So Easy Summer Rolls/Fresh Spring Rolls

Jennifer & Allison in Hoi An - Viet Nam

My attempts fall short in the looks department - but the rolls still tasted yummy!

This fall, Allison and Jennifer traveled around Asia and had the time of their lives. They did it on the cheap by staying in hostels and avoiding fancy restaurants. Taking advantage of all the local culture had to offer, they visited lots of museums and explored each area they visited. One fun thing they did was partake in some cooking classes in Thailand and Vietnam. When they got home, we had a great time going to an Asian market and then cooking up some of dishes they had learned to make. One of them was what restaurants here call Summer Rolls - but their cooking school in Vietnam called them Fresh Spring Rolls. I was surprised that they were so easy to put together. I have had summer rolls in the States made of lettuce and rice noodles, and my Vietnamese friend Kim makes the absolutely best ones I have ever had with pork and pickled vegetables. I imagine this recipe could be used as a starting point and anything that sounds could good be put in a spring roll such as avocado or even cooked asparagus. It would be fun to let guests or kids assemble their own. Likewise, the dipping sauce here is great, but any number of different sauces could be used. Kim serves her's with a divine peanut sauce.

Ingredients and Procedure for Fresh Spring Rolls

Recipe from Gioan Restaurant & Family Cookery School in Hoi An - Viet Nam

5 pieces of hard rice paper (the first one might be unusable as part of learning curve)
1 cucumber grated into long strips (we ended up using a spiralizer)
1/2 carrot grated into long strips
5 tablespoons fresh mint
1 tablespoon white rice vinegar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon sugar
5 teaspoons of onion flakes (optional but nice)
5 pinches of pepper
10 shrimp, cooked and peeled

Dipping Sauce

1 fresh chili, crushed
2 choves of garlic, crushed
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 tablespoonlemon juice or lime juice
1 tablespoon fish sauce or soya sauce

Combine and mix well

*Side note - the recipe the girls were given says "serves four" but note all the "5s" 

Love the name!

Mix cucumber, carrot, salt, sugar, and vinegar in a bowl. Then put in a cloth and squeeze the liquid out.

Soften a piece of rice paper in cold water and put on a plate. (We turned it around so it got nice and wet every where. After it is on the plate it continues to soften.)

Place a heaping tablespoon vegetable mixture onto the edge of the rice paper.
Place pinch pepper, 1 tablespoon mint, l teaspoon onion flakes on top of vegetable mixture.
Fold both sides into the middle.
Roll twice.
Add 2 shrimps on top.
Roll up the rest of the way.

*Side note - as seen above, we didn't follow the directions exactly. It's forgiving!

Serve with dipping sauce and enjoy!

Messy, Yummy Cuban Sandwich with Rice and Black Beans

The weather in January never seems to be very good - no matter where someone is. At the beginning of the month, Jenn and Allison left the Northern Hemisphere for another round of adventure, so Roy and I traveled down to the Florida Keys. I know I shouldn't complain, but I would say we saw a lot more rain that sunshine. The great thing was, since we couldn't hike or bike ride, we went out to lunch a lot. As a result, I got hooked on Cuban Sandwiches as well as Cuban Rice and Beans. Of course I had to try and make them myself and the recipes posted here are the culminations of my experiments. Some restaurants served the beans and rice separately in "Moros y Cristianos" (Moors and Christian) style, but my favorite was when the ingredients were combined together and perfectly spiced. I had a hard time getting the seasoning right until I finally added a teaspoon of Old Bay powder. It dawned on me that since I was eating the dish in places that served seafood, maybe the restaurant kitchens were adding it to the rice as well as their main dishes. Well, it seemed to do the trick and I finally got a nod of approval from Roy. Another couple things turned out to be key; I substituted beef broth for water and did not drain the liquid from the beans. That seemed to add flavor and gave the rice the color I was looking for. As for the sandwich - what a meal! It's a really delicious combination and a great use for leftover shredded pork and ham slices. 

Cuban Marinade Ingredients for a Two Pound Pork Shoulder:

1 cup orange juice

1/4 cup lime juice

1/4 cup olive oil

1/4 cup loosely packed fresh oregano leaves or 1 teaspoon dried oregano

1/4 cup loosely packed cilantro leaves and tender stems

4 gloves garlic, minced or put through a press

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon cumin

1/4 teaspoon pepper

Directions for Cooking the Pork

Whirl all the marinade ingredients together in a food processor or blender until smooth. Set aside and refrigerate 1/3 cup of the marinade to use when serving. (It is especially good on a Cuban Sandwich!)  Pour the rest of the marinade over the pork. Cover and let sit in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours. Then, place the meat in an oven safe pan. Pour the liquid it was marinating around it. Bake covered in a preheated 324 degree oven for 4 hours. At the end of the cooking time, remove the meat from the pan and place on a serving platter. Shred the meat using two forks.   Enjoy the meat with a drizzle of the set aside 1/3 cup marinade. Use the left overs in a Cuban sandwich - see below.

