Scrambling

It's Pete's birthday today. Since I don't bake, my husband does the cakes around here, and he likes to get fancy. Conservatively he spent over 6 hours yesterday making Cake #1 which was brought to daycare today. Its R2D2.


He also cooked cake # 2 yesterday, which he will be frosting tonight for the playgroup party. I've been planning and gathering things for this party for a good three weeks now. Stuff is hard to find here, plus its harder for me to find things since this "isn't really my thing" (party planning). You know all those people who you see on TV, shopping for a new home, and they need a giant kitchen cause *they like to entertain*...that's not me. I like cook and share my food, but not under such make-or-break situations.

Anyway, I chose to make these two things for tomorrow which I've just started preparing (then I decided I needed a coffee break and here I am). For the Moms Only (kids get the standard...fruit, veggies, bread, butter...) I'm making:

1. Cilantro & lime pesto, which I'll serve along side some nice wheat øko french bread. I take a good bunch of cilantro, and about a half bunch of flat leaf parsley and food processor that with olive oil, garlic, and lime juice. I taste it all along the way because the lime can become overpowering quickly. This sauce is great on white fish too.

2. Bulgar salad with chickpeas, roasted peppers, and spiced cumin dressing (from A Year in a vegetarian Kitchen by Jack Bishop). Why this recipe? I had everything I needed to make this salad except lemons and cayenne pepper - both of which were easy to get.

Soon to be pesto.


Roasting peppers.


Here is a pic of the Mexicansk chicken that I cooked up last weekend. I'd never tried one of the pre-seasoned birds before. It was fine, not really any flavors to really pull out other than maybe paprika and salt. It was very juicy, but I think that that's because it was brined or something. I put clementines under the skin - heard that one on the radio. Not bad, but overall not special enough to buy again.


The peppers seem cool enough to peel, so now its back to cooking. And after that, the night will be spent crafting party decorations. I am sick to death of Wally or pirates for boy party decorations, so I've opted to make my own. So far, they are not bad - not perfect - but hey. It seems like I've put more effort into this thing than my own wedding.

Oh yeah, one more thing.


Isn't it nice. I got it at the DanMission today for 3 kronner (60 cents)! I like the bog berry theme, and it will make a nice fruit dish.

Moroccan Lover Pesto

One of the menu sides at Linda's baby shower last weekend was a cilantro lime pesto. Its great on everything from meat and fish to plain old bread and is a recipe I learned from Michelle's Moroccan man Illyase (its not Moroccan, he's a chef). The recipe below will make less than a cup of this glorious sauce. I like to blend the basic ingredients, and then taste and add - taste and add - until its exactly what I want.

Basic ingredients:
1 bunch cilantro. Mainly just the leaves, some stems are ok if your food processor is good.
1/2 bunch flat leaf parsley. I try not to add too many of these stems, they are "woodier".
The juice of one smallish lime.
2 cloves garlic.
Olive oil, salt, and pepper.

Taste - and then add more oil, lime juice, and garlic as you see fit. I like my sauce runny versus your standard thick pesto consistency, so I add a lot of oil.

And...I started to watch The Painted Veil last night. Its pretty good, and I like the way my feelings for the two main characters have changed as the movie goes along. I had to turn it off last night because I could sense a big conflict coming on so I decided to avoide it.
And...I don't know why its called the painted veil, I didn't see any veils and I don't anticipate any the way the story is going. Maybe we'll see if just be brave and watch the rest of it.