2 Weeks In... Let's celebrate with Spring Rolls

It has been 2 weeks... well 2 and a half by the time I get this posted. It has been a super busy week. I have been on the go constantly and quite frankly my body is feeling it. I am a little discouraged cause things are feeling like they are getting worse. This said I have stuck with it and will stick with it. I have lost 4 pounds total, which isn't much but I am more in this for the healthy habits. So onto today's recipes. I was listening to NPR news, while I made my fresh Thai spring rolls with an almond dipping sauce

I love my rolls with prawns, but I cannot have shellfish so I used tofu... Here is how I started.

Honey Sesame baked Tofu

*Take a block of extra firm tofu, put it on a plate, put another plate over it, and weigh it down. I used some canned food. I let it sit about 25 minutes.

*While the water was getting pushed out of the tofu, I preheated the oven to 375. Then I started my marinade....

* In a bowl mix 1/2 cup of sesame oil, 2 tablespoons of tamari, 2 tsp fish oil, 1 tbsp raw honey. 2 tsp sesame seeds, 1/4 tsp red pepper flake, 1/2 tsp ginger

* Put mixture in the fridge until tofu is ready

* After 25 minutes is up, slice the tofu into 1 inch long, quarter inch thick pieces. Add them to the marinade and gently toss in it.

*Spread tofu out on cookie sheet and let bake about 5 minutes, then flip it and let cook 3 more minutes. Then let cool.

Ok so the tofu is done. Next the dipping sauce. I made an almond dipping sauce because I love peanut sauce and can't have peanuts, but you can use peanuts instead... or just use the tofu marinade for a dipping sauce.

Almond dipping Sauce

Add the following ingredients to a food processor
*3 tbsp of almond butter (a friend suggested using sunflower butter instead...she says it will give a better texture. I am going to try it.)
*1 tbsp white rice vinegar
*3 tbsp sesame oil
*2 tsp Chili oil
*1 tbsp tamari
*1 tsp ginger
*1/4 c. coconut milk

heat if you want. You can add more spice by adding red pepper flakes. It's the first time I tried this it wasn't bad, but it was a bit thick when I made it, so I lessened the amount of almond butter for recipe writing purposes. Another disclaimer for this blog... I have always been a cook that adds a little of this and a little of that until it tastes good. So putting it in recipe form is sometimes difficult. Feel free to comment with questions or suggestions if something isn't working or you made it work better... also trust your instincts.

Ok onto the rolls

*Start by chopping your veggies so you have them ready I would say a 1/2 cup of each of the following:
* Julienne... very thinly carrots, (or buy them pre-shredded), and cucumber, green onion.
*Chop some cilantro and basil
*You will also need some bean sprouts

Set these aside and now comes the more complicated part...

* Let a fistful of thin rice sticks soak in a large bowl of hot water for 5-10 minutes
* Once soft drain and set aside.



Next You will need a pack of rice paper I found mine at an Asian food Store... when dry they look like the picture above.

* Let them soak in a shallow bowl of water for no more than a couple minutes... you want them just soft... if you over soak it, they will fall apart. Be very gentle.

*When you pull them out, spread them out on a plate, gently working out the wrinkles. Pat dry gently with a tea towel.




This picture shows how to start. Basically you are going to add your ingredients all the way down the middle of your wrapper. If you want it to be a sweet tight package add a little less, if you want more flavor and don't mind it being a little messier... add more.

So to fold it... fold the 2 ends in about an inch each over your ingredients, fold (like a burrito) the next side all the way over your ingredients... then roll it tightly to meet the other side. I found mine to be a little thin, so I added a second wrapper and folded the same way.

Cut it in half and serve. I feel like this sounds more complicated than it is... it turned out pretty good. Here's a pic...

Good luck.. have a great day.