Sunday, May 6, 2012

Spring Rolls and Spring Rain

I have been ill prepared for meals these days, always missing some ingredient and I still have no car to make quick grocery store runs.  I'm looking forward to some time off coming up soon when I can get back into some real meal planning and try some new recipes.  I signed up for a Community Supported Agriculture again this year.  I invested in a bi-weekly share of veggies and fruit from a different farm than last year.  I'm looking forward to a bit more variety and a more manageable portion of veggies.  I nearly drown in lettuce, kale, kohlrabi, and cabbage last year, so I'm hoping this change to a different farm will be a fun adventure.  I've already been saving lots of recipes for local veggies on Pinterest!

Today I managed to make spring rolls, but of course we were missing a key ingredient, carrots.  They were still very delicious!  A nice, much needed spring rain followed dinner.  My peas and lettuce in the garden are loving it! 

Spring rolls (Note:  I still have a lot to learn about this new camera and proper lighting!)

Ingredients
Rice paper (Found in Asian section of grocery store)
cabbage
cucumber
carrots
thin rice noodles (Asian rice noodles)
cilantro (optional)
red pepper (optional)
Sweet and Sour dipping sauce

Directions
Cook and cool your thin rice noodles according to directions on the box.  Chop veggies thinly.  Fill a shallow plate with warm water and submerge your rice paper under the water for ~20 seconds.  Remove from the water and lay flat on a plate.  In the center, pile up some noodles, a bit of all of the veggies, then fold the paper over the noodles once.  Pack the insides together tightly and fold in the sides of the paper, then roll the spring roll and put it on a serving platter.  Serve with sweet and sour dipping sauce.  (Some people like this with boiled then cooled chicken and peanuts as other fillers.)

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