Ingredients and Directions for Cuban Rice and Black Beans

1 cup uncooked white rice (I used Uncle Ben's)
1 (15 oz.) can of black beans, including the liquid
2 cups beef broth
1 large onion, skinned and diced
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 cloves of garlic, minced or put through a press
2 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/4 teaspoon thyme
1/4 teaspoon oregano

Saute the diced onion in the olive oil until tender. Add all the rest of the ingredients and cook according to the rice package instructions. When done, all the liquid will be absorbed and the rice will be tender. I have also cooked this in a crock pot for 2 1/2 hours on low and the result was perfect.

To Assemble a Cuban Sandwich:

For each sandwich slice open some kind of crusty bread that is soft inside such as Cuban bread, French bread, or a Mexican bolillo shown above. Slather on side with yellow mustard. On the other side, put a healthy amount of mayonnaise. Lay some sliced ham on the mustard side. The shredded pork goes on top of the ham. Drizzle some of reserved marinade over the pork.  The cheese goes right next to the mayonnaise. Put the sandwich together and brush both sides of the bread with olive oil. Grill each side so that a nice crust appears and the cheese melts. Serve with lettuce, tomato, and dill pickles.

Lucky Little Black-eyed Pea Salsa

Here's a quick little appetizer to put out for friends or bring to a New Year's gathering. Actually there is a lot of room for variations in this recipe; any veggie diced small enough could be thrown in - let's face it- red wine vinegar and olive oil make anything taste good! Likewise, various spices could be added to punch it up such as chili powder, cumin, or even curry. It is said that eating black-eyed peas on New Year's will bring good luck. I'm not sure about that, but this recipe does add a bit of fun to any festivities - and it's yummy! This recipe certainly saved my sorry little behind once. I made a New Year's Day corned beef dinner and told Allison she could invite a friend or two. I think at least five of her buddies showed up. I threw this together and served it with very thin strips of the corn beef on top. It certainly stretched what we had and I think everyone got enough to eat!

Ingredients:

2 cups cooked black-eyed peas (I use a 15 oz. can, rinsed and drained)
1/4 cup combination of colorful peppers, diced
1 cup tomatoes, diced
1/4 cup sliced green onion
1 tablespoon jalapeno pepper, finely diced
1 small clove garlic, put through press or finely diced
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
Crackers or pita chips to serve with the salsa

Procedure:

In a serving bowl gently combine the black-eyed peas, peppers, onion, tomatoes, and jalapeno pepper. In a small bowl whisk together the garlic, olive oil, vinegar, salt, and pepper. Pour the dressing over the black-eyed pea mixture and carefully toss. Serve with crackers or pita chips.

The Kane Sisters' Carrot Cake

This post should actually be called the Mueller sisters' carrot cake for its true original source. During summers between college semesters, my sister and I worked as life guards at a country club. (My brother actually was employed there too, but I was off in the real world by then.) We worked with the Mueller girls who were blonde, blue eyed, very pretty, and obsessed with dieting.  In fact, that was pretty much the topic of conversation around the pool. Except - at some point this recipe surfaced. I can't remember how, but I know it's from them. For years my sister and I brought it to pitch-ins and parties. The directions on it are very strange for a cake recipe since the first thing is to combine eggs and oil, but the result is honestly the best carrot cake I've ever had. It is the gold standard to which I compare all other carrot cakes. The cream cheese frosting is just a bit different as well; definitely not as much powdered sugar than other recipes I've seen. The result is a bit more tangy and less sweet. For a pitch-in I bake this in a 9 x 13 pan, but it also makes a great eight inch layer cake.

Ingredients for the Carrot Cake:

3 eggs

1 cup vegetable oil

2 cups flour

1 1/2 cup sugar

2 teaspoons baking soda

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 teaspoon salt

3 cups shredded carrots

1 cup raisins

1 cup undrained crushed pineapple

1 cup flaked coconut

1 cup chopped walnuts

 Ingredients for the Cream Cheese Frosting:

2 (8 oz.) packages cream cheese

1/2 cup butter, softened

2 cups powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions for the Carrot Cake:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour either a 9 x 13 baking pan or two eight inch cake pans.  Beat the eggs and oil together until they are combined.

Add the flour, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt and mix well.

