Pesto

There was a time in my life when I refused to eat pasta with "red sauce." I would only eat pasta with pesto. While I have become much less picky about my pasta sauces as I've, um,... matured, I still think pesto is delicious. I would eat it with a spoon if I could get away with it.

Pesto is usually quite expensive to buy at the grocery store. As you can imagine, I've often entertained the idea of making my own. The problem is that it is also expensive to make. Pine nuts are expensive. Basil can be expensive. Good olive oil is expensive. Good Parmesan is expensive. It can add up. And while not exactly cheap, pesto is less expensive to buy at Costco than to make from scratch. Or so I have told myself.

So, all my good intentions of making my own pesto over the last couple of years have been thwarted. Until now. I have recently found out that you can make pesto with nearly any kind of nut--not just pine nuts. Break through! I usually have pecans and other nuts on hand, so that is no extra cost. I used a pecan and walnut combo in this version, but feel free to substitute whatever kind of nut you have available. I have heard that almond pesto is also very good.

Also, it is prime basil season out there, at least up here in Portland. I was at the farmer's market and I could not get away from the sweet, herb-y smell of fresh basil. One stand was selling three bunches of basil for $5. (The equivalent of at least 5 cups of basil leaves.) I couldn't resist--especially because I just happened to have some Parmesan in the fridge. I was pesto ready and I couldn't deny it any longer.

I first tried to use the Magic Bullet that I had recently received as a gift, but no dice. I whipped out my mini-food processor and turned my basil into pesto in no time. This is an easy and quick recipe that is very flexible. I tried to use as little olive oil as possible, since I find the store-bought kind too greasy. That is the added benefit of making your own--you get to make it precisely the way you like it.

I used a cup of this freshly made pesto to make a pesto potato salad for a Fourth of July barbecue, which I will post shortly. I have a ton of pesto left, too, so I see some pesto pasta in my near future. For the quantity of pesto this makes, it definitely ended up being cheaper than buying it at the grocery store in the end.  Worth it, for sure.

Happy summer!

Pesto

~Print Recipe~

• 4 cups packed fresh basil leaves, washed and dried
• 2/3 cup to 1 1/2 cup olive oil, depending on your preference (use olive oil that tastes good on it's own)
• 1 cup toasted nuts, chopped (walnuts, pecans, almonds, pine nuts)
• 5 or more cloves of garlic, or more to taste
• 1 cup grated Parmesan
• 1 teaspoon salt, or more to taste

1. Put basil, olive oil, nuts and garlic and salt in food processor.
2. Blend until combined
3. Add Parmesan and blend for a few seconds until incorporated.

Makes at least 2 cups. You can easily half this recipe for a smaller batch.
To store: cover with surface completely with plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to a week.

Pork Loin with Honey Mustard Glaze

The closest we have to a picture of the pork loin! (Thanks for modeling it for us, John.)

We grilled this pork loin last weekend for Alexis' bachelorette party weekend, and it came together beautifully, considering Andy and I didn't have a specific plan for the loin. Luckily Alexis brought a generous jar of her homemade mustard, which reminded me of an article I read a month or so ago in Bon Appetit magazine about homemade mustards, and how they are delicious with pork. Because we assembled everything on the fly, I don't have exact measurements, so use your best judgement.

What's in it

one pork loin (size depends on how many people you are feeding)

equal parts: homemade mustard, honey, olive oil

salt to taste

homemade mustard for serving

How it's made

Whisk together enough glaze (mustard/honey/olive oil/salt) to cover your pork loin, which is probably about 1/4 C per pound. You'll want the glaze to be thick enough to spread over the roast without running off, so please adjust as necessary. Place the loin on a pan or plate, and brush on the glaze, covering the entire surface evenly. Let marinade 30 minutes.

Heat up your grill (BBQ), and clean it as necessary. Using high heat, sear the pork loin on all sides, in order to keep the juices in. Then turn the heat to low/medium low and cook for about 30-60 minutes, depending on size, turning every so often for even cooking. You can use a thermometer to check temperature to decide when it is done cooking, or use the jiggle test if you have experience BBQing. Jiggle test: With your tongs, poke at the loin, and if it gives only slightly, or doesn't jiggle a bunch, it is probably done. If it jiggles quite a bit, then it needs more time. When you poke the loin, it should feel like the part of your palm below the thumb.

