Kalamata Egg Salad with Charred Red Peppers and Corn Muffins

A refrigerator with a few items that need to be used.
A hungry cook.
A small skillet.
Little time.
Makes a meal.  Unless you'd like bread? (Scroll down, please.)
Hence....

kalamata egg salad with charred red peppers
2 servings

• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1 sweet red or yellow bell pepper, large dice
• crushed red pepper
• 4 eggs
• kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper
• a big handful of greens -- any
• a small handful of pitted kalamata  or other olives
• sherry or balsamic vinegar
• olive oil for drizzling, optional

Heat an 8 or 9-inch non-stick skillet over medium-high heat with oil and the chopped bell pepper.  Let cook 5-8 minutes, watching closely, or until peppers are just charred; add crushed red pepper. Stir.  Cook another minute or two.  Crack four eggs into the pan, one into each quadrant.  Season egg yolks with a small sprinkle of salt and pepper.  Reduce heat to low.  Add greens on top of the eggs and sprinkle again with a bit of salt and pepper.  Cover and let cook 3 minutes or until eggs are cooked to your liking.

With a plastic spatula, loosen the egg salad and tip onto a plate.  Add the olives and a drizzle of balsamic vinegar, as well as some olive oil, if desired.  Using a sharp knife, cut the egg salad in half and serve hot, warm, or at room temperature.   Serve with corn muffins if you like. (recipe below)

Israeli Couscous Salad

In the heat of the summer when tomatoes are lush and warm and cucumbers are cheap and numerous, I make a lot of Greek salads.  Sometimes there are lovely smoky hot peppers  and other times a few clean, green bell peppers suffice.  Feta makes an appearance if I have it.  Leftover salmon or chicken might get thrown in.  It's no longer summer, but...

The other day I saw something somewhere about Israeli salad and, while it's similar to traditional "Greek" salad, it has lots of lemon and often includes mint and/or other fresh herbs.  When I read the words, "Israeli salad," I just had to have some.  I like mine with cheese, but many people also add nuts or seeds. Some never add cheese so that the salad is pareve--doesn't contain dairy or meat-- or so that it's vegan.   Whichever way you choose, I think you'll be happy and full.

My favorite little bit about Israeli salad (which is served at many meals in Israel including breakfast) comes from legendary blogger David Lebovitz, who had Israeli food writer Maya Marom write a guest post about the salad after his return to Paris from a trip to Israel.  Maya tells us there just aren't any rules about making the salad as far as ingredients go:

Grilled Oregano Shrimp-Caesar Salad with Tomatoes and Crostini

Honest is the best policy:  I was too hungry to take much time with a photo.

It seems when I'm out with friends on some version of the protein and vegetable diet, they often end up with a Caesar Salad and Grilled Chicken or Grilled Salmon, if they're lucky.  I don't eat Caesar salad in restaurants a lot because they're often goopy-- soft and unappetizing.  And, truly, I love my own salads. Even more, I love homemade vinaigrette.

Yesterday Dave and I were at the grocery looking at fish for supper and I saw a great buy on large, gorgeous uncooked shrimp.  (Since shrimp takes two minutes to cook, why is there so much pre-cooked shrimp for sale?)  I remembered I had a bag of cleaned romaine at home in the frig, and asked for a pound of that shrimp for $9.99.  When the shrimp are large, there aren't that many in a pound; I figured whatever was leftover, we'd have the next day for a snack.

Red, White, and "Blue" Kale Salad for the 4th of July

Stay cool!

(Reposted from my more time at the table blog from July 2, 2012)

Where we live in Saint Paul, it can already be warm pretty early in the morning.  I'm a morning person; the earlier the better.  I'm also the daughter of both my father and father-in-law, because after I push the button on the coffee (pot filled night before), I check the temperature on my back porch.  In the summer if it's above 70, I sigh heavily, drink my coffee, and get out for my morning hike.  Why?  Because it will soon be 80, then 90, and today, my friends, the little weather gizmo on my iphone says it will be 99.  If you're a regular reader, you know what my house is like:

 

Steak Cobb

One of the happiest cooking moments is to create something out of leftovers that you like better than the original meal. (A theme lately for me.)  Maybe you make chicken so you can have chicken sandwiches.  Or meatloaf for meatloaf sandwiches.  (I clearly remember my first meatloaf sandwich at Danny Izzo's house while I was in college; my mom didn't make meatloaf sandwiches.)  Grilled salmon for scrambled eggs, omelet, or frittata.  Roast pork for tacos.  Roast beef and/or baked sweet potatoes for hash.  Easter eggs for deviled eggs or egg salad. Steak for salads like the one above/below and lots of other meals.

