Freezer-Bound Cilantro Pesto

I recently had a bunch of lovely cilantro in my fridge from my pork and white bean chili. 

If you're a regular reader of this blog, you know that I hate wasting ingredients.  I knew that I wouldn't have time to use the cilantro before they started to wilt so I decided to make my standard freezer-bound pesto.  I rinsed the cilantro and threw half of the bunch in the food processor with some chopped walnuts and grated Parmesan cheese.

Once the cilantro was pureed, I added the remaining cilantro, some peanuts and more grated Parmesan cheese.

Once everything was pureed, I poured in some olive oil and the lemon juice from a lemon (that was also almost past its prime).  I then seasoned with salt and pepper, and tasted.  I kept adding olive oil until I got the perfect texture.

I poured the cilantro pesto into a plastic container, drizzled some more olive oil, sealed the air out with pressed plastic wrap, and covered the pesto.

The pesto went straight into the freezer and I'm definitely going to be using some of it in the future to make marinades or for a fun pesto dip!

Tell me, how do you make the most of every ingredient?

First 30 While 30 Update

Wedding planning has been keeping me very busy lately.  We recently got out our Save the Dates, which was a postcard with a photo from our engagement photo shoot.

We've been busy researching our honeymoon in Italy, which I'm getting more and more excited for.  I also picked up my wedding veil, which I'm borrowing from my future sister-in-law.  And Bret has been researching custom-made suits for himself and his best men.  In other words, we have definitely been keeping busy!  Maybe this is why I didn't make as much progress I would have liked on my 30 by 30 list - whoopsie!  Since I've decided to continue on and trying to complete as many items as possible while I'm 30, here is my first 30 while 30 update: 

1. Run a 5K.

• B.A.A. 5K (April 2011)
• Lawyers Have Heart 5K (June 2011)
• Feaster Five 5K (November 2011)

2. Go camping, like real camping...overnight...in a tent.

3. Pay off all of my credit card debt.

4. Attend a live WWE event (don't judge).

5. Make Gordon Hamersley's roast chicken.

6. Walk the Brooklyn Bridge.

7. Go out to dinner and a movie by myself.

8. Watch all three of the original Star Wars movies. (Thanks, Karen!)

9. Boil a lobster by myself for the first time.

10. Write my will.

11. Write a letter of apology to someone that I have wronged and send it.

12. Experiment with molecular gastronomy.

13. Learn to drive stick shift.

14. Learn to make my own kimchi.

15. Learn how to change a car tire.

16. Go to a shooting range.

17. Redesign "Fun and Fearless in Beantown"

18. Launch a wedding website.

19. Cook a three-course vegan dinner.

20. Make turducken for the first time.

21. Climb a mountain.

22. Complete thirty (30) hours of community service or volunteering.

• Completed four hours at the Greater Boston Food Bank.
• Completed five hours at the Boston Rescue Mission.

23. Finish an entire plate of Hell Pasta from East Coast Grill.
24. Floss every day. (I only missed four days!)
25. Take a self-defense course.

26. Make homemade ice cream for the first time.

27. Make gnocchi for the first time.
28. Fly a kite.
29. Milk a cow.
30. Participate in a city dinner crawl, which means having cocktails, appetizer, dinner, dessert and post-dinner cocktails each at a different place in one city in one night.

I already have plans to attack #30 this weekend with some friends in the North End.  And Bret's upcoming work-related trip to California gives me the perfect excuse to tackle #7.  Speaking of California, I recently booked tickets to tag along Bret's trip so we can see our friends who live in the area.  I cannot wait for a long weekend in California....it is long overdue!

Wedding planning has definitely been keeping us busy.  Tell me, what is keeping you busy these days?