Pesto From Scratch - Thai Lime Basil Pesto

After pinching back several times throughout the summer, my lime basil is insisting on bolting. So, armed with scissors I ruthlessly pruned the five plants down to a third of their former selves yesterday.

Back in August of last year when I was engulfed in seed catalogues, the idea of having lime basil growing in my Tajik garden seemed wonderfully exotic. But now that its in abundance, I was at an impasse. I just didn't know what to do with it.

Several google searches for lime basil pesto came up empty handed. So I sat back and thought about it for a second. Lime basil, to me, seemed inherently Thai. I had roasted peanuts in the cabinet, small red hot chilies and chunks of ginger in the freezer. Why not, I thought. Well, then, Thai Basil Pesto it is.

Instead of the traditional pine nut route, I used 1/4 cup of roasted peanuts. I whizzed them in the food processor.

After pulling the leaves off the stems, I washed the delicate light green leaves and promptly dried them in a salad spinner and kitchen towel. I had about 1/2 cup packed leaves. I added another 1/2 cup of packed cilantro and put all of that into the food processor.

I grabbed one small hot red chili and one chunk of ginger from the freezer.

With a microplaner, I grated the ginger into the bowl of the food processor.

Then I finely chopped the red pepper. I was bold and kept the pith and the seeds.

Then I opened my prized jar of lemongrass. I justified it since my five attempts at growing it in the garden this year were complete failures.

Here's the complete ensemble.

Pulse this many times in the processor until you get the consistency you prefer. As for me, I like it sort of smooth, but my processor doesn't do smooth so I am grateful for slightly chunky.

Now add the oil. I used olive oil, but I suppose peanut oil would work very well, too.

The final product.

STORAGE TIP: I've had varied success with freezing pesto. The key is to flash freeze small portions and then, once frozen, put the frozen pesto into a zip lock. What's worked well for me is to lightly spray a mini muffin tin with oil and fill each hole with pesto. Freeze the tray for about an hour and then remove the frozen pesto and put into a zip loc bag and keep in the freezer until needed. Small portion sizes allow you to toss one into soups, pastas, marinades and dressings.

Quick and Easy Fried Rice

It's sort of redundant to call fried rice easy, isn't it? Fried rice is inherently easy. There are a million versions of it which gives you the latitude to use up what you have on hand and tweak it to your family's tastes.

It's imperative to begin with at least day-old cooked rice. You'll never be able to get the right consistency if it's freshly cooked rice. You want the grains to be a bit dry and separate so that each grain can get nice and crispy.

I had a bunch of rice leftover from the Korean bulgogi so a few nights later I whipped up a batch of fried rice, keeping in mind what the Sparkly Girls would eat.

Here's what I used: cold pre-cooked rice, soy sauce, ginger, garlic, 2 eggs, sweet red pepper, carrots and green onion. If I had frozen peas I would have definitely used them.

Beat the two eggs until bubbly.

Preheat oil (1 teaspoon) in a wok and add the eggs, letting them cook on one side.

When it's partially cooked, flip it and cook the other side. It'll cook faster than the first side.

Once they egg pancake is cool enough to handle, cut it into thirds, layer then on top of each other and slice into thin strips. Put this aside for the moment.

Back to the wok. Heat a bit more oil and when it's hot, add the finely chopped garlic and grated ginger. After about a minute, add the diced carrots and red pepper. Nothing was measured. You can increase or decrease the amounts according to your preference. And swap out veg and seasonings as well.

Stir fry the vegetables until cooked through, but still with a bit of bite. Mushy isn't good. About two minutes because the dice was fairly small. Put the veg mixture in a bowl and set aside.

To the now empty wok, add a tad more oil - about one teaspoon. When the oil is heated, add the rice and begin breaking up the clumps with the back of your spatula/spoon.

After about five minutes, the rice is separated and each grain is coated in a bit of oil and well "fried". Create a well in the center of the rice exposing the bottom of the wok. Add the cooked carrots and red pepper to the well. Top the cooked veggies with the green onion and sprinkle the wok with soy sauce. I'd say about 1 tablespoon.

Don't forget to add the sliced eggs.

Mix everything well, making sure that vegetables and the egg are reheated.

The Sparkly Girls LOVED this. I was so happy to add another Will Eat meal to my arsenal of quick and easy dinners that we can all enjoy. I'm weaning myself from making two separate meals - one for the kids and one for the big people.

Of course, for the big people, we sauced the fried rice up with some Sriracha. You can never go wrong with Sriracha.

Mint Chip Ice Cream Cake

We've been having some pretty hot weather lately. One online weather report says 109 F for today and 111 F for tomorrow. So when we hosted a farewell dinner the other night I thought I'd go no-cook and chilly for dessert.

Much about cooking in a place like Tajikistan is about being prepared. Having the staples that you feel you need to recreate favorites is a priority for me. Especially with two little girls who I want to be exposed to as much Americana as all things Central Asian. Or Korean, or Indian or Chinese for that matter.

In this case, the peppermint extract and the chocolate chips were the two must-have imported items. I was inspired by mint cookies I'd made the day before from a Cooking Light recipe I had, which promised a good approximation of a Girl Scout Thin Mint Cookie, but with less fat and calories. In fact, a jar of prune baby food I purchased locally substituted for the butter.

Cooking Light held to its promise.

I whizzed the majority of the batch in the food processor until medium/fine crumbles.

I then melted about 3/4 of a stick of butter and added that to the crumbles to make the crust. Yes, I understand that the butter completely negates the low fat cookie concept. I used a spring form pan hoping that the high cookie sides would stay intact once the rim was removed.

Then go to your local ice cream factory and buy two boxes of vanilla ice cream. Vanilla ice cream that is strangely yellow. Let it sit on the counter top until it starts to get soft. Not melted, but a bit firmer than soft serve.

Toss the ice cream into the food processor and add a couple of drops of green food coloring and about 1/4 teaspoon of peppermint extract. Whiz until it looks like delicious mint soft serve.

Spoon the ice cream into a mixing bowl and add chopped chocolate chips. Mix well, but quickly!

Scoop the ice cream into your prepared chocolate shell.

Once spread evenly, cover the top with chocolate jimmies.

Cover the pan with saran wrap and put it back into the freezer. In this case, for a day.

Take the cake out about an hour before you want to serve it so you can slice through it without risking your fingers.

Have your official taste tester make sure it's good. She was a bit skeptical at first.....

But then she became a believer.

Partially from scratch Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream Cake. It's good for you!