Sammy's Dot

The first year that I had my own apartment, stir-fry was one of my two staple foods, but I never ate it the same way twice. That is partly because of my “measurement? what’s that?” attitude toward savoury cooking, but mostly because with all the hundreds of different ways you can sautee vegetables and protein, perhaps with rice or noodles either mixed in directly or serving as a base, why on earth would I want to repeat myself? However, tonight’s stir-fry? I will repeat.

During that same year of the first apartment, I found a jar of cilantro-chili “pesto” that I’ve never seen since and still miss. Tonight, I decided to try to duplicate it, or at least cook up something similar. I threw a bunch of cilantro, a couple of chiles, most of a head of garlic, and some ginger into the food processor, with a few tablespoons of avocado oil and lime juice for moisture. (Incidentally, avocado oil? I’ve been missing out for all but the past week of my life. It makes the best salad dressing I’ve ever had, I think.) Blended all of that into a thick, colourful sauce.

Then I stir-fried up my veggies with a shallot for company, mixed in the sauce and a bit of omelet for protein and coconut rice for starch. (more…)