Another vegetarian post? Why yes, yes it is, although, there’s a little bit of salmon at the end. It’s more of an omnivorous post. So, I have never been a huge fan of tabouleh but I may have to rethink that position after making this dish. The vinaigrette is really good…like get a straw good. I also have never used buckwheat honey before and I was surprised to find it easily at Fred Meyer. Has everyone been buying buckwheat honey but me?

This is a Bobby Flay recipe. It’s kind of crazy how many of his recipes that I have been making lately. I even watched a little Throwdown last night. Why? Why?

Anyway, to go with this awesome salad, we had some grilled salmon with a spiced yogurt. Super good also. See the end of the post for the spiced yogurt recipe.

Bulgur Salad with Green Onion Vinaigrette
3/4 cup medium-grind bulgur
1/2 small red onion, finely diced
2 plum tomatoes, finely diced
1/2 English cucumber, diced
1 cup finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1/2 cup finely chopped fresh mint leaves
4 green onions, sliced, plus 1/2 cup chopped green onions
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
1 tbsp buckwheat honey
1/2 jalapeno chile, chopped
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Place bulgur in a large bowl, pour 3 cups boiling water over, cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let sit until tender, about 15 to 20 minutes. Drain well, squeezing out as much water as possible, if needed. Return the cooked bulgur to the bowl and mix in the onion, tomatoes, cucumber, parsley, mint, and 4 sliced green onions.

Place the lime juice, honey, serrano, and 1/2 cup chopped green onion in a blender and blend until smooth. With the motor running, slowly add the oil until emulsified. If the mixture appears too thick, blend in a few tablespoons of cold water, and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Play with the lime, jalapeno and honey ratios if needed. Transfer the salad to a platter and drizzle with the green onion vinaigrette.

Okay, let’s talk briefly about the salmon. Just grill some. But also do this stuff.

Spiced Yogurt
1 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp ground coriander
pinch of ground clove
pinch cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1 cup Greek yogurt
1/2 small red onion, finely chopped
1 tsp fresh lemon zest

Mix all the spices together. Set aside 1/2 teaspoon and then combine the yogurt with the remaining spices, onion and lemon zest in a food processor. Serve with grilled salmon.

Orange Spice Glaze
1/2 tsp reserved spice mixture from above
1 tbsp orange marmalade
1 tbsp olive oil

Brush on the salmon as you grill it. Mmm.

Serve the salmon with the spiced yogurt and the bulgur salad.

Ah, May’s Weekend Cookbook Challenge. I almost missed it too, as we just got back from the honeymoon on Tuesday night. I actually kind of doubted I was going to make this and get the post together by the due date. I surprised myself. And quickly, speaking of the honeymoon, we had a fabulous time. Vancouver Island is awesome. Especially Tofino. We love Tofino. I will start planning an anniversary trip back there soon — I’m not even kidding.

Anyway, WCC. The theme was TV Cooks and rather than picking a recipe based on TV Cook, I picked a recipe based on what I grabbed up at the grocery store (mostly vegetables). And the winner is….Wolfgang Puck! This recipe was on the show, “Wolfgang Puck’s Cooking Class” on the Food Network. This show is probably no longer on, as it’s actually about cooking.

So, I changed a few things (used less stock, omitted the yellow squash, added cheese to the pistou) but that is just my way. This is a really great, easy to make, vegetable soup. So, you know, go make some.

