Last night Alexis and I got together to, once again, pay tribute to the genius that is The Real Housewives of New Jersey.  If you’re not watching that show yet, you’re really missing out.  It’s like a real-life Italian soap opera.

Anyway, for last nights gathering I decided to whip up some tabbouleh and mojitos.  I bought some fresh mint last week, so I decided to run with it for both the appetizer and the drink.

Here’s the spread:

Healthy and refreshing — perfect for Monday night with the Jersey girls.

Let’s start with the tabbouleh.  I made this pretty much the same way I did last time, just tweaking a few things this time around.

I poured 1 1/4 cups of boiling water over 1/2 cup cracked wheat (also called bulgar wheat) in a glass bowl. I covered the bowl with a plate and let the mix sit for 30-45 minutes while I made the rest of the dish (plus some yogurt sauce and some hard boiled eggs…). While the wheat was cooking, I chopped up 1/2 an English cucumber, 1/4 of a red onion, a red bell pepper, a pint of grape tomatoes, a big handful of spinach, and a chicken breast I roasted in the oven (olive oil, salt, and pepper, then cook 30-35 min at 350°). All this was later tossed with the wheat along with the juice of one lemon, a drizzle of olive oil, some minced fresh mint, and some salt and pepper.

If you’re looking for more of a kick in this dish, try adding some red wine vinegar, some hot sauce, or some dried oregano.

I made this earlier in the day, so the tabbouleh was able to sit for an hour or two before Alexis came over.  Remember: the longer this dish sits, the better the flavor.

I served this with some mini pitas and hummus I bought at TJ’s, plus some of that yogurt dip I can’t get enough of.

I made the yogurt dip the usual way (8oz Fage 2% Greek yogurt mixed with the juice of 1/2 a lemon, 1/2 tbsp. white wine vinegar, a minced clove of garlic, salt, pepper, a few julienned mint leaves, and 1/2 a grated cucumber with the excess water squeezed out).

You can make this whole spread vegetarian by omitting the chicken.  If you’re vegan, cut out the yogurt dip as well (or use Soy yogurt).  If you’re gluten-free, you can use quinoa instead of bulgar in the tabbouleh.  As for the pita bread, I don’t know if they make that G-free or not…

Just a note: this probably isn’t the best spread if you’re on a first date with someone.  The tabbouleh + pita + hummus + yogurt dip tends to be a bit messy, not to mention the garlic breath the hummus gives you…  Doesn’t exactly scream “let’s make out!” when you’ve got bulgar on your shirt and yogurt sauce smeared across your face.  (Don’t worry, I still think you look good.)

Ok drinks!

So perhaps some of you are not feeling the at-home happy hour.  I know that some recipes call for a lot of ingredients, and it certainly would be easier to just run out to the bar and order something.  However, this drink is about as easy as it gets (not to mention, pretty cheap to make).

To make these, I squeezed the juice of one lime into a glass, added 1 tsp. sugar, and 4 mint leaves.  I muddled this (basically, I took a spoon and mashed everything around a bit), then added ice, a shot of vodka (because I don’t drink rum), and topped it off with sparkling water.  Easy right?  You can use rum, vodka, or gin in these (I think rum is traditional, though).

These are really refreshing and delicious.  Perfect for a warm May night.  Or a rainy May evening… Whatever, California weather.

Another fun fact about making your own cocktails: because you can control what’s going into your drink, you control the calorie content.  KC came home with a pack of Bud Light last night and promptly waved off my offer to make him a mojito (“Not healthy enough,” he says).  I told him I bet my drink had less calories than his Bud Light, so onto Google we went.  Lo and behold, I was the winner.  A can of Bud Light has 116 calories.  My mojito had only 80 calories.  (50 calories in a shot of vodka, 15 calories in a tsp. sugar, and 15 calories in one lime).

Happy hour reigns victorious!

Keep in mind though, that mojito you’re ordering at the bar probably has way more calories than that (more sugar, pre-sweetened lime juice…who knows).

Unlike the tabbouleh, these drinks would be perfect for a date.  Not too heavy, plus all the mint and lime leaves you perfectly kissable.  So whip up a mojito and start practicing your pick up lines!

I lost my phone number; can I have yours?

Hmm… Keep on practicing.