Presto!!!! pesto in a wink!

one of the amazing mothers i sit for sent me a recipe for cilantro lime pesto that was a Tejas Texas Grill recipe in Bon Appetit. i adjusted it a bit to my liking, and think it's pretty spot on.

i had the recipe saved in my email for weeks before i got to it, and when i did...boy was i glad. i thought of it as i was walking through the green market in union square smelling the fresh veggies, and herbs. of course the cilantro hit me, and i knew it was time. i swooped up jalapeños (10 cents), cilantro ($1.50), garlic (30 cents), red pepper (85 cents), and a white onion (75 cents) at the market. since there are just a few ingredients i would recommend getting the freshest possible, hence the reason i hit up the farmers market. on my way home i grabbed the limes for six for a dollar...holla. the pasta i had at my house. wOOtwOOt, let's make magic.

Cilantro Lime Pesto

• 2 cups cilantro
• 3/4 cups green onion (scallions)
• 1/4 cup white onion
• 4 cloves garlic
• 1 jalapeño
• juice of 3 limes
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• salt
• pepper

1. chop cilantro, white onions, scallions, garlic,& jalapeño (and seeded). toss in blender with limes juice, and olive oil. blend until smooth. salt and pepper to taste. it's just that easy. if you don't have a garlic press just chop 'em. a good way to get the skins off the garlic is hit the width of your blade with heal of your palm.

toss this with cooked spaghetti. i fired a red pepper on my gas stove, sliced, and used as a topping for the dish. so good, friends. so good.

i really love your peaches, wanna shake your trees.

my mama has been talking about grilling peaches for days and days. every time she brought it up i would start to drool. so, today i braved the heat (and just missed a downpour) to grab the few ingredients i would need.

i also wanted something to top these with. something light, because in this heat anything too heavy is just too much. i decided to try a strawberry syrup. while i had imagined it being thick, like bottled maple syrup, mine came out sans any viscosity. yet the flavor was spot on, and i actually enjoyed the lighter syrup.

Grilled Peaches

• peaches
• cinnamon (optional)
• nutmeg (optional)
• brown sugar (optional)

1. peel, pit, and slice your peaches. i peeled mine, but leaving the skin is just peachy keen. i would recommend slices on the thicker side. if they are too thin they will cook really fast and turn to mush.
2. if you choose to top your slices you can use any of the above mentioned or whatever pleases you. i just used brown sugar, which remember will start to caramelize and can make a heck of mess on a grill (foil could help here).
3. place on grill, i highly recommend the use of foil here for easy clean up. grill on each side until grill marks on visible. only a few mintues on each side. today since firing up my little outdoor grill was too daunting in this heat i used my george foreman.

Strawberry Syrup

• one carton strawberries
• 2 cups water
• 1 1/8 cup sugar
• zest of half a lime
• juice of whole lime

1. slice strawberries and toss in a pot. add 3/4 cup water. bring to a boil then lower to simmer. let simmer for 15 minutes. i used a potato masher to smash my strawberries a few times throughout the simmering. they should break down till it just a pulp. you can strain the pulp out or leave it in your syrup.
2. remove strawberries from heat, and in pot combine rest of water (1 1/4 cup), sugar, lime zest, and juice. bring to boil. left this boil for about 10 minutes. if you have a thermometer it should be around 220 degrees. but really just let it boil until sugar and water start to thicken.
3. combine sugar water mix with strawberry blend and bring to boil again for about a minute.
4. remove from heat and let cool.

plate your peaches, and top with syrup! my syrup was still warm when i plated this and with the warm peaches it was pretty great. a chilled syrup might be better in the hot sun at a grill out. also, you can replace the strawberries without fruit sounds good; raspberries, blueberries, anything! so, thanks mom! i did it, and it was delicious!!!

104 heat index, and i want french toast.

whew, baby. nyc is in the middle of a heatwave, and not the fun dancey sing songy kind. if you tried to dance now you would die of dhydration/heat exhaustion on your way up from your first "drop it like it's hot."

standing next to a stove to cook sounded like torture, but i still had one thing on my mind: french toast. sure, i had all the fixings for a nice cool summer roll, but i had to go for the fired up bread. of course.

French Toast

• bread
• 1 cup soy milk
• cinnamon
• 1 1/2-2 bananas
• vanilla

1. in a blender combine soy milk, cinnamon, bananas, and vanilla then pulse until smooth. the amount of cinnamon and vanilla is up to you, and what you like. since there aren't any raw eggs in the batter feel free to test it, and season to your liking. when i use banana as egg replacer in recipes such as cookies and pancakes i will first mash them separately with just a tad of lemon juice to get them at the right consistency. since i was tossing everything in the blender i knew it would get mixed properly, if you don't have a blender or food processor i would use the lemon method. these came out with a strong banana flavor; if that is something you want to avoid use the lesser amount.
2. on a stove heat large non-stick pan with oil or oil spray. or if you are lucky enough to have a griddle get that baby going.
3. dip bread into batter coating both sides. i used french bread, but you can use whatever suits your fancy. anything from sliced white bread to a thick whole wheat loaf.
4. cook on each side until they are brown and start to crisp on each side. try to flip as least amount of times as possible.
5. top with powder sugar, butter, syrup, fruit, nuts, apple sauce or nothing at all!

you can always add in whatever other spices and flavors to the mix. some coconut or pumpkin pie spice would be really yummy!!! i had to cook these with a fan pointed directly at me, but it was so worth it. make them after the sun goes down as part of a breakfast for dinner evening. enjoy!