Rolling into Spring
Our lives have become drastically busier now. Not sure if it has to do with Shandy working on her campaign, Kasen's spring sports starting back up, our gym routines, school, tiny getting his two year molars, me still dragging due to time change (yes I am aware it has been weeks, I just enjoy my extra hour of sleep!), or just life in general. Whatever it is, we are on the go! Our dinners have not been extravagant lately, but neither have our appetites. Some days a “snack," or an appetizer is more than sufficient to feed our needs.Since none of us have been somewhat hungry in the evenings, we have looked into incorporating well-balanced snacks for meals. This is not as easy as it sounds, as we look to include a vegetable at every meal - including snacks. Although Shandy loves her salads as an option, the boys haven’t adopted her love for salads that she has forced onto me. Fortunately, we have found common ground with spring rolls. Everyone in our home loves a spring roll, either raw or my naughty favorite - FRIED. These are quick and easy. They can be made ahead of time, and we guarantee no complaints about the dreaded leftovers.
Ingredients:
2 cups of thinly sliced purple cabbage
1 16 oz extra firm tofu
2 cups of thinly sliced cucumbers
2 cups of thinly sliced carrots
2-3 tbs of cilantro
3/4 cup of soy sauce
I pack of Blue Dragon spring roll wrapper
4-5 tbs of peanut butter powder
3-4 tbs of water
1 tbs minced garlic
3 tbs agave or to taste
Steps:
1. The first thing you want to do is to cut & dry the tofu for about 30 minutes. (We recommend cutting it into thirds it dries faster. Then cut into small bits.
2. Take half of the soy sauce and pour it into a glass bowl, combining the tofu and the cilantro. Put in the refrigerator for about thirty minutes
3. While your tofu is marinating you want to make sure you have the carrots, cucumbers, cabbage all sliced up (Julienned)
4. Before you make the spring rolls you want to make the peanut dipping sauce and let it cool.
5. To prepare the sauce, take a medium size glass bowl and pour in the peanut butter powder, remaining soy sauce, minced garlic, agave, and then the water. Mixed until it is all smooth and place in the refrigerator.
6. The final step is to prepare the spring rolls. You want to follow the instruction on the Blue Dragon spring roll wrapper container. You will make each roll individually. You first dip the wrapper in the water for a given time and on a dry surface load the wrapper up with ingredients, leaving the edges clear to fold the wrapper. Once the wrapper is filled, fold the sides of the wrappers in and begin to roll it up.
...Optional Step:
If you do not want to eat the spring roll raw, you can fry it in a frying pan in the oil of you choice. ENJOY!!
