Avocado Lime Pesto

I've posted before about my obsession with zoodles (zucchini noodles), so I'm always looking for something new and exciting to put on them. One thing I love is pesto, but since it ends up being mostly olive oil, nuts, and cheese, it doesn't always feel like a healthy option... LUCKILY,  I found this recipe over on Cara's Cravings, always a reliable source.

Unfortunately, bright green noodles aren't 100% photogenic, so I had this twice before I got around to trying to blog about it!

I made this whole thing in the smoothie cup of my Ninja blender, which is possibly the best thing I have ever purchased for myself. Besides all manner of green smoothies for breakfast, it makes things like this super fast, and the smaller volume of the smoothie cup works better for small batches than a large food processor does.

This is what you need for the pesto:

- 1/2 avocado

- a BIG bunch of basil, washed very well

- 2-3 cloves garlic

- pinch salt

- half a lime worth of juice

- a little water to help it blend

Basically it could not be easier- dump that all in the blender, hit go, and wait until it's smooth.

I had the pesto multiple times on zoodles- once with mini thai flavored turkey patties (mixed with basil, cilantro, fish sauce, ginger, and grated carrots) and once with a piece of frozen tilapia from Costco, which I marinated in lime juice and herbs. But in addition to the zoodles, it was awesome on top of eggs, on top of chicken- basically, on everything I ate that week! It's much brighter and more refreshing than typical pesto, and would be perfect for all kinds of summer dishes. Try it!

Herbed Thai Quinoa Salad, Super Refreshing for Hot Weather!

Ok, it is starting to get HOT. That means that I don't want to turn on my oven or eat anything even vaguely warm, so it's time to turn to salads! Coming up are a series of salad posts and I'm not kidding, these are delicious!

First up is this Thai Quinoa Salad with Herbs and Lime Vinaigrette.

I got the recipe over at Once Upon a Chef, and really pretty much made it exactly as instructed (for once), so I'll just link you there.

I will say I used both cilantro and basil and I really wouldn't leave either out even though the basil is optional- it was all the fresh herbs that really made this salad. I know some people don't like cilantro, which apparently to some extent might be due to genetic differences in chemosensation. But here it adds such a fresh taste, I just really wouldn't skip it. Fortunately I'm growing basil on my fire escape this summer, which means I have 3 different kinds (Thai, Greek, and purple) so pretty much around here fresh basil goes on everything!

The other thing you must must must do is use fresh lime juice (now that limes aren't as insanely expensive anymore). When you pick a lime, be sure to pick not the biggest one, but the heaviest one- the ones with thinner skin that seem surprisingly heavy will have the most juice. Bottled citrus juice just really can't compare! And for something like this that is so refreshing, you just need the real thing.

The recipe makes quite a bit (I used a lot of veggies so got way more portions out of it than the original post suggested), which is good because one thing I like about grain based salads is the ability to keep them in the fridge and take portions for lunch. The quinoa also makes it very filling as a main dish. By the last day I had to refresh a bit with some new and more crunchy cucumber and some fresh herbs but in general it lasted quite a while. Once, I even had it with some tilapia on top- I put a frozen filet (from costco) in a ziplock bag with lime, sesame oil, and the same herbs as went in the salad and let it sit until the fish thawed, then just cooked it in a pan. This was AMAZING on top of the salad- it would definitely be something you could serve to guests at a summer dinner party.

If you're feeling hot and not up to much more interaction with the stove than boiling some water, give this a try! It was bright, refreshing, and a little different- perfect!

Limoncello!

Now, this is what happens when you're a lazy blogger. I started a post on the first phase of this project back in February... then I forgot to finish it, forgot about the soaking phase-1 limoncello mixture in the cupboard, and then found the whole thing this weekend (forgotten concoction, missing post, and all). So, lets start this from the very beginning... (pretend this is around February 11).

Guess what! After years of nurturing, my little lime tree it actually produced a pretty big crop! After last time, when I tried and failed to make something awesome out of my one lime, I knew this time I had to do better. I knew that the juice of my limes was going to go to the best possible cause- margaritas. But, I wanted to do something with the zest too. Now, I love limoncello, the Italian lemon flavored liquor, and decided I would make lime-oncello (I'm sure there is some legit way to say that but I have no idea what it is).

After scouring the internet, I learned that while you can make it with vodka, that it can give an unwanted flavor, and the best thing to do is use grain alcohol. This lead to an awkward experience at BevMo (home of the 5-cent wine sale, how can you go wrong?) in which I tried to convince the sales clerk that I was not in fact buying Everclear so I could go home to make some kind of frat party kool aid based punch (I have had a lot of such punch in my day, but, I think I can leave those days behind).