When done grilling, remove the loin from heat and let it rest for 10-15 minutes. This will allow the loin to keep cooking a bit, and the juices will have time to reabsorb back into the meat fibers, so they don't run out when you slice it.

Slice the loin in 1/2" slices, and serve with homemade mustard on the side.

Recommended side dishes: Broccoli Salad, Baked Beans, Cornbread

Spicy Eggplant Stir Fry

A few days ago, I was really craving eggplant--it's so rich and melt-in-your-mouth delicious. I searched the internet for a recipe that looked easy and that didn't smother the eggplant in cheese. I found a stir-fry type recipe at allrecipes.com that got some rave reviews. The nice thing about that website is that if a dish is good, people will leave comments saying so--no guess work. They also put tips they used (or should have used) to make the dish even better. I usually take the recipe and the user comments and then add to it or tweak it to suit my taste or on-hand ingredients. I've been consistently satisfied with the results.

Spicy Eggplant Stir Fry

~Print Recipe~ 

• 2 tablespoons vegetable or olive oil 
• 2 long Chinese eggplants, cubed (I went to Safeway and could only find the plump regular kind, so I went with that)
• 1 onion chopped into bite-sized chunks
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
  
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped into bite-sized chunks
• Any other veggies you want
• 4 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce/tamari
• 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1 green chili pepper (as spicy as you desire), finely chopped
  
• 3 tablespoons white sugar
• 3 teaspoons corn starch
• 1 1/2 teaspoons chili oil (you can substitute chili sauce, red pepper flakes, etc for some heat)
• Salt to taste
  

1. Heat vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add onion and saute for a couple of minutes. Add minced garlic and other veggies and saute until cooked--the eggplant will become tender and start to brown in 5-10 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, prepare the sauce. In a small bowl, mix soy sauce, red wine vinegar, chili pepper, sugar, corn starch and chili oil.
3. Add sauce to the stir fry, stir to coat evenly and cook until the sauce thickens.
   
4. Serve with rice.

*Many comments suggested adding pork or chicken to this dish. One of the nice things about this recipe is you can pretty much add or subtract anything you like. People tried it with potatoes, green onions, fish sauce, Sriracha, cashews--you name it.
*The sauce originally called for 1/3 the amounts shown here, but all of the comments said to make more sauce; I doubled it, and then found I needed even more.

Tahini-Lemon Sauce

The abundance of Lebanese restaurants in Portland naturally fuels a lively debate over which one is the best. There are many theories, from Ya Hala to Al-Amir, but it is the first Lebanese restaurant I was introduced to that remains my favorite. Nicholas, the hole in the wall off Grand, vastly out-ranks the others--for only one reason: the tahini. It's ridiculously divine and I am simply incapable of describing it well enough to do it justice.

Every time I go, I order the vegan mezze platter--which last for at least two meals. It includes falafel and hummus, all you can eat pita, a garbanzo dish, tabouleh and more. It's all delicious, but I'm really just looking for that huge puddle of tahini. One dip with a chunk of fresh, hot pita and I'm completely, utterly satisfied. The long wait for a table? Worth it for that one bite.

Here is a recipe I decided to try, since I can't afford to eat out much any more. It's from my trusty original Moosewood Cookbook--copyright 1977. This turned out very well--and far outshined the falafels (from a mix--next time from scratch!) we also attempted. I'm fairly certain it's as close as I'm going to get without the secret recipe from Nicholas' kitchen.

• 1 1/2 cups tahini (sesame seed paste--found near the peanut butter in the supermarket)
• 1 1/2 cups plain yogurt
• 1 medium clove crushed garlic (I love my jar from Trader Joe's!)
• 1/2 cup fresh-squeezed lemon juice (around 3 lemons)
• 1/4 cup chopped (or finely-minced if mixing by hand) scallions (I used regular onions.)
• 1/4 cup chopped (or finely-minced if mixing by hand) parsley
  
• Salt to taste
• 1 or 2 dashes cayenne
• 1 or 2 dashes paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin (or more, to taste--I'm a huge fan of this spice...)
• 1 or 2 dashes of tamari

1. Combine ingredients in a food processor and pulse until creamy and smooth. (You can also use a wisk or an electric mixer.) Sample the mixture and add ingredients to suit your taste.