We usually don't eat steak at all through the winter, but wait (as we do for hamburgers) for grilling time.  And then I cook two steaks anyway.  Because we like steak and eggs, steak sandwiches, frittatas with leftover potato, steak, and vegetables, or steak hash.  Or a new favorite of mine, Steak Cobb.

Now I don't know if anyone else makes Steak Cobb. I had the ingredients and it sounded good to me.  It makes leftover restaurant steak into a lovely, beautiful salad or gives you a reason to make an extra steak on the grill any time at all.  Here's how if you need directions other than from the photos:

steak cobb for one

• two cups fresh greens (I like spinach for this)
• 2 ounces leftover cold steak, sliced thinly
• 2 scallions (green onions-green and white parts) sliced very thinly
• 1/4 cup chopped red pepper
• 1-2 strips bacon, cooked crisply and chopped
• 1 boiled egg, sliced
• 1/2 - 1 cup sauteed vegetables (or fresh) of your choice   
• 1/2 tomato, sliced
• 1-2 tablespoons blue cheese dressing
• kosher salt/fresh ground pepper
• fresh lemon juice

1. Arrange greens in a large shallow bowl and top with steak and scallions.
2. Place bacon at one corner, sliced egg at another, vegetables at the third and tomato at the fourth.
3. Spoon dressing into the leftover space.   Don't toss this salad.  Dip its elements into the dressing and only use what you need; the blue cheese will overwhelm everything else otherwise.
4. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and squeeze lemon juice over all.     

Things that make this fast and simple--mostly pantry info:
 I keep Nueske's bacon in 2- and 4-piece packages in the freezer so I can unthaw and cook it quickly in the microwave when needed.
  I "boil" eggs in the microwave for quick salads like this:  Spray a deep cereal bowl with PAM or grease lightly. Crack egg  in and, using a sharp knife, pierce yolk once and white several times.  Cover tightly with plastic wrap and microwave on full power for one minute.  (Tightly being the important word here.)  Carefully remove bowl from oven, let sit a minute, tip out onto cutting board and slice.



 I keep blue cheese in the frig and make dressing in the food processor while the bacon cooks:
2 ounces blue cheese, 1-2 cloves garlic (chopped), 1/4 cup mayonnaise, pinch salt and pepper, 2 shakes hot sauce, 2 tablespoons milk blended well and tasted for seasoning. (approximate amounts)
Of course you can make this without a food processor:  Mash up the blue cheese with a table fork.  Crush the garlic with the flat side of a chef's knife and chop it well. Beat well with remainder of ingredients and adjust seasonings.
I am only without lemons if I'm leaving tomorrow on a plane and usually not then. 
When I cook vegetables, I cook enough for a couple of days or more--such as sauteed onions, peppers, zucchini, asparagus, green beans,  garlic, mushrooms, etc. 
I have pasta bowls perfect for composed salads and believe this makes a difference.  This will work on a plate, but not as well.  The ingredients are lost in a jumble, though they'll taste good, if you toss this up in a chili bowl.

... ... ... ...

If you're interested in helping solve a current and immediate hunger need, please read this blogpost on LEAVE IT WHERE JESUS FLANG IT.  Margaret Watson is an Episcopal priest on the Cheyenne River Reservation in South Dakota where many--elderly, handicapped, grandparents raising kids-- are hungry due to sequester cuts;  her own cupboards and freezer are bare.    Please write your congressional reps to end the sequester where it is creating more and more hunger or pain and/or drop a note in the comments on Margaret's blog to see how you might personally help.  Here are her own words:

But more importantly, the clients themselves have been cut off --they have received no monies since the beginning of March. They are coming to my door asking for heating fuel, food, clothes, diapers. Children are at risk. There are no Tribal programs that can assist these folks, they are mostly disabled, elderly with grandchildren in the home, or are desperate for work. Last night, after a funeral, I delivered left over food to people's homes. Funeral food to a family of six of baloney sandwiches, biscuits, two apples, two oranges and some chocolate cake.
I cannot afford to feed all the people who come to my door asking for help. I have emptied my own freezer, my own cupboard in order to help these desperate folks.

