Spring Rolls

Have you ever wanted to try making your own spring rolls at home?  Well, we gave it a shot last week, and the results were very not bad.  Not difficult, either.  There isn't a hard and fast recipe here -- I just Googled and read a few different ones, and then we sort of winged it based on what I learned.  Here's what we did....

First we did the chopping, grinding, shredding and other ingredient gathering:

Chopped portabello mushrooms, chopped onion, shredded carrot, and shredded cabbage.

Ground chicken and chopped garlic.

Rice paper wrappers.

Then it was time to cook.  Hubby worked on dipping sauces (more on that below) while I moved over to the stove.  First into a frying pan (with a dab of peanut oil) went the chicken, onions, garlic and a little bit of salt and pepper....

....which got cooked until it was almost done, at which time the rest of the veggies were tossed in along with some rice wine vinegar, tamari (soy sauce) and sesame oil....

When it was all cooked together (just a couple of minutes this took), I followed the directions on the package of rice paper wrappers (soaking each one for 5 seconds in warm water), doled out portions of filling, and folded/wrapped each one up like a miniature burrito.

And presto, homemade spring rolls with two dipping sauces:

The brown sauce on the left contained garlic, chives, tamari, rice vinegar, and sesame oil.
The peanut sauce on the left was made from peanut butter, sriracha ("rooster sauce"), sesame oil, tamari, and a Rogan Josh spice mix.

Quick, easy, and yummy!  :)

* All photos courtesy of and copyright 457 Studios.

Kielbasa Fried Rice

I decided to go pseudo-Asian for dinner tonight, using up a half of a kielbasa that we had in the freezer.  Here is what I came up with:

Ingredients:

• 1 cup medium-grain brown rice (measured dry/pre-cooked)
• 2 1/2 cups water
• 2 tablespoons of sesame oil
• 1/2 of a medium onion, diced
• 1/2 cup of whole raw cashews
• 2 medium carrots, diced
• 1/2 of your favorite storebought kielbasa -- diced.
• 2 large eggs. scrambled
• 1/2 cup frozen shelled edamame
• 1 teaspoon rice wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons Soy Sauce or Tamari
• sesame seeds

Procedure:

1. Cook the rice in the 2 1/2 cups of water.
2. While the rice is cooking, chop the carrots and the onions.
3. Heat the sesame oil in a wok over high heat, then toss in the onions and start them sautéing.
4. Add the cashews and continue sautéing.
5. Add the carrots and the kielbasa, and continue sautéing.
6. Spread the contents of the wok around the edges, creating a well in the center where there is no food.
7. Pour the eggs into the center well and cook them and break them up into pieces.
8. Add the edamame, rice, vineger and soy sauce -- and sauté until desired doneness is achieved.
9. Sprinkle with sesame seeds, and serve.

Nutrition (for each of 4 entrée-sized servings):

• 526 calories
• 14 grams protein
• 49 grams carbs
• 29 grams fat
• 5 grams fiber
• 764 mg sodium