Have you ever noticed how much your taste changes as you get older? I used to loathe cilantro, parsley, and carrots when I was younger. Loathe is a pretty strong, and that’s exactly how I felt about those *things*. The taste of cilantro used to make me gag. The thought of carrots would send me running into the other room. My Mom used to relate to me by telling me stories of how much she hated cilantro, too, when she was younger. But she’d follow the story with telling me how my taste would change as I matured, but I didn’t believe a word that came out of her mouth!
I ate my words. My Mom was completely right… “Mothers know best,” right? I love cilantro now. My affinity for it changed when I had my first tasting of Tom Kha Gai at my first Thai dining experience. It was love at first bite. However, it hasn’t been that easy for acquiring the tastes of parsley or carrots. I don’t recall when exactly I started to come around enjoying carrots, but it definitely has been in the recent years. I hate raw carrots, but I don’t mind stewed or roasted carrots.
Enjoying flat-leaf parsley has been a tougher challenge for me. Flat-leaf parsley has such an overwhelming flavor to begin with. I initially needed other stronger flavors to mask the taste of parsley, like basil pesto. This has since changed as we’ve been eating and cooking more Mediterranean foods that call for flat-leaf parsley. We recently dined at one of our favorite local Mediterranean restaurants and sampled their vegetarian Meze plate, which included tabbouleh. OMG, how could I have been missing this all these years?! I’ve become addicted. So much so that I made a LARGE batch a few days ago. We’ve had quinoa tabbouleh several days in a row for lunch AND dinner 🙂
Quinoa Tabouleh Salad
2 1/2 large bunches flat leaf parsley, stems removed, finely chopped
3 roma tomatoes, seeded, and cut into 1/4-inch dices
3″ inches small English cucumber, cut into 1/4-inch dices
1/2 small white onion, finely diced
1/4 cup quinoa, cooked
3 tablespoons lemon juice
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Salt, to taste
In a large bowl, combine everything except for the lemon juice, oil, and salt.
In a small bowl, whisk together the lemon juice and extra virgin olive oil. Season with salt, to taste.
Toss the salad with the lemon vinaigrette.
Serve with falafels, hummus, pocket bread, and anything else you’d like.
Makes 4 servings.
Hungry Foodies Pharmacy 
I too have been surprised to see my taste buds change. I used to hate fish and mushrooms, and now I almost crave them both. This is a recipe i’ll be saving. I thought it would be complicated, but it doesn’t look like there’s too much work in this.
Your tabbouleh is Delish like the quinoa switch instead of bular. Your photo is also really good.
I can relate….to growing into tastes …. I used to despise anything with cilantro… then was taught how to make
guacamole from scatch from a beautiful Mexican girl my brother briefly dated and I was hooked next dish I had with cilantro was green mango salad with and i couldnt get enough …ah cant forger Tom yum soup… These are the three cilantro dishes that made me fall in love with cilantro 🙂
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