Getting old isn't for sissies. The last years of his life were certainly difficult for my Uncle Gene. They were also difficult for his family. Different folks and doctors called his condition by different clinical names. The best I have heard was "deprived of mind", or dementia.
I mention my uncle because here in the Northeast coastal region of the United States we have been "trapped" in a winter storm. It has been raining, with hurricane force winds, for four days. I have been working out with an indoor rowing machine, free weights and have "braved" the elements a few times to ride my bicycle through the tropical storm. However, bad habits settle in. I'm Irish, Saint Patrick's day is this month, and corned beef is in every supermarket. I don't know if it is the salt "cure" used in the beef, or the the lack of vegetables (I have been reduced to lettuce and onions on the sandwiches) in my diet, but I feel like I have been "deprived of mind". With the NCAA basketball games this week (which I know I will be watching) I need to react, quickly, or watch my mind become a toxic vegetable.
While I was pigging out on corn beef, two shows on one of the food networks caught my interest. One mentioned the health benefits of the cucumber. The other used European cucumbers in a dish called Tabbouleh also tabouleh or tabouli. It is a Levantine salad dish, a mountain dish from the Eastern Mediterranean. It has become one of the most popular Middle Eastern salads.
Its primary ingredients are finely chopped parsley, bulgur, mint, tomato, spring onion, and other herbs with lemon juice, olive oil and various seasonings. It generally includes black pepper and sometimes cinnamon and allspice. This time of year the pickings are lean for fresh produce. However, most of the ingredients for this dish are available.
Now I am excited but I don't want to get ahead of myself. I have never shopped for bulgar, so I have no idea if I can find it tomorrow. However, the bad weather is supposed to end tonight. In the morning I will mop up the cellar, then head out on my bike to search for this Middle Eastern grain. I have strawberries and plenty of oatmeal. Time to begin the recovery, again! As I said in the beginning, getting old isn't for sissies.
May I offer for you reading pleasure: Imagination presents to our minds objects that do not actually exist.
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