GF, Low Glycemic, Tabouli Salad

One of the side effects of my first trip to Israel was rekindling my love of Tabouli, Falafel and Hummus.

Yesterday, I was motivated to make to Tabouli, (or Tabbouleh if you prefer. Kathy is gluten free so I substitute quinoa for bulgur, (cracked wheat). I was able to source most of the ingredients from Winco, but  the mint which is growing outside. I used the red quinoa from the bulk aisle.  For spices I added a lot of tumeric, powered garlic and sea salt to taste. I was careful not to overcook the quinoa or to add too much water. As soon as it was al dente, I took it off the heat and used a spoon to open up the center of the pan so it would cool quickly.

Additions:
- Parsley, I used one whole WinCo bunch, (48 cents, read it and weep my Hawaiian friends). Removed the stems, chopped them finely and tossed them in a pan to become soup.
- Mint, it is early in the season, so I didn't have as much as I would like, but there was some pineapple mint and the lemon balm looked very happy so I used some of that.
- Handful of sunflower seeds, (Kathy's suggestion).
- 6 1/2 artichoke hearts from a jar. I pulled the outer leaves which can be woody and tossed them in the soup pot.
- I poured some of the oil from the artichoke jar and then added some avocado oil.
- Small handful of dried blueberries, (not the tiny crunchy totally dried ones, these are like dried olives). These are a foil against the heavy dose of tumeric.
- Teaspoon of black cumin seeds, both for the taste and also because they are supposed to be very good for you.
- Lemon, fresh lemons have their place, but I picked up the 2 pack of RealLemon from Costco and keep one in the fridge. Works just fine with this application. The rule of lemon and almost everything else in cooking, you can always add more, but you can't take it away.
- Stir well, add 2 ripe chopped Roma organic tomatoes, stir in gently