Cilantro, Cilantro Everywhere!

Late spring and abundant rain in the Pacific Northwest! All this rain is making the garden-- and the weeds-- grow like crazy. Among the craziness are numerous volunteer cilantro plants, which are growing so fast they're already starting to bolt.

Naturally, tonight's meal featured cilantro, and it turned out even better than I expected! If you find yourself with an excess of cilantro-- or even if you just want to use a little-- give this meal a try. As usual, I didn't really measure the ingredients; use more of what you like, and it's easy to adjust the meal for a large or small crowd.

Cilantro Lime Chicken

Place chicken breasts in a shallow pan. Drizzle with olive oil and fresh lime juice, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and add chopped cilantro. Let marinade for an hour or so, then grill until cooked through.

Avocado Salsa

Chop a couple of avocados and place them in a bowl. Add diced fresh tomato, red onion, chopped garlic or garlic powder, and minced jalapeno or red pepper flakes. Drizzle some olive oil and lime juice over the top. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and mix. Stir in fresh chopped cilantro. Serve over chicken.

Cilantro Rice

Measure out the desired amount of rice. Sprinkle with salt, garlic powder, and a smattering of cumin and achiote/annatto powder. Drizzle olive oil into the rice and stir. Then add water and cook as directed. When done, fluff and serve with the chicken.

I hope the cilantro is the first of many crops we're overloaded with this summer! We still have some planting to do, but the garden is well on its way. Happy gardening to those of you who like to go out and get your hands dirty, your muscles worked, and your minds cleared. And happy eating to us all!