Here's what I did... first, I had to get the zest off the limes. First, it is very important to scrub them really thoroughly to get any dirt or pesticides off.  Then, it's critical to get as much zest as possible but NOT the white pith, which is very bitter. I decided to have a little kitchen test, and tried 3 different zesting methods:

We have the traditional veggie peeler, my beloved microplanar, and an Oxo lemon zester. The veggie peeler was good in that it got a lot off quick, but I didn't feel like I could control the depth (and thus avoid the pith) as well. The microplanar worked beautifully as always, but I was worried that the zest would be hard to strain out in the long run. The Oxo zester was the clear winner- it pulled off long strands, and I could control the depth. You can see all the varieties here...

(the pictures in this post are kind of bad, I was borrowing a camera and didn't really have a handle on it)

And, the remnants of the limes, ready for juicing. There are a variety of colors based on ripeness and time of picking (see how many there are?!?)

Now, officially you're supposed to put everything in a glass jar. I decided the Everclear was ALREADY in a glass jar, and just stuffed the lime peel inside. Doesn't it look pretty?

Now... at this point I was supposed to put it into a cupboard for a couple of weeks or up to 40 days. Instead of that, I forgot about it for 4 months (grant deadlines, etc, etc). Theoretically longer is better, so here's hoping that was fine..

(Time travel forward to the present day)

The next step is to make a sugar syrup (the fact that you dilute it later is another reason to go with a stronger alcohol from the start). Based on this site on how to make limoncello, I used 1 3/4 c sugar and 2.5c water, boiled for 5 minutes, and let it cool. At this point, I was clearly beyond the capacity of the Everclear bottle, so got out 2 glass containers, and split the alcohol/lime mixture between them. I then also split the sugar mixture. It is important to make sure the glass containers are VERY clean, and seal completely. I was not entirely confident in the sealing, and so used supplementary saran wrap.

Now, I have to wait just a bit longer before filtering and enjoying!

Loofah Update!

I've mentioned before that I started a new gardening experiment that I've been thinking about for quite a while... growing loofahs!

Now, last time I posted, they were just sprouting from little seeds. But now, NOW, they are really something to see. As soon as I planted them, they started growing like gangbusters, so I got a little 3 foot trellis. They got so giant, they way overgrew it and started trying to invade the apartment (see exhibit A).

So, I got a much bigger trellis (7 ft tall) and when I stretched the plant out, it was basically big enough for it already! Just has to fill out a bit. There are even some little things that might be going to turn into flowers, but this thing sprouts leaves and tendrils so fast its hard to tell!

( so tall! although there is some leaf issue at the bottom I'm trying to figure out)

I'm extremely excited about how this whole thing is panning out, that much is for sure. If you're wondering what that is off to the left, it is my famous little lime tree who is doing spectacularly well, and produced these little beauties with many more on the way!

Container Gardening Success!

I recently introduced you to Bob, my tomato plant, and Sheila, my pepper plant and my efforts at balcony 'container gardening'. Well, I have to say, things are going gangbusters, so I wanted to give an update.

First up... Sheila the banana pepper plant(s) is turning out to be very prolific... I don't have a full shot, but this one shows just one of the at least 4 peppers (with many more blooms). I'm pretty psyched about this one despite not actually being all that sure what you DO with banana peppers... anyone with recipes, please let me know.

Next up... a new addition- some super hot chilies, that are going to be little red chilis that hopefully I can dry. This one also has toooooooons of little peppers and blooms on it.

Now... something very exciting- BLUEBERRIES! we'll see how this goes, its a total experiment. But, an experiment that has yielded at least 15 soon-to-be edible blueberries (I hope).

AAAAAANND, my old favorite. The lime tree, which is benefiting from the much more vigorous watering regime I'm on this year because of all the other plants is also exploding. There are tons of little limes! I don't want to jinx it but this year it might be actually possible to make one or more margaritas from this thing...

Now, you're probably wondering what happened to Bob the tomato plant... well, he's still with us, but Bob has been unfortunately riddled by a team of ravenous (apparently) caterpillars who not only demolished his leaves but also his 2 baby tomatoes (the gall), so he's really not at his most photogenic and to avoid posting humiliating pictures of him on the internet, I'll wait until he looks a little more like himself.

So, things around here are looking good! Once I can actually make something with any of these, recipes will be forthcoming!

