Thayer in the Kitchen

If you find yourself with an excess of cilantro, this recipe is quite a good way to use it.  2 cups packed cilantro, remove large stems.  The small stems are fine. 1/2 cup almonds 1/4 cup onion jalapeno pepper to taste--I used one with the ribs & seeds removed.  If you want a milder pesto, use less hot pepper or eliminate altogether. 1 teaspoon Kosher salt or to taste 1/4 cup olive oil I used my BlendTec blender to make this pesto since it does a great job chopping up all the ingredients until smooth.  Slowly pour in the oil in a steady stream being careful that the blender is not running at a high speed.  If you have any leftover, it freezes well.  Its good on pasta or as a spread for crackers. Adapted from Simply Recipes.  This blog has really great recipes and is worth checking out.

Who knew that plain old grilled cheese sandwiches could be so tasty! 4 slices bread 2 teaspoons chipotle chili (or more if you like your food quite spicy) 5 ounces shredded or sliced cheese--any variety you prefer.  I used Monterey Jack 1 tomato, sliced A few thin slices of red onion Coarsely chopped cilantro--as much as you like Soft butter to brown the sandwiches Spread each piece of bread with a thin coating of pureed chilies.  Cover bottom slice with a layer of cheese, tomato and onion slices and as much cilantro as you like.  Top with second slice of bread and butter it.  Place sandwich, butter side down in skillet.  Spread top piece of bread with butter and cook sandwich slowly.  Covering pan will help melt the cheese by the time bread is crisped and golden. Adapted from RecipeLand.com 4 slices bread white or wheat 2 teaspoons chipotle chili pureed * 5 ounces cheese shredded or thinly sliced 1 each tomato ripe, sliced 1 ...

I'm working my way through a very large head of Savoy cabbage.  Arthur is not a fan of cabbage salad or coleslaw but voted this one to be delicious and worth making again as well as posting it. 2 cups of cooked chicken, chopped or shredded * 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice 2 tablespoons fish sauce 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar 1 tablespoon sugar ½ teaspoon black pepper 1/2 cup very thinly sliced onion 1/4 cup fresh mint 1/4 cup cilantro 4 cups finely shredded green, savoy, or napa cabbage ¾ cup shredded carrots 3 tablespoons coarsely chopped roasted and salted peanuts (optional) *I often buy a whole roast chicken at Whole Foods or Willy Street Coop to use for recipes like this.  Whole Foods puts theirs on sale on Tuesday for $2.00 less than it usually is.  Combine the lime juice, fish sauce, vinegar, sugar, and pepper in a medium bowl, and stir to dissolve the sugar and mix everything well. Add the onion and toss to coat. Set aside for 20 ...

We got a large bunch of cilantro from our CSA farm.  Cilantro stays fresh for only a very short time.  I decided to try making cilantro pesto which I hadn't done before.  Its GOOD stuff!  If you like cilantro you'll want to make a patch of this pesto. 1 cup cilantro leaves 2 cloves garlic 2 scallions 2 tbsp almonds 1/4 cup white wine 1/4 cup canola oil 1 hot pepper 1 tbsp soy sauce juice from 1/2 lime Puree all of the pesto ingredients in a food processor or in my case I used my super blender.  I served my cilantro pesto on top of grilled pork chops.  What was left, I put on salmon patties.