Actually, do you know what? No, no I don’t.
Wish it were spring, that is.
It was -10 degrees outside this morning (14°F), and as I was scraping the ice off the car all I could think about was how gorgeous it was.
Last night’s inches of snow were light and fluffy, and everything was quiet. The sun rising cast shades of pink and yellow over everything.
Our last three winters haven’t been Canadian ones, two spent on a tiny island in the Caribbean and one in Louisiana. While that might sound like paradise to most, I honestly missed the winter.
The crunch of snow beneath your boots.
The layers and layers of clothes.
A hot mug of tea.
Rosy cheeks and noses.
How when the snow’s falling it looks like hyperspace.
There’s just nothing like it.
Yes, there are slushy days, and icy steps and heavy snow that needs to be shovelled, and cars to dig out of snowbanks (BROTHER!), but I’ll take ‘em if it means more mornings like this one.
Until the snow melts, I’ll be content with these little bites of spring. They’re all I need right now.
The best part is that you can really customize these the way you want, so if you feel like adding something else, give ‘er!
Chop everything up nice and small. I’ve got shredded carrots, chopped mushrooms, onions, sprouts and some chopped red cabbage (I’ve got a problem, okay? Red cabbage is the prettiest cabbage.)
Toss everything in a pan or wok with a little bit of oil (or don’t – you can do this raw if you want for more CRUNCH!) and wait until they’re soft, stirring occasionally.
I promise you this tastes better than it looks.
I used Blue Dragon rice papers. You should be able to find rice paper in the dry Asian section of your local grocery store (with the ramen). They’re like very large, thin wafers. Be careful handling them, they crack easy!
Soak the papers one at a time in hot water, and lay them out. I find mine stick a little bit to themselves, but it’s fine. They don’t have to be perfect.
Take a large spoonful of your veggies (about 1/3 cup) and place it a quarter of the way up from the bottom.
Fold over the two sides:
Then the bottom up:
And then just continue rolling up the rest of the way. Once you’ve done one or two the rest go by very quickly.
They just look so darn cute!
Serve with peanut sauce, or any other dipping sauce you like!
They’re vegetarian, and full of veggies, so they’re perfect for any New Year’s resolutions you might have.
…But maybe not, because once you eat one, you’ll want to have five more. Bite-sized food is the most dangerous food.
Perfect for lunches, parties…
For smuggling away from said parties in your pockets…
- 24 rice papers (~2 pkgs)
- 1 onion , chopped
- 1/4 red cabbage , chopped
- 3 large carrots , shredded
- 1 cup vegetable sprouts (I used broccoli)
- 8 button mushrooms , chopped
- OPTIONAL: Dipping sauce: peanut sauce or any other dipping sauce. The one pictured above is Our Compliments Blood Orange Ginger Teriyaki Sauce (yum!)
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Chop the vegetables until they are very small.
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You can use them raw for more crunch, or sauté in a wok or frying pan with a little bit of oil.
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Follow the instructions on the package of your rice paper to soften them. Mine needed to be dipped in hot water for about 30 seconds before pulling them out and patting them dry a bit with a paper towel. Make sure to fill them one at a time! They're quite sticky.
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Place about 1/2 cup of the vegetables in each roll, about a quarter of the way down. See the above recipe for pictorial instructions if necessary!
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Fold the two sides in.
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Then fold the bottom up, and then roll them the rest of the way until the filling is snug and secure inside the paper.
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You can either eat them this way and dip them, or quickly fry them, bake them or deep fry them for a crunchier result!
