Red Bird Cabin

My new fave grain is Bulgar Wheat… which is basically parboiled, dried, cracked whole wheat. You’ve probably had it before in Middle Eastern Tabbouleh (Tabouli) salad, but I’ve been experimenting with some tasty new ways to prepare it (recipes are below). Bulgar wheat has a great nutty flavor and a delicate texture similar to couscous (but it’s much healthier than couscous since it’s the whole grain). You can find bulgar wheat in most gourmet & health food stores.

2 Simple Ways to Prepare Bulgar Wheat
1) The HOT Way: In a bowl, pour 2 cups of boiling water over one cup of bulgar wheat. Wait 15 minutes & drain the water (with a super-fine mesh sieve or use the pot lid).
2) The COLD Way: In a bowl pour 2 cups of cold water over 1 cup bulgar wheat. Wait 2 hours and drain the water.

From the top left... Red Bird Tabbouleh, Lemony Chickpea & Cilantro Tabbouleh on a Lettuce Leaf, Caramelized Onion & Cherry Tabbouleh w/ Teriyaki Salmon, Dinner is Served

Red Bird Tabbouleh (a twist on the classic tabbouleh)

• Prepare 1 cup of bulgar wheat (see above) & then mix in all the following ingredients…
• 1 small chopped cucumber
• large handful chopped cherry tomatoes
• 1 bunch chopped fresh parsely
• 1 bunch chopped fresh mint
• 1 large bunch minced green onions
• juice of 1-2 lemons (to taste)
• 1/8 to 1/4 cup of olive oil
• salt & red pepper (to taste)
• mix in 1 large handful of crumbled feta at the end

Lemony Chickpea & Cilantro Tabbouleh (great light lunch)

• Prepare 1 cup of bulgar wheat (see above) & then mix in all the following ingredients…
• 1 can of chickpeas (garbanzo beans)
• juice of 1-2 lemons (to taste)
• zest of 1 lemon
• 1 minced jalapeno (to taste)
• 1 large handful cilantro chopped
• 1/8 to 1/4 cup of olive oil
• salt & pepper (to taste)
• top with crumbled feta

Carmelized Onion & Cherry Tabbouleh (awesome with teriyaki salmon)

• Prepare 1 cup of bulgar wheat (see above) & then mix in all the following ingredients…
• 1 bunch chopped fresh parsely
• 1 cup chopped red onion… in a pan, saute w/ olive oil until caramelized
• 1/2 cup chopped dried tart cherries (sub cranberries if you can’t find dried cherries)
• 1/8 to 1/4 cup of olive oil
• 1 large swirl of honey
• 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 cup slivered almonds (optional)
• salt & pepper (to taste)

Who knew that you could use shredded blue jeans as insulation?  I’m glad I found out… because the prickly, itchy, fiberglass insulation is gnarly to work with.  (It also leaves fiberglass dust all over your house which is hard to fully clean and isn’t good to inhale.)  I definitely recommend using Cotton Fiber Insulation instead. There are a few different brands out there. We used “UltraTouch” because we could buy it nearby, but they are all similar.

the joys of insulating

It’s safe, green and easy to work with. You just tear off chunks to fit snugly between the studs in the wall (the same way that you would with regular fiberglass insulation). Thick cotton insulation has a good R value too, so you can feel confident that it’s going to keep your house warm in the winter and cool in the summer. Here’s a helpful link you want more info on cotton versus fiberglass.  The cotton’s slightly more expensive than fiberglass, but so worth it if you have to touch the stuff yourself!

installing it is easy