Spicy-Lime-Cilantro Sauce (or One Awesomely Versatile Sauce)

With the cilantro from last week's CSA share beginning the end of it's journey, I needed to find a way to use up the large untouched bunch sitting on my counter. In most culinary dishes I've made involving cilantro, a large bunch is way too much. I was about to settle on mixing up a cilantro pesto, and throwing it in a pan of pasta and shrimp when I came across a recipe on All Recipes for a Flank Steak Marinade. Hmm... Fajitas? I always buy bulk flank steak, wrap and freeze it, so I had that in the freezer... I had peppers I needed to use, and Boy Wonder (my 8yo)  loves fajitas. Sold!

I mixed up the ingredients in my Cuisinart mini-food processor...

And marinated the steak for twelve hours, making sure to reserve part of the puree as instructed...

As grillin' time grew closer, and I was digging out the fajita ingredients, I came across the CSA lettuce, onion, and squashes I'd been avoiding since picked up from the farm. Hmm... A fajita salad with a side of squash? Well, ok...

So the squashes were sliced and seasoned with a little kosher salt and homemade chili powder.  DH usually grills the steak, and I stay inside (where it's cool *insert devious laugh*), and sauté the onion and peppers for fajitas, but why not grill them too?

While the steak and veggies were grilling, I prepped the salad. Lettuce... arugula... What else? What dressing goes well with fajita meat? Oh yeah! The reserved puree! Why not just make a dinner salad out of everything? And so, another dinner salad was created...

The lime-cilantro puree was perfect as a marinade. It was perfect--PERFECT as a salad dressing. The boys even loved dipping their squash in it, so it was also perfect as a veggie "dip." How much more of a versatile sauce can you get?!?!

The original sauce/marinade is here, and my changes are below. I really only left out the thyme because I didn't have it, and after making it too spicy (for the kids) using canned hot diced chili's, added a little extra honey to offset the spice.

Awesomely Versitile Spicy-Lime-Cilantro Sauce
This makes just under two cups of sauce


6 cloves garlic
1/2 an onion, chopped
2 limes juiced OR 4 Tbs lime juice
1 Tbs canned hot diced chili's
1 heaping cup loosely packed cilantro leaves
3/4 cup vegetable or canola oil
3 Tbs honey
kosher salt to taste

Throw everything in a food processor or blender, and puree.
***
7/15/10
Made this again tonight, but didn't have enough onion. Threw in a little onion powder, and still tasted great. I marinated a few chicken breasts then grilled, and also coated Magda squash rounds before grilling. Served them up with a plain ol' wild rice. Oh, and of course, we had more sauce on the side for dipping. Magnifique!

Asparagus and Mushroom Quiche

I've always wanted to try making a quiche, but for some reason, I never had the guts to do so. I don't know why the idea of making quiche intimidated me so much. It's a very straight forward dish. Chop veggies. Cook meat if you want it in there. Throw everything into a pie crust. Bake and serve with a fruit to round the meal out. Now what's so threatening about that?

This recipe was so easy to make and tasted so delicious I'll be making it again this week.

Asparagus and Mushroom Quiche
6 slices bacon
1/2 cup chopped shallot (or about 2 bulbs)
1 cup mushrooms, stem and ribs removed, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 cup chopped fresh asparagus
1 (8 inch) unbaked pie shell
1 cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
3 eggs
3/4 cup half-and-half cream or whole milk
1/4 teaspoon fresh ground nutmeg
Fresh ground pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt (optional)
1 egg white, lightly beaten (optional)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).

1. In a small bowl, whisk together the eggs, cream, nutmeg and pepper until smooth. Set aside.

2. Cook bacon in a large skillet over medium heat until just cooked. Drain on paper towels, chop and set aside. Don't drain the bacon fat from the pan.

3. Add onions to bacon fat; cook and stir until translucent. Add the mushroom and asparagus, and cook until asparagus is barely tender.  Mix the chopped bacon into the cooked vegetables.

4. Brush the pie shell with the beaten egg white, if using. Place the vegetable and bacon mixture into the bottom of the pie shell. Sprinkle the Cheddar and feta cheeses over the vegetables. Pour the egg and milk mixture over the vegetable and cheese filling.

5. Bake uncovered for 35 to 40 minutes, or until firm and lightly browned on top. Let cool to room temperature before serving.

*This recipe was adapted from one on All Recipes.