...    In the last six months, I have done 40 funerals --six infants, two teen suicides, and many, many folks under the age 40.

And food, shelter and heat are not the only problems here --the Indian Health Services were also part of the Sequester cuts. And the cuts are affecting the Head Start programs.

---from Margaret's post Shocked and Depressed.

... ... ... ... ... ...

Please help?
Alyce

Shrimp-Quinoa Salad with Feta and Tomatoes

Hot nights:  if you skip the quinoa and buy cooked shrimp, this is a no-cook dinner.  Another option is microwave rice.

Coming back from Colorado (where we spent most of the summer with Dave working on our old house and me writing the soup book), we took mostly back roads. You can go all the way from Colorado Springs to St. Paul almost without super-highways.   Perhaps it's possible to go all of the way, but we opted for a bit of interstate here and there.  (Once you get near the Twin Cities, it's a bit tougher to accomplish since someone changed the routes from roads to vrrrooomms years ago now.) What we saw, almost all the way, was dead corn.  Miles and miles of it.  Dried out, brown, or with sprigs and shadows of green here and there.  In some cases the farmers were just cutting it down unharvested.  The photos and stories of the drought when seen on tv are one thing; feasting your eyes on hundreds of miles of it is another.  Sad.  I occasionally tried to get a photo, but nothing really came out from the car window.  My mind kept going to increased fuel prices, food prices, and hunger.

Would You Bring a Salad? Cilantro Coleslaw that Keeps

Crunch, Crunch--Here's today's slaw.  It keeps in the frig several days.  Munch, munch.

I have to admit that I adore coleslaw.  I choose it over fries at the Groveland Tap (our corner bar) in St. Paul.

Blue Cheese-Chicken Chopped Salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette

I have an awful habit of chopping up all kinds of salad come summer, but never writing them down.  I did write this one up and am actually going to make it again.  It's so simple and can be made with a variety of vegetables and leftover chicken, shrimp, or even sliced beef from the deli.  This time of the year, it's sometimes almost too hot to stand and cut up anything.  But I think you'll be happy if you try this:

Salmon on Greens and Berries with Maple-Balsamic Vinaigrette

So good to be home and cooking again...

This so-fast dinner is a riff on "Simon's Favorite New England Salad with Berries and Goat Cheese" from Linda and Martha Greenlaw's now out-of-print Recipes from a Very Small Island (2005:  Hyperion.)   There are a few copies available through amazon.com, but I was more impressed with this:

 Linda Greenlaw, America's only female swordfish boat captain, was featured in the book and film The Perfect Storm. She has written three New York Times bestselling nonfiction books about life as a commercial fisherman as well as a cookbook and two mysteries. 

Fried Potato and Egg Salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette

No matter how hard you try to be healthy, sometimes you have  a yen for fried potatoes.  Maybe fried eggs.  Ok.  Let's do that.  But we'll add a few veggies to the mix for this wilted salad.  And it won't seem so bad.  So unhealthy.  Oh, geez.  At least there's no bacon in it.  Though you could add it. This is kind of a picture recipe....

Black Bean and Ham Salad with Lemon-Lime Vinaigrette

I notice the loved ones in my life who live alone eat a lot of chicken.  As do folks on the South Beach Diet or any diet.  (I've been there.)  Maybe everyone who's not a vegetarian eats a lot of chicken.  Granted it's one of the most inexpensive and versatile proteins and is low in fat.   I'm on the bandwagon, too; I eat chicken often.  I roast a whole chicken probably twice a  month or more.   I occasionally buy a deli chicken on Tuesdays from Whole Foods.   I  like to make breasts on the bone for salads, casseroles (we call them hot dish in Minnesota and hot dish is singular or plural), sandwiches (though I don't eat a sandwich in two months unless it's a veggie burger on half a bun), or in omelets.

(Above:   Make my Greek Chicken Salad sometime.)

An Egg with a Few Greens for Supper

Egg Salad

This is a light lunch/supper or could be a first course for dinner-- done in 5-10 minutes.  Sweet and filling.  Crunchy and soft.  Make extra dressing and keep in the frig.

Note:  Dressing keeps longer without the shallots or onions.  And you can skip the dressing totally if you make the egg quite soft (runny) and use that as dressing.  Yes.