Stir in the carrots, raisins, coconut, pineapple, and chopped nuts. Pour into the 9 x 13 pan or evenly divide the batter between the two cake pans. Bake the 9 x 13 pan for about 50 minutes and the cake pans for about 40 minutes. When done, the edges will be coming away from the side of the pan, the cake will spring back when touched in the middle, and an inserted toothpick will come out clean. Let the pan(s) sit for 5 minutes after they are taken out of the oven. Then, run a knife along the edges between the cake and the pan. Turn the pan upside down on a wire rack and gently tap the edges and top of the pan to loosen it. Lift the pan up to release the cake. Allow the cake to completely cool before proceeding to frost it.

Directions for Making the Cream Cheese Frosting:

Beat the cream cheese and butter together with an electric mixture. Add the confectioners sugar and vanilla extract and continue to beat until all the ingredients are combined together. Ice the top of the 9 x 13 pan or divide the icing between the two eight inch layers. Place the first layer on the plate and put about a third of the icing on top, spreading it from edge to edge. Top with the second layer and heap the rest of the frosting on top, extending it to cover the sides as well as the top. If you start to get crumbs in the frosting, get a clean knife to continue. Go back if possible and gently cover any of the crumbs with excess icing. Store in refrigerator.

Allison's Fake Paella

When Allison was in high school there were two things that were absolutely true about her: she loved, loved, loved learning the Spanish language and she was very social. It was the perfect storm for me to try to reproduce cultural recipes when she brought home large groups of kids that happened to be hungry. I sort of cringe when I call this recipe "Paella" because, although it really is tasty, it's not the real deal. When we visited Allison in Spain this spring, we ate at a wonderful restaurant right on the beach in Barcelona. The paella we had there was served in huge shallow dish and was made the traditional way with arborio rice that is diligently watched and stirred. The recipe posted here is yummy also - just different! It feeds a large crowd with little effort!

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 green pepper or a combination of green, yellow or red to equal a pepper, diced
2 large cloves garlic, minced or put through a press
2 (15 oz.) cans broth - beef, chicken, or vegetable
1 (15 ox.) can chopped tomatoes, juice and all
1 (15 oz.) can quartered artichoke hearts, drained
1 1/2 cups uncooked rice - brown or white
2 heaping tablespoons sliced green olives
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/8 teaspoon red cayenne pepper
1/8 teaspoon saffron or substitute ground turmeric

Also:

1 cup frozen peas & carrots

Some protein: I usually add in cooked chicken. Traditionally it is shrimp, clams, chicken.

Directions:

Over medium setting, heat oil in a large skillet. Add the diced onions and peppers and saute until tender. Add the garlic and saute another 30 seconds. Then, add the broth, chopped tomatoes, artichokes, rice, green olives, paprika, salt, black pepper, red cayenne pepper, and the saffron or turmeric. Cover and turn the heat down to simmer. Allow to cook until the rice is cooked, using the directions on the rice package as a guide. All the liquid will be absorbed by the rice. 

 Cover and turn the heat down to simmer. Allow to cook until the rice is cooked, using the directions on the rice package as a guide. All the liquid will be absorbed by the rice. Before serving, add the peas & carrots along with what ever meat desired. 

Fun (But) Faux Pho

In past posts, I've written about my fun, fun friend Kim and my efforts to come close to duplicating her wonderful Vietnamese food. Although she now lives in another part of the country we keep in touch through an occasional text or email. I had the chance to contact her a few days ago with a question about some photos she had taken for the organization we both had volunteered for. While I was looking over old files, I found this picture of Kim and the honorable mayor of our city, taken at a charity golf outing. Before that day, I didn't know her very well, but by the end of it I realized that she was a ball of fire with energy that never ran out. When I got to the event, I noticed Kim had added her own sense of style to the frumpy t-shirts all the other volunteers were wearing. She had turned hers into a v-neck, added a wide belt, and brought the ensemble to a whole new level with the addition of boots. She had commandeered a golf cart and said, "Are you here to help take photos? Well, hop in!" Then she took me all over the golf course. At one point we almost flipped the cart when we drove into a sand trap. She got us out safely however -  while she was roaring with laughter!  Kim introduced me to the deliciousness of Pho, the soup that is traditionally served as breakfast in Vietnam. Done right, the secret is the fabulous broth that is cooked for hours. I can't even begin to know how to truly make authentic broth for pho, but the recipe for my fake version posted here satisfies my craving. It's quick, easy, and light. Everyone can garnish it individually to fit their own tastes, so it's a fun and different kind of family meal. I've also included a sauce recipe from Saveur magazine that is great to dip the chicken in as you are enjoying the soup.

