Fresh and Full of Flavour!

Here is a great meal idea that is light but filling. The only real guilty part would have to be the dipping sauces! These Vegetable Spring Rolls are bursting with crunchy vegetables and loads of flavour. 

I made these at my sisters house and since she had just thrown a birthday party for my niece (who wanted sushi of all things) she had a lot of fresh veggies and sticky rice left over. 

That made the prep time even less! 

Now first you will need to decide what you want to put in them. 

The options are really endless. If you do not use a meat it can even be vegetarian.

We chose to use a lot of veggies, rice and spicy tuna (canned tuna mixed with sriracha hot sauce).

The veggies were, cucumber slices, grated carrots, lettuce and avocado.

Then you will need your rice sheets, a large bowl of very hot water, and a tea towel. 

Place the rice sheet in the hot water for about 10-25 seconds. Remove and set on the tea towel. 

Place your ingredients in the middle.

Starting from the bottom, fold it up and over your veggies.

Next the sides over the veggies, as if you are making a pocket.

Now roll the bottom to the top and its done!

I will make a diagram to show off my impressive Microsoft Paint skills!

You see that? That is incredible if I do say so myself!

Now the Peanut Dipping Sauce!

Its the one in the middle of the picture 

Oh this stuff is good!

2 tbs crunchy peanut butter

2 tbs hoisin sauce

dash of soy sauce

dash of vegetable oil

1 clove of garlic, chopped as tiny as you can

a few shakes of hot sauce

3 tbs very hot water

Add everything together and mix. 

Keep mixing until it all comes together, it will, just keep stirring!

Dip away and enjoy it!

The other two sauces that I have included in the picture are a Red Thai Sauce by Heinz and a creamy sesame sauce called Wafu Sauce. They are both great with the rolls.

By Mommy Melissa

Sushi at Home - By Mommy Melissa

Ive been meaning to do this post for so long but I knew its going to be long, so its been on the back burner. Well tonight its happening. I am doing the sushi night post! Sushi has to be one of my favourite meals but it can be so pricey. Making it at home is easier than you think. It also saves you a lot of money. Plus you can be creative and make your own unique flavour combinations. My favourite combo is smoked salmon, cream cheese, cucumber and avocado. Add some wasabe and soy sauce, magnificent!
With some trial and error, my sister and I have become master sushi makers. Well, in our eyes anyways! We even have some little tricks that make life easier when rolling them up.
Lets get started with the rice. Be sure to make this in advance because it needs to be cool to be able to use. The rice is very important in sushi, obviously! It holds it all together. This here is the sushi rice recipe we always use. It has served us well. We always end up doubling the amount to serve many people plus have left overs for lunch the next day!

Next you will need to prepare all your fillings. Here is a list of some of ours that we use.
Veggies
cucumber, carrots, green onions, avocado, lettuce
Protein
smoked salmon, fresh sushi grade salmon, *spicy tuna, shrimp, tempura shrimp, crab
Others
cream cheese, masago, picked ginger, sesame seeds
Sauces
mayonnaise, wasabe, sriracha sauce
*To make spicy tuna, drain a can of tuna, and mix with a small amount of mayo and sriracha hot sauce.

Now before we get to the rolling, here are a few things that will make your life easier.
First, this trick has to be by far the best. Get your bamboo rolling mat and put it inside a large zipper seal bag. Lay it flat and take all the air out. This allows you to simply wipe away spills and stray rice. Keeps your bamboo sheet clean so you can use it over and over again.

Next is to be sure to have all your fillings prepared and at arms reach. Including your rice and nori sheets.

Have your cutting station with a large jug of room temperature water. Before each cut, rinse your sharp knife, the water helps to get a clean cut.

A small bowl of water set beside you rolling station will be your best friend when it comes to the rice. Having wet hands will make the rice not stick to your skin.

Now, lets get to it!

Place a nori sheet on your bamboo mat, rougher side up. Make sure your bamboo is running horizontal as well as your toppings. Moisten hands with water from your water bowl. Scoop a handful of rice onto the sheet. Cover nori with the rice, leaving about 1cm at the top with no rice.
Now add your fillings about 3cm from the bottom. Do not go over board, but use your imagination!

Now here is how I roll them up. I doubt its the authentic way but it works for me!
Moisten that empty 1cm at the top with water. Now grab the bottom of the mat, and kinda roll it over the filling, hold your hand over the little mountain of filling then continue to roll until it fully rolled. Rub your hand along it to be sure its all stuck in place. Remove from rolling mat and take to your cutting station.

With a wet sharp knife, cut into about 6-8 pieces. Our end pieces look all crappy, so we keep them on a separate plate and refer to them as the 'asses'! They end up getting snacked on by everyone. Testers, if you will!

The Asses, aren't they pretty!

To do a roll with the rice on the outside is a little trickier. You will need two rolling mats. Do the same as before. Then place the second rolling mat on top, flip, then remove the mat on top. Fill, roll, cut. I don't like making them as it is a pain in the butt!

Now serve it up with some soy sauce, wasabe, pickled ginger. Now all that is needed are some friends and family, music and good red wine. There is a wonderful evening if you ask me!

We had some left over soy sauce from takeout, worked well here!

By Mommy Melissa

GumboLaya wih Jasmine Rice

 

So I came across this recipe on Pinterest (click HERE for the recipe), it is delicious! If you love Gumbo, you will LOVE this... it is spicy, so use less at your own discrepancy.I made a few changes because I do not like okra, and could not find creole seasoning and did not have bell pepper... but click above for the full recipe.

What you will need:

2 tablespoons olive oil
4 large turkey sausages
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
• Salt
• Pepper
3 celery stalks, finely diced
1 large onion, finely diced
2 bay leaves
½ teaspoon Creole seasoning
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 tablespoon, heaping, tomato paste
1 (28 oz) can organic diced tomatoes with juice
2 cups chicken stock, hot
½ pound peeled and cleaned, medium size shrimp (raw)
1 tablespoon flat-leaf parsley, chopped
1 tablespoon cilantro, chopped

lace a large pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Put 1 tbsp of olive oil, when hot, add the sausage cook until browned- set aside. Cook the chicken in the same pot until cooked- set aside. Chop up the sausage and chicken into bit sized pieces. In the pot add in celery, onion and bay leaves- cook for about 3 mins, add the seasonings and garlic- cook for 1 minutes. Add in tomato paste- cook for 2 minutes. add in diced tomatoes, chicken broth, sausage, and chicken. cook for 20 mins (add salt and pepper to taste) Add shrimp, parsley, and cilantro- cook for 2 mins. 

How to make the Jasmine fragrant rice: 

What you will need:

1 tablespoon olive oil
2 large cloves garlic, pressed through garlic press
2 cups jasmine rice
1 teaspoon sea salt
¼ teaspoon cracked black pepper
3 cups water

Place a medium pot over medium-high heat, and add in the olive oil; once hot, add in the pressed garlic, and stir to combine; once the garlic becomes fragrant, add in the rice, the salt and the pepper and stir, and allow the rice to “toast” in the garlic oil for about 2 minutes; next, add in the water, stir, and simmer the rice, covered, for about 20 minutes, or until tender; turn off the heat, and after 5 minutes, fluff with fork and serve.

Pile the rice in a bowl, top off with the Gumbolaya.... enjoy! 

Toddler

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