Ambitious Deliciousness – Dont Eat Lazy.

When a recipe calls for 10 pieces of cilantro leaves, do you ever wish you could just buy 10 pieces at a time? I do! Despite my attempts to keep the whole bunch fresh, it ends up going bad before I could make good use of it. So planting some herbs in pots sounded like the perfect idea! But would I be able to in my apartment?

Did I ever mention that I’m a city girl? To be more specific, I’m a New York City girl. (For those of you wondering, yes, I have my driver’s license. How often do I drive? Well – that’s another story.)

Meanwhile, Dan is a suburb guy who grows vegetables in his backyard. So he helped me plant herbs with the kit I received from the Eggland’s Best event in July 2010. (The name is so awesome and straight to the point.) Though the kit comes with everything you need, including soil, Dan was gracious enough to bring some dirt from his backyard. Nothing says romance like homemade compost .

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Somehow, I managed to cook a green meal the other day. I don’t mean green, as in environmentally friendly, but a monochromatic meal.

I made this delicious meal on the spot using some Thai basil, along with steamed Yu Choy vegetables as a side dish. I didn’t even realize how green my meal was until I took a photo. As we often eat with our eyes, it was not as aesthetically pleasing to look at, though it tasted really good.

Instead of a non-green colored produce for garnish, all I could find was a lonely walnut. So there it is. Maybe my meal would be more appropriate for St. Patrick’s Day? In any case, this would definitely fall under the category of “delicious weeknight meal in under 20 minutes.” (If you make the pesto in advance, even quicker!)

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During Thanksgiving weekend, I had the pleasure of cooking a meal for our extended family of 13 people. The thought was overwhelming at first, but I had a lot of help, which made the entire process go by quickly. It ended up being a fun group project!

At the kitchen table, I overheard my dad giving directions on how to devein shrimp. The next time I looked over, my uncles and aunts were deveining and peeling shrimp together while my little cousin grated some cheese. My sister chopped onions on the island while my mom peeled the squid skin over the sink, not to mention my other two cousins who ran around slicing tomatoes, turning the basil into chiffonade, and seasoning the caprese salad with fresh cracked pepper and salt.

We started with a caprese salad. I paired this entree with a simple romaine salad with cranberries, walnuts and feta cheese, along with garlic bread that my cousin so successfully made.

This yummy Italian dish is originally made with littleneck clams and mussels. I chose not to use those, due to a lack of access. Be sure to scrub the clams and mussels well, and make sure they are cooked thoroughly, until they open up.

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What to do and what not to do when following this green curry recipe:

Do buy Maesari canned brand of green curry. It is cheap and you only need a small can to make a whole batch!

Do not dump the entire 12 oz. can of bamboo shoots into the pot even though the recipe doesn’t call for any of it. (Even more points if you don’t rinse out the acidic juice that is in the can.)

Do pat yourself on the back for finding a way to incorporate not one, but two of your CSA ingredients (potatoes and eggplant) into a dish.

Do not add Yukon gold potatoes to your curry. Why? What does this remind you of?

It has a striking resemblance to mangoes. D’oh.

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At the farmer’s market last week, I grabbed 1 bunch of basil for $2. Then I realized that I’d have to use it up before it went bad. Would I be able to use it all up before the fragrant colorful greens transform into mushy brown stuff? (Side note: I did find a trick to keeping herbs fresh longer but it was too late by the time I got around to it. )

So the race was on. I was determined to win. Against time, that is.

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