Cilantro pesto

It turns out pesto is really easy to make. And it doesn't have to be expensive either. Today I used cilantro instead of basil and thought about using cheap sunflour seeds instead of expensive pine nuts, but I already had pine nuts, so I'll use them up first.

I tasted sunflower pesto at a nearby restaurant, Uncle Betty's, and it was fantastic! It adds a sunflower flavour that I thought worked very well with basil. I didn't miss the pine nuts at all. I spoke to the owner about it and he said made the switch to avoid nut allergies. Economical, tasty, and won't kill people by accident! I'd call that a win.

I'll try that myself another time, but I thought cilantro would make for another interesting substitution. I didn't change the rest of the recipe, but I think I should have. With cilantro, it came out a bit oily for my taste. It is much more of a liquid than the basil one was. I think the cilantro has more water in it than basil. Oh, and I added one less clove of garlic. Last time, the garlic flavour took over the next day. Hopefully it will tighten up overnight. 

I'm going to put this on everything! Starting with my current favourite sammich, grilled chicken & avocado with old cheddar on flax seed bread:

Cheddar tomato sandwhich

Lunch time is sammich time here at the Zen household. By household, I mean the small collection of rooms I triple lock against the crazy neighbours and homeless people of the outside world. Today's version is a classic old cheddar and tomato sandwhich with arugula and pesto. Pile them onto lightly toasted multi-grain bread from the local bakery and it will look like this:

Simple, quick (under 5 minutes), and delicious. 

Grilled coffee chicken & avocado sammiches

One of the best things about making grilled chicken for dinner is the delicious sammiches for lunch the next day.

4 slices bread, flax seed
1 chicken quarter, off the bone
onions from under chicken, see last post
half an avocado, sliced
salt & pepper
cilantro
habanero hot sauce, optional

Preheat george foreman grill or panini press. Place toppings in order listed on top of bread and top with another.

 Press somewhat firmly. Place sammiches on grill until outside is toasty and inside is warmed through. Serve, eat, & enjoy.

The bread is super crispy, and inside you get all those great flavours. The roasted chicken, the perfectly ripe creamy avocado, a bit of sweetness from the onions, and a refreshing burst of cilantro to lighten it all up. The spicy pepper flavour of the hot sauce was ok, but didn't add much.

Some people like to butter the outside of grilled sammiches like this, but I find it too greasy for my taste. Cheese always works well, but it isn't necessary. I also have no problem calling them sammiches even though it gives me a squiggly red line underneath as I type the word. It does that for Canadian flavours too but not American flavors. I've become used to it.