Back in the saddle.

I'm kind of amazed that today is only the 20th...I've been to New York and back, spent two days at the beach, wasted a week being sick, read about a million books, and watched far too many Lifetime movies to admit. The only thing I haven't done enough of is cook. And so here we are again.

How was New York? Fantastic. I don't really feel like it was New York as much as it was Hanging Out at the Parallel's House, but that was the whole reason I went. I even brought some Buffalo home with me...the world's most adorable child sweetly gave me her baby cold (how does something that has only been on this planet for 4 weeks have access to germs I haven't yet encountered?), which would have been fine with me, except for the fact that it was the gift that kept on giving, day after long, sneezy day. (Hubby says thanks for his share, as well.)


And so, rather than cooking, I spent last week eating meals that were more dorm-style than anything else.


Mac & Cheese out of a box is totally a meal. Especially the Three-cheese kind. But it's not exactly creative. This week, I'm making up for it. My plan is for Thai, Cambodian, falafel, and tropical chicken. In that order...and I'm excited, cause if everything is as good as Thai night, we're eating well this week.

This one takes a ton of basil; it's hard to give it an exact amount. I used one of the large containers from the grocery store, then just cleaned and stripped the leaves from the stems. You can chop them if you want, but they work fine if you leave them whole, too. I'd guesstimate I used about 3 to four cups of whole leaves.



Basil Pork
2 tbsp canola oil
6 cloves minced garlic
2 minced chiles (more or less according to your taste)
1 lb ground pork (or ground chicken or turkey)
5 tbsp fish sauce
Large package basil, washed picked from the stems (a good few cups worth)
Half a cucumber, peeled and sliced
Half a lime, quartered
Cooked rice, to serve
Cooked spring rolls (whatever frozen ones look good)

Heat oil over medium high, cook garlic and chiles a couple minutes. Add pork and cook until it turns completely white and not at all pink, about 8 minutes. Add fish sauce, then stir in basil leaves. Turn off heat. Serve over hot rice with slices of lime, cucumber, spring rolls, and dipping sauces (below).


Dipping sauces
Spicy-Sour
Combine:
2 tbsp fish sauce
1 shallot, minced
1 chile pepper
juice of 1/2 lime

Spicy-Sweet
Combine:
1 tsp chili paste
pinch of salt
3 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp vinegar
2 tbsp water
And microwave 30 seconds at a time until dissolved