Cilantro Pesto

Another cilantro-intense recipe. Yummy, Yummy! Sorry, we've been watching a lot of Wiggles lately. Another allrecipes. View the original here.

INGREDIENTS
1 (16 ounce) package farfalle pasta
1 bunch fresh cilantro
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 cup walnuts or pecans
salt to taste
1/2 cup olive oil

DIRECTIONS
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta, and return water to a boil. Cook pasta for 8 to 10 minutes, or until al dente; drain well.
In an electric food processor or blender, blend cilantro, garlic, vinegar, Parmesan cheese, cayenne pepper, nuts, and salt. Add 1/4 cup of the olive oil, and blend the pesto. Add more olive oil until the pesto reaches your desired consistency.
Pour pesto in a small saucepan and warm over low heat, stirring constantly, until pesto begins to simmer. Pour over cooked pasta and toss.

Cilantro Lime dressing

We got a TON of cilantro and a TON of lettuce in our CSA box this week. Salad seemed like a natural choice at that point and this dressing was delicious! I found it on allrecipes.com

INGREDIENTS
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and coarsely chopped
1 clove garlic
3/4 teaspoon minced fresh ginger root
1/4 cup lime juice
1/3 cup honey
2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
1/4 cup packed cilantro leaves
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

DIRECTIONS
Place the jalapeno pepper, garlic clove, and ginger into a food processor or blender; pulse until the jalapeno and garlic are finely chopped. Pour in the lime juice, honey, balsamic vinegar, and salt, add the cilantro leaves; pulse a few times to blend. Turn the food processor or blender on, and slowly drizzle in the olive oil until incorporated into the dressing. Season to taste with salt before serving.

Chocolate Cherry Mice

A cute little treat whenever you're in the mood.

For each mouse:

Almond bark (chocolate coating)
1 Chocolate Hershey Kiss
2 chocolate chip morsels
1 drained maraschino cherry with stem

Melt almond bark in microwave on high until melted, stirring every 30 seconds.

Dip cherry in chocolate by stem and coat evenly. Place on aluminum foil or wax paper to cool.

Dip one more time. Before it cools, press Hershey kiss into side of cherry point side out and place chocolate chips as ears, point side toward cherry. Let cool completely.

Eat and enjoy. Store at room temp in air tight container.

Fresh Tomato Soup

Here is one of our favorites, and it is so much better then the canned stuff.  Best part is that it really doesn't take much effort.  We like it best with grilled cheese sandwiches.

6 medium tomatoes, peeled and quartered or 2-14 oz cans tomatoes

3 cups water 

1 cup chopped onion

1 cup chopped celery

6 oz can tomato paste

4 Tbs snipped fresh parsley or 2 tsp dried

4 tsp instant chicken bullion granules

4 tsp lemon juice

2 tsp sugar

1. If desired, seed fresh tomatoes.  In a large saucepan, combine all ingredients.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat, cover, and simmer about 20 minutes.  Cool slightly.

2. In a blender, blend half of the mixture until smooth.  Repeat with the rest.

Makes about 8 cups

Guacamole Potato Salad

I found this recipe on familyfun.com and tried it last night. I really liked it and it was very easy to do. Next time I make it I will probably tone down the citris juice (I subsituted lemon juice for the lime).

3 pounds red potatos
2 Tbs plus 1-1 1/2 tsp salt
1 ripe avocado, peeled
2 tsp grated lime zest
Juice of 2 limes (about 1/2 cup)
2 cloves garlic
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
2 Tbs mayonnaise
2 celery stalks, sliced

Cook potatoes in water seasoned with 2 Tbs salt until fork tender. About 20 mins. Drain and cool.

Meanwhile, puree avocado, lime zest and juice, garlic, cilantro, mayonnaise, and remaining salt in a food processer until smooth. If the dressing is too thick, add a Tbs or so of hot water.

Cut the potatoes into bite-sized chunks leaving the skins on and place then in a large bowl with the celery. Gently stir in the avocado dressing. Serve immediately, or cover and chill.