"Egg Salad #2"  serves 2

4 cups fresh baby spinach leaves
2 small tomatoes, sliced (Try the Mexican "brown" tomatoes--tasty and cheaper.)
2 carrots, sliced
1/4 c minced parsley
1/2 English cucumber, cut into thin half-moons
1t fresh lemon juice
2 poached eggs (slide raw eggs, each in a cup, into barely simmering water for 3-4 minutes til white is firm)

Dressing:  1 T balsamic vinegar, healthy pinch each kosher salt and fresh ground pepper, 1t minced shallot or garlic, optional, 1/2 t honey, 1/4 t dijon-style mustard, 2T extra-virgin olive oil--Whisk salt into vinegar.  Whisk in all else, though drizzle in 1T olive oil at a time, being sure it's incorporated well before adding the second,)

1. Divide greens and vegetables between two large shallow bowls.  Drizzle equally with lemon juice and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
2. Top with well-drained egg and drizzle with dressing.
3. Serve with a piece of hot, buttered whole wheat toast. 

 Have fun cooking and taking care of yourself, 
Alyce

first posted on more time at the table

Killer Guac to Take to the Cookout

There's little to say except everyone loves guacamole.  It doesn't matter what the main dish is at the picnic or who's going to be there.  (We took this to a potluck Sunday night where it disappeared very quickly.)   You just dish up a nice big bowl of guac to go with the best tortilla chips you can find, a crunchy veggie tray, or even a plate of rolled up turkey and pepperjack slices for all of those on the South Beach diet.  If there are burgers, you're in luck, because many folks love burgers topped with guac.  Truth be told, there's such bad guac out there that you can buy it pre-made in the produce or frozen section.  Learn to make your own (no cooking except the bacon!) and be the hit of the party.    If you've got some vegetarian or vegan friends coming, leave out the bacon (or have it separate for an add in.)  Guac also makes a tasty salad...just add greens and a vinaigrette.  Try this:

alyce's killer guac  serves 4-6 as a appetizer with chips/doubles easily 

I like the food processor for making pico de gallo.

Canned Salmon Salad or Simple Pictures are Best

While I'm not hard-pressed for grocery money ... right now.. at this moment...I have been.  I spent years feeding six of us and, before that, had fifteen bucks a week to feed two hungry adults.  Really.  I know from cheap eats and, btw, canned salmon salad is cheap eats.

Lately, I find I'm just heart-sick over the cost of groceries.  And I only have to feed two people and two dogs.  Everyone I know complains about it.  One friend recently described a woman speaking on NPR about wanting to eat healthily--to eat vegetables.  Her words were something like this:

Help! I've Got Leftover Take-Out Rice and Don't Know What to Do with It

Leftover Take-Out Rice Salad

Do you leave all that extra rice at the Chinese place?  (What do they do with all that rice?  Make fried rice!)  When you pick up take-out and there's two of those "little" boxes stuffed to the gills with white rice, do you eat it all?  Do you soy sauce it up with a scrambled egg for breakfast? That's one idea.  Throw it in chicken broth with chopped green onions, a drop of soy sauce, and shredded deli chicken?  That's another.

Vietnamese Chicken Salad

Ready?  Set?  Eat.  I'm about all written out this week, but I haven't forgotten Dinner Place.  And when I thought about you, all I could think about was this Vietnamese Chicken Salad.  I made it twice this week--once with chicken and once with tofu and shrimp.  If I had my druthers, I'd say do the chicken.  We just wanted to eat and eat this.  Which is ok.  It's light and healthful.  Good to pig out on.  If you like, you can use rotisserie chicken; I know a lot of solo cooks buy a chicken a week.  Or  roast one yourself; here's how.

 vietnamese chicken salad  (courtesy Nigella Lawson/Food Network)
                        2-3 generous servings

Ingredients

• 1 Thai chile, seeded and minced (I used 1/2 a jalapeno, minced)
• 1 large garlic clove, peeled, minced
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons rice vinegar
• 1 1/2 tablespoons lime juice
• 1 1/2 tablespoons Vietnamese or Thai fish sauce (nuoc nam or nam pla)
• 1 1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1/2 medium onion, finely sliced
• Freshly grated black pepper
• 7 to 8 ounces white cabbage, shredded
• 1 medium carrot, shredded, julienned, or grated
• 7 ounces cooked chicken breast, shredded, or cut into fine strips (I used 3 boneless chicken breasts)
• 1 bunch mint, plus extra for garnish, leaves roughly chopped  (I used about 1/2 cup chopped mint.)
• Salt

Directions

In a medium bowl, stirring with spoon, combine the chile, garlic, sugar, vinegar, lime juice, fish sauce, oil, onion, and black pepper, set aside for 1/2 hour. In a large bowl combine cabbage, carrot, chicken breast, and mint, tossing with tongs. Pour cabbage mixture over the dressing, tossing with tongs, slowly and patiently so everything is coated. Add salt, to taste. Serve on a flat plate with mint for garnish. 

