tabouli tabouleh tabbouleh: no matter how you spell it, we're in for a yummy weekend

Back when King and I were newlyweds, we lived on Florida's panhandle in a sweet little hamlet called Mexico Beach.  We had some pretty wonderful friends, and Melina and Jack were among them.  Jack was an amazing man and a military hero whose rich history lent itself to entertain us with his amazing stories.  His laugh was infectious in itself.  I learned much, too, from Melina-  an artist, a teacher, a photographer, a cat lover, sun lover, and all around fun friend.  Melina's ancestors were from Lebanon and she handed down to me her family's amazing recipe for Tablouli.  I can still remember the day she taught me to make the delicious and beautiful parsley salad.  Such fresh ingredients with their fragrant smells filling her kitchen. 

So, each year about this time, I am led by my taste buds to get a culinary jump start to summer!  As soon as I place the parsley into my shopping cart, my heart floods with those wonderful, colorful, warm, summer memories. 

You can't whip up a batch in just a few minutes.  It is a long process.  So much so that I am pretty sure the Lebanese translation of Tabouli must be "delicious labor of love."

Here is a photographic recipe of most all of the ingredients that go into it...but, I can't tell you all of them.  You'd have to come spend some time in my kitchen, laughing and bonding.  It's just the way it's done.