Coup de Etat and Cilantro

This is our first day house sitting for my mom, and what happens? Coup de etat at the Manila Peninsula, just a few blocks away from the condo. Hubby was poised to troop back to our suburban home in BF in case there will be violence. Fortunately, the matter was resolved peacefully in a matter of hours and we get to live the Makati lifestyle for the next few days until my mom returns from her Vietnam vacation.

For our first night here, I made coleslaw with cilantro in citrus dressing, which is hubby's fave.



Since I have a ton of cilantro left over from the fridge, I made cilantro pesto yesterday at home at and brought it over here at the condo. Hubby liked this one as well, I was surprised that he did. He doesn't usually like pesto. In case you're interested, here's the recipe:



Cilantro Pesto

1 bunch of cilantro leaves and stalks, roughly chopped
1 - 2 Cloves of garlic, finely chopped
Toasted pine nuts
Extra virgin olive oil
Parmesan cheese, freshly grated
Lemon juice (to prevent the cilantro from oxidizing)
Salt and pepper to taste

Process everything in a blender or food processor. There's no proportion to my recipe, because I just eyeballed everything. If it's too salty, add a bit more lemon and oil. If you want it more creamy, add more parmesan and pine nuts.

Heat slightly and pour cooked pasta over it. Toss to coat. Garnish with a bit of cilantro leaves. Serve immediately.

Refrigerate leftover pesto sauce, it will taste much better the following day.

Hubby and I have also been meaning to try out the Indian restaurant downstairs called Swagatam (along Rada Street, Makati). We decided to order some naan, roti and shrimp marsala curry to be delivered to us.



Spicy! We liked the shrimp marsala but we had plenty of leftover :-) The naan was good as well.

We also discovered that the naan is great to dip in the cilantro pesto.