Becoming Brand Ambassador for Spice Kitchen!

Spices at the Grüne Woche, Berlin, 2018

I promised this year to be bold and successful, and for me it means also being surrounded, virtually or in my everyday real life, by positive highly motivated people. I always admire small creative companies writing their own story of success.

Spice Kitchen was one of my first collaborations as a foodie blogger, back in 2013. I was quite a beginner in the world of kitchen and tastes, but they entrusted me with a precious bag with their newly launched spices that I intensively learn how to use in my recipes. 

A couple of years back, they are a multi-awarded company, spreading their love for quality spices all over the world, with an over increasing catalogue of products created to accomodate even the most sophisticated tastes. It makes sense to be sucessful, when you 'put your heart and soul' and each and every one of the product you share. 

Besides the traditional collection of spices, they offer exquisite unique mix such as the complete set for mulled wine - especially if you are living in a cold country, it goes all round the year, believe my words, speculaas, or the rare - at least for the European kitchens - Sri Lankan curry powder, sumac and the precious safran. 

As a Brand Ambassador, I will try and test their spices in the next months, in recipes shared with you at least twice the month. For the beginning, I will have a great selection, which includes more or less known spices that I can't wait to feel and smell. I am humbled and honoured to be part of this project and can't wait to inspire other people, like me, the love of cooking and the boldness to try.

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Chop...chop...chop...the Parsley for Tabbouleh

While many of the foodie humans around are spending impressive amounts of time trying to figure out how to do an Instagram-perfect layered cake - for those keen to follow my visual adventures on Insta, I am boiledwords there too - I am terrified about my lack of skills on chopping veggies. Ten years ago, while preparing a barbecue party, I was assigned to finelly cut the tomatoes for an Israeli salad and what I got back was the remark of my friend: 'Is this what you call chopped tomatoes?' And he was right but instead of honing and improving my skills I tried to avoid as much as possible to go again through the same challenge. 

But as there is a beginning for everything, it i also an ending for fears and frustrations and inferiority feelings. Today is the great day when I will do my own tabbouleh salad. Because I want and I can and I'll do it. Chop...chop...chop...

I've slightly adapted the recipe presented in Cooking Class: Middle Eastern. The Australian Women's Weekly, 2003 edition. 

Ingredients
2/3 cup burghul
4 cups fresh parsley, finelly chopped
1/2 cup fresh mint, finelly chopped
3 green shallots, finelly chopped
1 small red onion, finelly chopped
4 medium-sized red tomatoes, finelly chopped, without seeds and the chore
2 1/2 tablespoon olive oil
2 1/2 tablespoon lemon juice

Directions

Cover burghul with the same amount of cold water and let it rest for 15 minutes. Press the burghul for spreading the water uniformly in the bowl. After 15 minutes drain the rest of the water.

The most of the time - around 30 minutes of preparation, in total - was spent chopping. I had in the front of my eyes the beautifully fine tabbouleh bowls served in the restaurant. And kept chopping more and more. The onions were the best, the tomatoes went well, but the mint and parsley were a far cry from any original chopped recipe. Which means that I should keep practising at least once the month for better and more experienced results. Maybe I also need a special knife, as a good knife can really help to achieve the best final results. Chop...chop...chop

The final result was delightful, easy to match with some fried chicken or an autonomous salad for the busy healthy mornings. You can add a drop of yogurt, feta cheese, goat cheese, or just eat it as an individual meal or a side dish for a meaty meal. 

Suitable to be kept in the fridge for at least one hour before eating and to be prepared and eaten in the same day.

Serves: 6

Bon Appétit!

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