Solo Cook's Notes:

If you make this whole recipe (and why not), divide the undressed salad in half.  Dress and eat one half and store the other half separately from the dressing in the frig.  Otherwise, the salad is soggy the next day.  Unless you like soggy! 

Slice the cabbage thinly by hand.

Make the dressing and marinate the pepper and onions.

Avoid tough chicken:  Sear well-seasoned, oiled boneless breasts over high heat 1 minute on each side, turn down to low and cook partly covered  until done.

Toss with chicken and dressing.  Eat as long as it holds out.

If you liked this, you might like:

My Lenten Journey blog.  Lent 2012:  40 Thoughtful Days.

This week on More Time at the Table, I've blogged a bunch of desserts and Darina Allen's Irish Soda Bread.  Take a peek!

Have fun cooking and taking care of yourself,
Alyce

Pork Tenderloin Salad with Blueberries, Oranges, and Sherry-Honey Vinaigrette

 I could look in my mom's frig and think there was nothing at all to eat in there.  I might even be found staring blindly into the freezer, hoping something would come to me.  Usually it was ice cream.  But let my mom loose in that kitchen and in record time, there was a full meal on the table.  Practice makes perfect.  The early bird gets the worm.  Hunger makes the best sauce.  Desperation is the mother of invention.  Whatever.  She knew how to bring it, as they say.  It seemed miraculous.

California BLT Salad

 
Shopping for one is fun at Chico's or Talbot's.  Even if you don't buy anything.
Shopping for one is not always quite so much fun at Kowalski's or Cub Foods. 

While I am not a great fan of boneless chicken breasts, they do hold a special place in my heart when I'm shopping and cooking just for me. As do salads of any ilk.  For this California BLT salad,  The Solo Cook can run into the store, buy a couple of boneless breasts, a ripe avocado (hopefully), a few Kalamata olives at the olive bar, and just about skip on home to make this salad.  Granted, you must have a few staples on hand waiting in your kitchen, and those would include tiny tomatoes, red onion,  bacon, a bit of gratable cheese, and salad greens.  Keep some bacon in the freezer frozen into 1-2 piece packages.  And, for greens:   a big container of spinach lasts a long while, makes a great salad, and is perfect for omelets, vegetables sides, and sandwich greens.

Poached Egg Chef's Salad

Poached Egg Chef's Salad--Yum

 When I lived in Germany, I was greatly amazed at the foods that arrived at table with a fried egg on top.  (Beer at McDonald's was another eye opener.)  I don't think I'd seen a fried egg on a pork steak before.  Or on a beef steak.  I got used to it.  The eggs were just barely over easy and if you pricked the yoke with your fork, the gooey orange centers became a decadent, yummy sauce.  My father would have loved it.

Fast forward to summers in Minnesota.  Hot nights and no energy for the grill.  A lovely bowl of any greens, some (any) vegetables from the market, two poached eggs and you're set.  A bit of tomato is great.  A light, but filling meal with no leftovers.  No special ingredients and lovely for one person.   Did I say quick?  Dinner!

Poached Egg Chef's Salad with Vinaigrette serves 1

2 cups fresh greens
1/2 cup chopped fresh vegetables (carrots, celery, broccoli, etc.)
1 scallion, minced (or 1 tablespoon shallot or red onion)
1 slice turkey or ham, chopped or sliced 1/4" thick
1 slice cheese, sliced 1/4" thick
3 cherry tomatoes or 1/2 cup chopped fresh tomato
1T grated Parmesan cheese
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
2 poached eggs*
1t fresh lemon juice

Vinaigrette:  Whisk together:  1 tsp white wine vinegar, pinch each salt and pepper, a tiny dab of Dijon mustard.  Then, continuing whisking, add 1T olive oil. Taste and adjust seasonings. 