Sushi Rolls

You can add whatever fillings you want to these rolls, but I'll given you some of my favorites and some other suggestions.

Possible Fillings: (use one to four)

* Sliced egg omelets (4 eggs, 2 tsp. sugar, dash salt, vegetable oil)
* Dried Shitake Mushrooms (12 mushrooms, 1 cup chicken broth, 4 tbs sugar, 2 Tbs soy sauce)
* Canned Salmon, drained and flaked
* Ripe avocado cut into thin strips
* Parboiled snow peas cut into thin strips
* Crab meat
* Strips of proiscuto cheese
* Bell pepper strips
* Cooked asparagus tips
* Whole green beans, blanched

Sushi Rice:

4 cups rice (long grain white or Cal rosé)
4 cups water
Vinegar Mixture:
1/2 cup vinegar
5 tbs sugar
1 tsp salt

5-6 sheet nori (seaweed)

Prepare one to four items for filling. (Our favorite combination is the egg, mushroom, salmon, and avocado.)

For Sliced Egg Omelet:
Break eggs into a bowl, and stir. Add seasonings and strain through a sieve. (This makes the texture more smooth and uniform). Heat an oiled frying pan and pour about 1/4 cup egg mixture, spreading to cover the entire bottom of the pan. When egg is almost cooked (it starts to loose its shine) roll up from one end. Remove from pan and cool. Repeat with remaining egg. Slice length wise.

For Shitake Mushrooms:
Rinse and soak in water. Cut off hard tips. Cook in chicken broth and sugar, skimming the scum, for 4-5 minutes. Add soy sauce and simmer over medium heat until liquid is gone (a bit syrupy in the bottom). Cool on a plate or cutting board. Discard stems and cut into thin slices.


For Rice:
Wash the rice before cooking. Add water and let it stand for 1 hour (a good time to prepare the fillings). Make vinegar mixture (put everything into a small bowl and stir) and set aside. Bring water to a boil and cook according to the directions on the rice package. After it's done cooking, leave it to steam for 7-8 minutes.

Transfer rice to a large, deep baking pan. Pour the vinegar mixture over the rice and stir with vertical cutting movements, cooling as much as possible while doing this. Let sit until it reaches skin temperature.

Lay a bamboo mat down and place a sheet of nori, shinny side down, on it. Spread 1/5 to 1/6 of the rice on the nori leaving about 3/4 inch at the far edge. Lay the fillings in long horizontal strips across the rice. Using the bamboo mat, bring the bottom edge of the nori to the top and join together. Using bamboo mat, press to shape, rolling to tighten. Cut into eight equal slices (a sharp knife and water for rinsing are useful). Repeat until done.

Lime Juicer

If you are going to be squeezing limes, especially key limes, you will want one of these. You simple cut the fruit in half, put it in the cup and squeeze. The press inverts the peel and squeezes out all of the juice. It takes little effert and is SO much faster.

Key Lime Pound Cake

Elijah has been begging to make a lime cake ever since I picked up some limes at the store. We looked on Allrecipes.com and found this recipe. The cake turned out SO yummy! It is dense and moist and melts in your mouth. It wasn't until after I raved about it that Josh told me it had a TON of butter and shortening. Thus making this a rare occasion cake, but a very yummy one!

1 cup butter
1 cup shortening
2 cups sugar
5 eggs
3 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup milk
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup key lime juice

Preheat oven to 325, grease and flour bundt cake pan.

In a large bowl, beat 1 cup of butter, shortening and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, blending each one thoroughly. Combine the flour and baking powder, stir into the batter alternating with the milk, vanilla, and lime juice. Pour into prepared pan and smoothe the top.

Bake until a knife inserted into the crown comes out clean. Original recipe says 90 mins. We cooked ours for a little over 60 mins. I would check it after an hour, depending on your oven.

Poke holes in the warm cake and top with a glaze made with 3 Tbs key lime juice, about 1 1/4 cups powdered sugar and a little water (I just mix it until I get a consistency I like. I would not use more lime juice but adjust sugar and water amounts)