Rice according to the package (I did the microwave heating). Once warmed, add to dry pan with sausage and spinach. Done!

And a Quick 'Asian' Inspired Dinner Too

I’m all about spring cleaning these days, so I am determined to work through the ingredients I have in my pantry…plus the random assortment I amassed during yesterday’s grocery shopping trip. I don’t have much time to cook dinner during the week. I tend to assemble dinner while I am giving my children a snack, and then pop it in the oven while we play before dinner (or they play and I squeeze in a workout, some emailing, and a phone call if I am lucky). This afternoon, I assembled dinner in less that 30 minutes again and it’s cooling down for the boys. It smells amazing. This time dinner has a little more Asian/SE Asian influence (all ingredients from Trader Joe’s for anyone who would like to try it at home):

Pork tenderloin + TJ’s Peanut Sauce: seared the pork tenderloin in a bit of olive oil, then transferred it to a roasting pan and coated it in peanut sauce; roasted at 375 until it reached an internal temp of 160 degrees. If you wanted to dress it up, you could sprinkle some chopped peanuts and cilantro over the top to make it look pretty...

For one veggie, I tossed a bag of organic baby carrots + a little olive oil (would be great with sesame oil too, but my husband isn’t a fan of sesame) + a drizzle of honey + some grated ginger + kosher salt + pepper and roasted the carrots in the same 375 degree oven until they were crisp tender. If you were using sesame oil, and wanted to be fancy, you could shake some black sesame seeds over the top before roasting them. That would be pretty….

There’s really nothing ‘Asian” about the other veggie side, but everyone likes it and I had all the ingredients on hand: 1 bag organic frozen spinach (thawed) + hearty scoop of organic whipped cream cheese + a splash of half & half + small handful of shredded Parm + lemon zest. Combine all of the above in a saucepan and heat on low until melted/combined.

And pictured above, I combined 1 bag of TJ’s brown rice (from the freezer section, heated according to pkg) + with diced mango + fresh mint + a splash of rice vinegar + kosher salt + pepper.

Have to run because we’re going to sit down to an early dinner. Early dinner + early bath + early bed = relaxing evening for you-know-who.

Simple Sunday Supper: Jambalaya

As part of my older son's “Spring into Service” weekend, I spent a windy, drizzly Saturday morning picking up (unmentionable) trash at Veteran’s Park in Norwalk, the afternoon helping to oversee a volunteer project at The Tiny Miracles Foundation’s office, and capped it off with dinner at Rio where I got serious indigestion from inhaling two margaritas and an order of chicken fajitas in record time because my kids would have rather been home with a sitter… when will I learn that the need for a break is mutual?

The first thing I did today—no wait, first I made French Toast and Southwestern Egg Wraps for breakfast (can you say short order cook?...)-- then I did a big PR submission on behalf of The Tiny Miracles Foundation, (quickly, very quickly) read Monday through Sunday’s New York Times (that were in the kitchen staring at me every time I walked by the growing pile of old news), and took my husband on a tour of the ground wasps that seem to have set up an intricate underground maze in our backyard. Now, I feel I deserve a break. I’m not going to the supermarket, and its way too pretty to spend too much time at the stove today. Thankfully, with a little help from my buddy “Joe”, as in Trader Joe, I was able to quickly whip up Jambalaya. I risk posting this “recipe” because many a friend has received this Jambalaya when they’ve had a baby or were in need of a yummy meal. But, it’s just too easy and delish not to share…

2 packages Trader Joe’s Jambalaya*
1 package Trader Joe’s chicken sausages**, thinly sliced
3 bell peppers (we’ve got 2 red and 1 yellow on hand), ½” dice
1 bag organic frozen peas, prepared according to the pkg
zest of 1-2 lemon(s)

Sauté the chicken sausage and bell peppers in a bit of olive oil. Heat the Trader Joe’s Jambalaya according to package. Combine Jambalaya, sausage, peppers, peas and lemon zest. Done! Oh, and it pairs nicely with TJ’s cornbread (over by the muffin mixes) and a salad.