In a large bowl, place cleaned greens and add the vegetables, meat and sliced cheese.  Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper.   Add poached eggs, gently tapping the slotted spoon on a towel to remove excess water before placing  at the center of the salad.  Salt and pepper the eggs.  Squeeze the lemon juice over all and drizzle with vinaigrette.

*To poach two eggs:  Check out this wikihow clip.

Or follow my directions:   Heat 2" water to simmering in a small skillet.  Break one egg into a ramekin or small cup.  Slowly pour the egg into the water, stopping after the first bit of white is in..then continuing with the remainder of the egg.  Repeat with the other egg.  Cook 3 minutes or so or until the yolk is as done as you like.  Remove with a slotted spoon or ladle.  Tap off excess water before adding to salad or eating.  Eggs can be made ahead (undercook them a bit), stored in the frig and reheated gently in water right before serving.

Enjoy cooking and taking care of yourself,
Alyce

Tabbouleh--No Cooking Summer Meal

 One of my very favorite summer meals (or sides) is tabbouleh, which is a middle-eastern salad made with bulgur wheat (dried wheat that you must reconstitute with liquid).  It's a cool, light dish made with little effort, though the wheat must sit in water or lemon juice (perhaps other things) for an hour or so to plump up and be edible.  One of the joys is there's no cooking.  The needed water can be heated (some people don't even heat it) in the  microwave and that's quite a boon on really hot days when even turning on one burner sounds like punishment.  We  had 102 the other day in St. Paul and I refused to do anything but shred some salmon into a salad.  We would have gone out, but the old restaurants around us probably weren't any cooler.

A little research makes it appear that Lebanese tabbouleh contains more herbs than wheat and if you're interested in that version, check out David Lebovitz' recipe here.   While you're at it, cruise around David's lovely blog and come out wanting to read it regularly.  He also has a few books that are favorites of mine....  THE PERFECT SCOOP  and THE SWEET LIFE IN PARIS are two.  READY FOR DESSERT is the newest, I think...but go to Amazon and check out the fun list.  If I have to make ice cream, I look no further than THE PERFECT SCOOP and neither should you.

If you're ready to try my version, read below.  Mine is a combination of recipes (particularly Ina Garten's from THE BAREFOOT CONTESSA PARTIES --PAGE 113--  and the recipe on the back of Bob's Red Mill Bulgur Wheat). Change it up to suit you; why not?    This is all about vegan, vegetarian, healthy, filling, inexpensive (yes, you need fresh herbs no matter what) and...yummy.  Note:  I store my bulgur wheat in the freezer. Oh, and you can make tabbouleh tacos ( I do this; I don't know if anyone else does--read my article on examiner.com) or you can also listen to "The Tabbouleh Song" on youtube.  I think tabbouleh goes a long way... I'm thinking of tabbouleh stuffed green peppers or leaves of cabbage next.

Tabbouleh my Way

 1 c bulgur wheat (comes bulk in some stores  or in a 1-2# package by Bob's Red Mill or others.)
1/2 c fresh lemon juice
1 c boiling water
2 t kosher salt
1/2 t freshly ground black pepper

Mix all of the above ingredients together well and let sit 45 minutes-1 hour.

 Meantime, chop

1 c fresh parsley
1/2 c fresh mint
1 c tomatoes
1 cucumber, peeled, seeded (peel with potato peeler, slice the whole thing in half lengthwise and, to remove
   the seeds, take a spoon and scrape it down the middle of each long half.)  If you use English (or hothouse) 
    cucumbers, you needn't peel them.  American cukes are often waxed and the skin is difficult to digest.)

Mix together with softened bulgur wheat mixture  and stir in

1/4 cup best quality you can afford extra virgin olive oil.

Taste and adjust seasonings.  Need more salt?  Try 1/4 t more.  Dull?  Add a few grinds more of black pepper or a pinch of crushed red pepper flakes or even a drop or two of hot sauce.  Just lacks something?  Think acid and squeeze a little more lemon juice into the mixture.  Let the ingredients have fun with one another for a bit and taste again.

Let sit 30-60 minutes before eating if you can wait.

Note:  If you're not going to eat all of this, only put tomatoes into today's portion.  Refrigerate the leftovers and add the rest of the tomatoes tomorrow when you'll eat the rest.

Gluten free?  Try quinoa or wild rice in place of bulgur wheat.

Lovely with grilled  (or just cut up and/or heated) pita bread and a bit of hummus and/or feta.

Have fun cooking and taking care of yourself,
Alyce