Ingredients and Directions for Four Large Bowls of Pho

For Soup:
2 to 4 pieces of chicken (boneless breasts are easiest)
8 cups unsalted or homemade chicken broth
1 tablespoon fish sauce (I used Thai Kitchen brand)
2 thumb sized pieces of ginger, peeled
1 package of thin rice noodles
8 green onions, sliced
1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves, chopped

For Garnish:
2 cups bean sprouts
1 bunch fresh basil, washed
1 tablespoon sriracha hot sauce
1 lime, sliced 

For Dipping Sauce:
1 jalapeno pepper, sliced
1/4 cup fish sauce
2 tablespoons lime juice
pinch black pepper
 

Put the chicken pieces in a soup pot along with  the chicken broth, 1 tablespoon fish sauce and 2 thumb sized pieces of fresh peeled ginger. Bring to a boil and then turn the heat down to medium low and allow the soup to simmer for 20 minutes.

While the chicken is cooking, prepare dipping sauce, rice noodles, and garnish platter. To make the sauce whisk the 1/4 cup fish sauce, lime juice, and pinch pepper together in a small bowl. Float the jalapeno pepper slices on top of the sauce mixture. For the noodles, rinse them under running water and then drop them into a pot of boiling water and cook for about 5 minutes. When done the noodles should be tender but still have a bite to them. Drain the noodles and set aside.

On a platter arrange the basil, bean sprouts, slices of lime, and the tablespoon of  sriracha hot sauce.

When the broth mixture is done cooking, remove the chicken. Slice  the chicken into bite sized pieces, and set aside.  Remove the ginger pieces from the broth and discard.

Now follow this order to build a yummy bowl of quick faux pho:

First, put 1/2 cup of cooked rice noodle in each bowl.

Divide the chicken pieces up evenly between the four bowls and lay it on top of the noodles.

Sprinkle two of the sliced green onions and 1 tablespoon of the chopped cilantro in each bowl.

Evenly pour the broth over the contents of each bowl.

Add the garnishes (add more garnishes to the bowl as needed - a bit at a time to keep them crunchy) and dip chicken in the fish/lime sauce as the soup is eaten.

California Carnitas Style Tacos

Light and Fresh  - Inspired by the Street Tacos in SoCal

View from Our Neighbor's Beach House

Chilling in the Courtyard

A couple weeks ago we visited Jenn in Southern California and were thrilled that Caroline could join us as well. Of course we had a wonderful time - What's not to love! There are tons of farmers' markets', beautiful beaches, hiking beaches, bike paths, and great weather! Our neighbor back home owns a vacation home and she graciously offered to let us stay there for a few days. It was just yards from the beach, and there were tons of taco joints within walking distance.

This makes eight or more tacos:

Ingredients and Directions for the Pork:

2 pound pork shoulder roast

1 onion, diced

1/2 cup lime juice

1/2 cup orange juice

1/4 cup white vinegar

1 teaspoon ground ancho chili pepper

1 teaspoon oregano

2 cloves garlic, put through press

Trim the excess fat off of the roast. Place in oven safe dish with high sides. In a bowl put the diced onion, lime juice, orange juice, vinegar, pressed garlic, ancho chili powder, and oregano.and whisk it all together. Pour over the pork. Cover with foil and bake in a 325 degree oven for 4 hours or cook in a crock pot for 4-5 hours on high or all day on low.  At the end of the cooking time, remove from the cooking liquid with a slotted spoon, and place on a platter. Shred the meat using two forks.

Ingredients and Directions for Salad in Taco

1/2 head of lettuce, shredded

1/4 head of green cabbage, shredded

1/2 red onion, sliced

1 avocado, peeled and sliced

2 tomatoes, chopped

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

4 radishes, sliced

1/4 cup olive oil

2 tablespoons white vinegar

1/2 cup cotija cheese

In a large bowl place the lettuce, onion, avocado, tomatoes, cilantro, and radishes. Whisk together the vinegar and olive oil, pour the mixture over the ingredients in the bowl, and gently toss. Sprinkle the cotija cheese on top.

*Note - if you have a few extra minutes before assembling the salad, place the red onion slices in a shallow bowl and pour white vinegar over them. Allow them to sit for 10 minutes, then drain them and add them to the salad mixture. 

To Assemble:

Warm 16 corn tortillas between paper towels in microwave on high for 30 seconds.

Place two tortillas together and spoon 1/4 cup of salad mixture on each one.

Place 1/4 cup of shredded pork on top of the salad.

Garnish with radish slices, red onion slices, and crumbled cheese from the salad