* TJ’s Jambalaya is found next to the pasta and all of the prepared Indian sides in the Darien store. It comes in a 10 oz. pouch.
**I recommend TJ's Chicken Apple sausages for those who prefer a mild Jambalaya or Chicken Andouille Sausages for those who want a little kick.

Creating Supper: Beef & Bulgur Meatballs

Meatballs are difficult to mess up. As I continue to share recipes with my friends (and their friends…and their friends…) you’ll see that there’s a pattern to the way I like to cook. As I mentioned before, I like recipe as a source of ideas. But when it comes to actually cooking, I do not like to worry about exactly how much of a spice I am supposed to add…or that I don’t have a particular ingredient a recipe calls for. If you’re an experienced cook you know that substitutions are easy, once you have a comfort level with flavors that compliment one another. If your learning curve is straight up when it comes to the kitchen, then practice will make perfect!

Tonight I plan to whip up Beef & Bulgur Meatballs for a new friend who just had a baby. A homemade meal is the perfect gift because it nourishes and comforts. In addition to being a client favorite when I had my personal chef business, this is one of those meals that when I make it for a friend she always asks for the recipe, so she can then share it with her friend. It is simple to prepare, yet complex in flavor. And so, now I share it with you.

BEEF & BULGUR MEATBALLS
1 cup organic beef broth
1 cup bulgur wheat* (dry, comes in a box or bag usually near rice/grains in the supermarket)
1 organic orange, zested and juiced
1 small can organic tomato paste
1 or 2 large cans (the 35 oz. variety) organic diced tomatoes (amt of diced tomatoes depends upon how much sauce you like, I always err on more sauce than less)
Brown sugar (about 4 Tablespoons, you’ll taste the sauce and add until desired level of sweetness)
Cider vinegar (again, about 4 Tablespoons, you’ll taste the sauce and add until desired level of zing…keep in mind that as the sauce cooks the taste will mellow)
1 bunch fresh basil, chopped
Salt & Pepper to taste
2 lbs organic (or all natural) ground beef
1 bunch of scallions, white parts and a little green, sliced thin
2 or 3 eggs
allspice (eyeball about ½ teaspoon, more if you like the taste of allspice...this is going into the raw meatballs so you cannot taste as you go)
ginger, ground (again part of the raw meatballs so start by eyeballing about ¼ teaspoon, and feel free to add a bit more if you particularly like the taste of ginger…)
dash of salt & pepper

1. Combine boiling broth + bulgur. Cover tightly and let stand for 30 minutes or more. (This is how you are re-hydrating the bulgur for the meatballs.)
2. Preheat oven to 375.
3. For the sauce: zest and juice the orange into a saucepan and cook over med heat until the juice is reduced by half. Then combine tomato paste, tomatoes, brown sugar, vinegar, basil, salt & pepper in the saucepan with the OJ and zest. Bring to a boil and simmer about 15 minutes or until blended nicely. You may want to add more vinegar or brown sugar depending upon your taste….
4. For the meatballs (*This is when it would be easiest if I was in your kitchen showing you an example of ideal consistency, but since most of you reading this blog are probably going to try the recipe on your own here's something to keep in mind: think about the bulgur wheat as breadcrumbs if you were making meatballs. Add as much of the re-hydrated bulgur wheat as you'd like. I always add it all, and find it makes the meatballs moist and fiber rich, but you could add half as much and end up with "meatier" meatballs too if that's your preference): combine bulgur, ground beef, eggs, scallions, parsley, allspice, ginger, dash or salt & pepper. Mix well and form into meatballs.
5. Place meatballs in baking dish and cover with sauce. Cover the baking dish tightly with foil and bake at 375 for about 30 minutes (or longer if you’ve made big ‘ol meatballs).

Another benefit of this dish is that it freezes beautifully. So, if you don’t have a friend to share this dinner with, pop the other half into your freezer and enjoy it within the next 2 months!