Tuesday, April 13, 2010

1 down, 2 to go...

After one week of a vegan diet, I’m about to quit it all for some CHEESE! Just this morning I was jonesing for dairy…but, I CAN DO THIS.

I must be honest. I have not been vegan 100%. In the past week, out of 21 meals and about a dozen snacks, I’ve been 94% vegan (I did the math). I went out for some friends’ birthdays at Benihana. I contemplated ordering a vegan dish, but really…who goes to Benihana and has their meal prepared in the kitchen? So with that meal, and a sushi dinner the following night (yeah, I almost went with the vegan rolls, but I didn’t….so what? ) So in this one week, 94% accuracy…that’s a passing grade! Woot!

And just FYI…I will be partaking in a fondue night this upcoming Saturday. It’s been on the calendar for months and I shall not miss my first time to fondue!

All that to say…it really hasn’t been THAT challenging to eat vegan. Once I stocked my kitchen with the appropriate food and reintroduce myself to a little activity called cooking, it’s been cake. Well, not actual cake. HA! I definitely slacked with sharing what I’ve been eating, but you’d get tired of reading peanut butter and jelly, hummus, rice, stir fry, etc. I’m going to actually cook some full meals now that said kitchen is stocked.

I want this space to not only be inspiring to others, but helpful, too. Now only will I have guest bloggers occasionally, but once in awhile I’d like to share winning recipes. Today’s recipe that I am trying…spring rolls! I had no idea Ellen DeGeneres was vegan…but she shared this recipe on her show and I think I can do this!

Spring Rolls

2 oz dry black bean spaghetti or buckwheat soba noodles cooked according to package. Drained and reserved.

½ cup cilantro, loosely packed and roughly chopped
½ cup scallions, thinly sliced
10 basil leaves, chiffonade or minced if necessary
20 mint leaves, chiffonade or minced if necessary
½ cup purple or regular carrot, grated
¾ cup cabbage, thinly sliced
½ cucumber, peeled and thinly sliced, about 2" long
½ red bell pepper, thinly sliced, about 2" long
½ yellow bell pepper, thinly sliced, about 2" long

Toss above ingredients together in a bowl and reserve.

1 firm avocado, halved and pit removed
1 package spring roll wrappers

Assembly

Find an undamaged sheet of rice paper and dip it into warm water for about 15 seconds or until the sheet is pliable.

Place the sheet onto a wooden cutting boardhttp://images.intellitxt.com/ast/adTypes/2_bing.gif or large ceramic plate. Place about one ounce of filling onto the rice paper, off-center, closest to you.

Using a spoon, scoop out a ¼-inch thick wedge of avocado and set it onto the filling.

Pull the bottom of the rice paper over the top of the filling then fold both sides over toward the center (like a burrito).

Gently pulling toward you, roll the spring roll up toward the top.

Cut spring rolls in half and serve with dipping sauce.

Dipping Sauce

The juice of 1 lemon, 1 lime, and 2 tangerines
1 tsp minced fresh ginger
¼ tsp minced raw garlic
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
¾ cup reduced sodium soy sauce

Whisk all ingredients in a bowl and reserve cold

Yields about 15+ spring rolls


Read more: http://ellen.warnerbros.com/recipes/vegetarian_vegan/spring_rolls.php#ixzz0kzLJ6Ugp

1 comment:

  1. I didn't know she was vegan, either...WICKED! I knew I loved her. These sound wonderful; I'm going to try them. I already even have spring roll wrappers. ; )

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