Never use a substitute when you can use the real thing

I might be able to overlook it if it were the middle of winter.

Then again, I probably wouldn't.

Basil in tube from the freezer is inexcusable.

If it happened to be winter, and if I happened to live in some remote outpost (like Brazil, maybe?) where fresh, fragrant sweet basil were not always readily available, I just might be willing to let it slide. BUT,

It is the middle of summer, fresh basil is everywhere.

It is everywhere in big bunches, most of the time for about a buck.

The big bunches keep for a couple of weeks at room temperature if you put them in a nice big vase of water. (With the added bonus that they look great on your kitchen counter)

So, last night I was speaking with my good friend Deb, who asked me how I had made the cantalope wrapped in prosciutto a few weeks ago. Well....you wrap prosciutto around cantalope.  Well, but what was it that I drizzled on top? Oh, a basil, lemon vinaigrette and some chopped marcona almonds. So Deb says, "Great, I have all of that! I'm squeezing basil right now!"  WHATTTT??????

There really is no excuse. I don't buy it when she says she can't taste the difference. Is it possible that she suffers from a lack of taste buds? Or has she been deprived of real basil for so long that she can no longer remember the difference? Or should I just call her a dork?  I'm not sure, but I will be performing a basil intervention. I am going to get her one of those big bunches and deposit it on her counter. It will be like the old advice about if you want to learn how to cook, buy a ham....(By the time you figure out what to do with all that meat, you'll have learned to cook.)

So, by the time she gets to the end of that bunch of basil, she will never resort to that crap in a tube again.

(Here is my confession, though: I do buy lemongrass in a tube and keep it in the freezer; it is not available fresh at my closest market and I often do not know in advance that I need it, if I do know, I buy it fresh.)

Here is a great use for basil: Pistou or French pesto.

Pistou

In a mini processor (or use a big one, or use a mortar and pestle) combine 2 cloves garlic, 1 tsp salt, 1 C basil, and 1/4 C olive oil. Whir it until smooth.

Here is a great recipe using pistou:

Toast two slices of baguette. Top with two poached eggs, 2 T pistou and shaved parmesan. Try not to eat more than two, we wouldn't want you to get high cholesterol.

Saturday Night with Six Teenagers

Hannah had a sleepover last night. As I write, the girls are slumbering away. When they wake up, they will find breakfast burritos and crepes waiting for them.  Last night, I made them Indian food. They are organizing a sock-hop dance for the younger girl scouts in our area. They have picked a Bollywood theme and last night they were doing some planning for the event.  We ordered Indian garb, they watched Bollywood movies, danced Bhangra and ate food they had never had before. They learned about another culture by having fun with it. Now they can pass some of this along to the littler girls. Isn't this what girl scouts is supposed to be about? I think so. I think its great. These girls have been together since first grade and they are turning into fine young women who love and support each other. And they don't seem to care if the other kids at school know they are still girl scouts.

I wanted to make them interesting food that wasn't too spicy. I happened to run across this recipe for chicken masala from Bon Appetit the same day they asked if they could sleep over. It was perfect. I think the chicken could have used more garam masala, but other than that, it was a great introduction for them. I purposefully made this rather than a more traditional masala as I didn't want them to be turned off by the spiciness. The rest of the Bon Appetit menu included cumin-roasted carrots and cucumber raita. I also made potato samsoas and an onion dal, and served some flat bread I had picked up at the Indian market. Oh, and guacamole, because they requested it.

Here are the recipes for breakfast burritos and onion dal:

Breakfast burritos

1 six ounce chub chorizo (Mexican chorizo, not the hard Spanish kind)
2 small potatoes, or one medium, grated coarsely or very finely chopped
10 eggs, beaten
6 ounces grated cheddar cheese
Flour Tortillas

Crumble the chorizo into a frying pan and cook until it looks like the chorizo is almost melted, about 4 mins. Add the potatoes and saute until they are cooked through, stirring often, and adding some butter to the pan if it looks like the potatoes will stick. Stir in the eggs and cook until set. Make sure you add some butter to the skillet before the eggs if it looks like the eggs will stick. The last thing you want it is a big mess of stuck on egg in your pan. Yuck. And hard to clean. Just put in some damn butter, will you?

You can either stir the cheese into the egg mixture now, or top each burrito with some as you make them. I like to stir it in as it seems to melt better.

Heat the flour tortillas in the microwave for a few seconds so that they are nice and hot and soft, or cook them individually on top of the stove burners the old-fashioned way. I usually go with heating them on the burner like a little old Mexican lady, but if I have to make a bunch of burritos I do them in the nuker.

Fold like a burrito and wrap in foil. They will stay hot for a while. They can also be saved this way and heated later in the oven or microwave. Or make a bunch and freeze them and the kids can heat them for school-day breakfasts.

Onion Dal
This recipe is easily doubled, which I usually do, because it is really good.

6 T oil or ghee
scant 1/2 cup masoor dal (red or yellow lentils)
1 small bunch scallions, chopped
1 tsp finely chopped ginger
1 cove garlic, minced
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp tumeric
1 3/4 c water
1 tsp salt

Garnish
1 fresh jalapeno, minced
1/4  bunch cilantro, chopped

Heat the oil and add scallions, cooking until slightly browned. Add ginger, garlic, chili powder, and tumeric. Stir fry the spices for a  minute or two. Add the dal and the water, reduce heat and simmer for 20-25 minutes until dal are tender. Add salt, stir, and garnish with jalapeno and cilantro.