The Little Lime's Last Hurrah: Lime Zest Sugar Cookies

Ok, this post is a little bit tragic and its taken me a while to write it... after my little lime finally grew up and fell off his tree, I knew I had to use him for something good. The first thing I wanted to do, before he became a key ingredient in a number of delicious drinks, was to use the zest for something delicious. I love citrus zest... this love only became stronger when I acquired a microplane grater, which I highly recommend to everyone- it is so fast! and easy to clean!. At this point, if I have a lemon, zest goes in everything until its gone. Yogurt. Oatmeal. Everything. You name it.
I thought the best thing would be something very simple that highlighted the flavor of the zest, and finally arrived at the idea of a very simple cookie. I found a promising recipe on recipezaar and set to work.

This is what you need:
zest of 1 large lime
1 cup sugar
1 cup butter, chilled and cut into pieces (yes, actual butter)
2 1/3 cups cake flour, sifted
.5 teaspoon baking soda
.25 teaspoon salt

Process zest and sugar in food processor so zest is extremely fine. Add butter and process further. Add dry ingredients and process until mixed. These are refrigerator cookies, so you should roll the dough into two logs, wrap in waxed paper, and chill. When you're ready, slice and bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes.

This is what I ended up with:
This does NOT look like the picture. They were bizarre and sort of lacey and left tons of butter on the cookie sheet. They were extremely crunchy and were ok, but weren't the cookie of my dreams.

In retrospect, I realized I made a series of ridiculous mistakes, probably because I was over excited about using up the lime. I did not put in baking soda (how this happened I don't know). I also accidentally only put in 2c flour, and it wasn't cake flour or sifted (because I am impatient). I feel a little like I failed the lime, which is why it took me a while to post this. But, I think the cookies themselves have some potential, as long as you actually pay attention while you make them!

TRIUMPH!

I really seriously can't contain myself. Today I got up, and what did I see on the ground, my little lime!


He's pretty much full sized, and its the right time of year so... I think I finally successfully raised at least one lime off of that tree to 'adulthood'. Of course, now the problem is that I have to think of the best possible thing to do... its a lot of pressure! My immediate thought is obviously margaritas. Unforunately, he was an only child, so it would be a very small margarita. So, I have to think of as many awesome things as possible that just need a spritz of lime (and zest). Stay tuned!!!

Last man standing.

Ok, you will not BELIEVE this.

I have previously posted on the ongoing saga of my lime tree. We've gone through some highs and some lows. This summer I was pretty optimistic as there were actually a number of little contenders. But, then I moved (which caused widespread lime devastation), and it has been insanely ridiculously hot around here.

HOWEVER.

Look at this guy. Even if he doesn't get any bigger, this lime is definitely squeezable. HUURRAAY!

Major Excitement

So, if you've been reading around here for very long, you may remember the dramatic saga of my lovely little lime tree.

In August, I was optimistic.

Now, I am beside myself.

Check this out! This new crop might not have yet reached the penny sized magnificence of my earlier protege, but they are well on their way!

But here is the real reason for my current wild and unbounded optimism... this time there is not just one!

Hope Springs Eternal

I have previously posted on the tragic and unexpectedly premature demise of my much pampered and adored little lime.

While little Charlotte and I were understandably devastated, we have managed to soldier on. But, a few days ago, when watering the tree, I noticed this...


It looks like the long dreamed of home grown margarita hour may not be a lost cause, yet! Keep your fingers crossed!

Tragedy Strikes

This is... very sad. I went out to my balcony, and what did I see? My poor little lime, who I have charted from his early planting babyhood to his penny sized adolescence, to this... the final demise :(

R.I.P. Little Lime

Margarita status: imminent

Ok, so while I was off pondering horseshoe crabs, things back at home were far from slacking off. given that when I got the tree, a burst of teeny weeny limes appeared, but then were never to be seen again, I was pretty sure that this whole lime tree plan might take longer than I hoped to pan out...

Well, maybe not, because, CHECK OUT THIS LIME!

This is very good news for a Friday. Now lets hope I don't kill it by running outside and admiring it too often...

Mmm.... Margarita Time! (well, eventually)

Whats this? This is the cutest little dwarf lime tree you've ever seen. I had this pot, which is awesome and blue, and weighs about 1 million pounds, but when I got it, it had this sort of deformed lemon tree that has never in its life yielded a lemon. The lemon tree didn't survive the winter, so I went to buy a new one. Then I realized... if you have lemons you can make lemonade... but if you have limes, you can make margaritas! The choice was clear. And, here he is...