Provencal Vegetable Soup
4 tbsp olive oil
3 medium leeks, dark green parts trimmed and discarded, light green and white parts thoroughly washed and cut into 1/2-inch dice
6 garlic cloves, minced
2 medium carrots, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch dice
2 stalks celery, cut into 1/2-inch dice
5 cups chicken broth or stock (you can use vegetable broth too)
Salt and Pepper
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp Herbes de Provence
12 green beans, trimmed and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 medium zucchini, cut into 1/2-inch dice
1 ripe tomato, seeded, and cut into 1/2-inch dice

Pistou:
6 medium garlic cloves, peeled
3 ripe tomatoes, seeded, and chopped
5 to 6 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
30 fresh basil leaves, washed and dried

Goat Cheese Croutons:
6 to 8 slices French bread, about 1/4-inch thick (I used some leftover naan that we brought back from Victoria)
Olive oil
4-6 ounces fresh creamy goat cheese

In a large saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the leeks and saute just until they start to turn translucent, about 3 minutes. Add the garlic and saute about 1 minute more. Add the carrots, celery, thyme and marjoram and continue sauteing until the vegetables deepen in color, 3 to 4 minutes more. Pour the stock into the pan, bring it to a boil, and reduce the heat to maintain a simmer. Sprinkle in a generous pinch of salt.

Stir in the beans, zucchini, and tomato. Continue simmering until the vegetables are tender, about 15-20 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the Pistou: Put the garlic, parmesan cheese and tomatoes in a blender or food processor with about 3 tablespoons of the olive oil. Begin processing. With the machine running, add the basil leaves, and then pour in enough extra-virgin olive oil to make a smooth, fluid paste. Transfer about 1/2 of the paste into a serving bowl to pass alongside the soup.

Make the Goat Cheese Croutons:
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Brush the bread slices with olive oil and arrange them on a baking sheet. Bake until golden, 12 to 15 minutes. Remove them from the oven and turn on the broiler. Spread 1 side of each crouton with goat cheese and put it back on the baking sheet. Broil until the cheese is warm and slightly bubbly, about 3 minutes. Set aside.

When the soup is ready, stir the remaining pistou into the saucepan, ladling some of the hot broth into the blender or processor bowl to swirl and rinse any pesto clinging inside into the pan. Taste the soup and adjust the seasoning with a little more salt, if needed.

Ladle the soup into individual serving bowls. Float a crouton in the center of each bowl or just dunk it in. With a spoon, drizzle a little more pistou over the crouton and soup in each bowl. Serve immediately, passing more pistou alongside for each person to add, to taste.

Thanks as always to Sara, for the super fun event that is Weekend Cookbook Challenge!

Quite honestly, I’ve lost track. This was yesterday, though, I do know that.

We drove to Butchart Gardens (about 20 minutes North of Victoria) and looked around. It was nice and all but at $25 a person, we were both a little underwhelmed. We also both came to the conclusion that the Tofino Botanical Garden, with its uncrowdedness, laidback feel, unexpected statuary and interesting things to discover, was a better time — yymv ymmv, of course. We’re glad we went to Butchart and all but probably wouldn’t spend the $50 (Canadian and American) to go again. I should edit this to add that if the American dollar’s value wasn’t so craptacular, this would probably be more reasonable of a fee.

Today is the last full day here. Tomorrow it’s the ferry back to Port Angeles and then Portland by car!

Pointe Restaurant, Wick Inn

Seared Pacific Halibut with Citrus Potato Purée, Endive, Fresh Orange, Almond Nage. Mmm! As was jwa’s Herb Baked Salmon with Smoked Salmon Ravioli, Warm Beet & Baby Vegetable Salad with Spring Carrot Sauce.

Checked out of the Wick Inn yesterday and made the (about) 5 hour drive back to Victoria. We are now in the “Red Room” at Isabellas. We both like this room better than the “Blue Room”. Much more unique and arty. Pictures tomorrow!

Today we’re going to the Royal British Columbia Museum and tonight we’re going to The Temple restaurant for dinner. Bring on the lambsicles!

Inn at Tough City Sushi Bar, Tofino, BC

Yeah, we skipped HPotD #7. I got a cold the other day. Stuffy nose, watery eyes, the works. Spent the day in Errington/Parksville pretty miserable but I think I am getting better. I could almost taste the wonderful looking sushi we had for dinner.

Anyway, I think I am on the mend just in time for our dinner at the Pointe Restaurant tomorrow night at the Wick Inn. Oh and our room here is awesome. See flickr if you don’t believe me.