But I wanted to make gai pad bai gaprow!

What is up with basil?

I've been to four different grocery stores in my town and haven't found any. At all. None. Not even among the horrendously overpriced organic herbs sealed in little plastic package containers that scream, "Look at me! I am a healthy, eco-friendly sprig of herbs in a plastic box that will sit in a landfill until the end of freakin' time!"

I'm beginning to think that it would be easier for me to find certain black market plants.

I had a hydroponic basil plant last summer. I had to hunt all over, but I finally found him in the Giant near my mother's house. I adopted him and took him home and my mom named him Basil (you know, with the short "a"). Basil was a loyal friend, always giving of himself and asking nothing in return, just so that I could make bruschetta, or margherita pizza, or pasta salad. And he grew so big and tall!

Unfortunately, I left poor Bas behind when I moved out of my mother's house.

I have never missed him more than I did on Sunday night, which I decided was a fine night to make gai pad bai gaprow. Neither the big-box grocery store nor the Trader Joe's had any basil. Monday night, I looked at the Giant across from the university. Tuesday night, I looked at the Safeway in Old Town. By then, I was fed up and grabbed a bunch of cilantro. The chicken was already thawed and would have gone bad by the next night anyway, so I figured I'd use cilantro and see what happened.

So, what happened? It was disgusting, or at least I thought so. The Mr. at all of his, and then he ate the rest of mine. The sauce tasted nothing like that at the Thai restaurant where we always eat (and where we ate the following evening, because I wanted my gai pad bai gaprow and, by damn, I was going to have it).

But that's neither here nor there.

I would love to make bruschetta for the movie night I'm having tomorrow.

Oh. Yeah. I can't.