. dash of food .

Photograph by kaishin chu © 2009 . The Bonus - Basil Pistachio Pesto Well, after lamenting over the loss of production from my basil plants, I had a colander full of uninfested basil leaves that were rescued one by one from the culled stalks. J washed and cleaned these one by one to make sure there were no hidden baby scale bugs still attached. I had never before made fresh basil pesto before, but seen many different recipes, so figured I couldn't go too wrong. One thing missing though, was Pine nuts. I haven't seen pine nuts here yet, though I know China produces them and does eat them in the north country. I figured I would try substituting with the excellent pistachios we had on hand for sake of experimenting. It turned out great and was delicious :) Ingredients: Phase 1: 2 cups fresh basil, packed 2 med - large cloves garlic, peeled, roughly chopped (about 2 tbsp, or half this, if you prefer) 1/2 cup pistachio nuts, shelled 1 tsp fresh lemon juice 1/4 tsp.fresh lemon...

Italian styled Garlic Prawns with Spicy Sausages © Kaishin Chu 2008 I made this for a potluck gathering, it turned out really well as it reheated under the broiler perfectly. Don't forget to have some good bread for dipping and soaking up the juices at the end. 2 Cups of fresh prawns or room temp. defrosted ones, shells off with tails on (easier as finger food) 1 cup spicy Italian sausages, sliced about 1/4" - 3/8" thick pieces 1/2 cup minced red onions 1/4 cup diced red and yellow peppers + 1 TBsp for garnishing 1 Tbsp. crushed or finely minced garlic 2 tsp. paprika Sea Salt and Peper 1/4 tsp. chili flakes chopped fresh parsley to garnish Use a decent amount of olive oil (2-3 tbsp) and butter (1-2 tbsp) to quickly heat the garlic, onion, chili flakes, and peppers, just till the aroma comes out. Then add the sausages in to cook. saute until cooked through. Then add Prawns, and sprinkle in the paprika, stir and sautee till just slightly undercooked, then turn off...