As someone who likes to be creative in the kitchen as well as in the garden, I could hardly forget the culinary aspect of sunflowers. The seeds, which, in addition to being a popular snack food, can be a great addition to recipes. Sunflower sprouts can also be a great addition to salads and sandwiches. I have included some of my favorite sunflower recipes on this page (copyrighted material is referenced). Feel free to submit your own recipes or comments/questions about cooking with sunflowers to sunflowering@hotmail.com.

Keep coming back; new recipes are being added all the time!

Tabbouleh is a traditional Lebanese salad which is made with bulgar, or cracked, wheat. It's a good idea to prepare the dish in advance so that the wheat has time to soak up the flavors of the oil, lemon and herbs.

10 oz/1 or 1/4 cups bulgar wheat 
1 and 1/2 pints or 3 cups boiling water
3 oz. or 1/3 cups sunflower seeds, lightly grilled
2 tablespoons sunflower oil
1 garlic clove, crushed
juice of 2 lemons
3 oz. or 1/3 cup parsley, finely chopped
2 tablespoons mint, finely chopped
1 small bunch spring onions, finely chopped
salt and freshly ground black pepper
8 black olives, to serve

1-Pour the bulgar wheat into the water and leave to soak for an hour, or until all the wheat has puffed up.

2-Drain the wheat and rinse in fresh, cold water. Add all of the other ingredients, except the olives, and mix well. Season to taste.

3-Cover, and chill in the refrigerator for at least one hour.

4-Arrange on a platter or a large, flat serving dish and garnish with the olives to serve.