i don’t much know how to talk about this time of year without saying things that have been said once or twice before. you’d think by now minnesotans would’ve come up with more creative things to say to each other during winter’s 6 months, give or take, than “gosh is it cold”, “boy is it dark” and maybe a game of thrones reference or two. when engaged in this sort of small talk, i usually like to change it up a little by talking about, predictably, food. “golly am i tired of winter vegetables. what i wouldn’t give for a vine-ripe tomato!!”.

but really, what are we doing, wishing away months of our lives every year like this? when it’s may or june and you’ve replaced “wowie zowie i can’t feel my toes out there” with “gee, where has half the year gone already?” as a conversation starter, it’s probably because you just spent half the year willing the days to slip through your fingers and now, i suppose, you got what you wanted.

but here, slow down just a minute and think about how the yellows and oranges of winter’s citrus fruits, and the greens of its broccoli and kale resemble, in their way, the shiny sun and fresh cut grass you’ve been heart-aching over. there’s a temptation to spend the winter clinging for dear life to a noodle in a hot bowl of chicken soup, but sometimes what you need really is an ice-cold glass of fresh-squeezed lemonade. trust me.

forget about surviving another winter, and instead make it an actual part of your life once again. take a hot bath with a little bit of orange blossom essential oil, cook up a big delicious pot of kale with lemon, garlic, and parmesan. learn to make flowers out of humble paper and fill every room with them. and have your light, refreshing summer salad and eat it too. here’s winter tabbouleh for a little reminder in our darkest hours of how good it all can be.


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winter tabbouleh
 
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Ingredients
  • 10 oz. dried couscous
  • ½ red onion, diced
  • 3 big handfuls shredded kale
  • 2 grapefruits peeled, pith removed, and torn into ½ inch pieces
  • ⅓ cup good-quality olive oil
  • juice of 2 large lemons
  • salt and pepper
Instructions
  1. cook couscous according to package, and allow to cool completely.
  2. combine the onion, kale, and grapefruit in a large bowl. add the couscous and toss gently to combine, being careful not to break up the pieces of grapefruit. add in olive oil, lemon juice and a generous amount of salt and pepper to taste, and toss again. cover and refrigerate at least 1 hour before serving.

winter tabbouleh