{Handmade} VEGETABLE SPRING ROLLS

A perfect summertime lunch...and easy to personalize to your own taste. I used a mix of veggies on-hand and ramen noodles, but you can use whatever you like. For boosted protein, you can also add tofu, edamame, or meat of choice. Even shrimp if you like! If using meat, it is best to slice it thinly or the rolls become difficult to assemble and eat.

This was my first time using rice papers and it was as challenging as I expected when the first couple wrappers ended up stuck together in a gooey blob easier than I thought it would be. Not soaking the wrappers for more than five seconds and to slowly stretch them out flat on the plate for roll assembly in one try if possible. If the wrappers get folded and scrunched, they are difficult to get flat without ripping.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~VEGETABLE SPRING ROLLS~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Materials:

rice papers
1.5-2oz Ramen noodles - boiled & rinsed; cooled
3-4 leaves leaf lettuce
0.5 cucumber, cut in strips
1 carrot, grated
2 scallions, sliced
0.5 red bell pepper, cut in strips
5 leaves mint, minced

Procedure: 

FIll a bowl/casserole dish with a couple inches of warm water. One at a time, immerse a rice paper into the water for five seconds. Slowly stretch out so the wrapper doesn't fold as you remove from water onto a plate. 

Top one side of paper with veggies and noodles, leaving an inch border for rolling. Roll up like a burrito. Can be made a day in advance & refrigerated. Enjoy with dipping sauce of choice....I whipped up two different dipping delights:

Hoisin Peanut
2 tsp hoisin
0.5 tsp soy
0.5 tsp water
grated carrot & chopped peanuts for topping

Almond Sesame
2 tsp almond butter 
0.5 tsp soy
0.5 tsp water
0.25 tsp honey
0.25 tsp sesame oil
sesame seeds for topping

Discussion/Conclusion:

These spring rolls are quick, easy and delish! They kept well in the fridge overnight too. A great way to get more veggies in your diet or o use up some veggies you have laying around. I will definitely make these again and experiment with different filling combinations.

{Handmade} GIARDINIERA for CANNING

Homemade Giardiniera....yum!

I am new to the wonderful world of canning and have so much fun making homemade versions of canned and pickled foods that I love. I don't know why I hadn't tried giardiniera earlier on in my life. I always have a hard time spelling & pronouncing it and still do not know if I am pronouncing correctly. I was anti-pepper and cauliflower up until a couple years ago. I have always loved pickles, but I was a pickle purist and didn't see how any pickled food could be better than pickled cucumbers. Again, why? Oh well...no use pondering all the delicious pickled yum-yums I've passed on over the years. Instead, I choose to make & eat more of it now!

Below is my first giardiniera experiment. I researched a  peck of pickled peppers bunch of different types and methods & combined my findings to create....duh da da daah....the perfect homemade giardiniera!! At least I hope it is...you have to let it sit at least two weeks before inhaling eating. For now, the lovelies are just sitting pretty on my counter smiling at me. What? Veggies can totally smile. I will add comments in a couple weeks so you all know the results.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ GIARDINIERA for CANNING ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Portion sits overnight, but active prep & cooking takes about 1 hour. Yields 6 pints. Keeps up to 1 year.

Materials:

Veggies

2 English cucumbers, sliced in rings & quartered

4 stalks celery, sliced on a diagonal        

2 large carrots, peeled & thinly sliced

0.50 head cauliflower, cored & chunked in small bite-size bits

0.5 bag sweet bell peppers, seeded & sliced in rings 
          (alternatively, you can use 1lb mixed bell peppers)

2 each red (Fresno) & green jalapenos, sliced in half-rings......
          To seed or not to seed?! I left the seeds & membranes in the Fresnos and in 1 jalapeno,   
             but seeded the other jalapeno. It's up to your taste-buds how hot you like it.

0.25 large sweet onion, sliced

Pickling Liquid

1 c. each Cider, White Wine & Red Wine Vinegars

3 c. water 

2 tbs. + 1 tbs. sea salt

1 tsp. red chili flakes


Additional Jar Fixings

black peppercorns

6 bay leaves

1 head garlic, separated out & peeled

6 sprigs oregano or marjoram......whichever is more to your liking


olive oil and/or chili oil


Procedure:

                                           
Day 1 - Add cucumber and celery slices to a big glass bowl. Add enough cold water to cover and 2 tbs. sea salt. Stir to combine. Refrigerate overnight.

Day 2 - Drain cucumbers and celery. Rinse really well and drain again. Add other veggies to bowl and mix gently to combine.

Wash and sterilize 6 pint jars (I used wide-mouth). Heat vinegars, water, and additional 
1 tbs. sea salt over medium heat until just boiling. Crush red chili flakes in the palm of your hand as you add and stir well. 

When you are ready to fill, add a few pinches peppercorns, bay leaf, 3 garlic cloves and a sprig of oregano or marjoram to the bottom of each jar.  Pack each with the veggie mixture to the top of the jar's neck (about 0.5in from the top rim of jar). Next, ladle in the hot pickling liquid until veggies are covered, leaving 0.5in head space. Add a tbs. of olive oil or chili oil to the top of each. 

Remove air bubbles by slidding a chopstick between the veggies and jar and pulling towards the center slightly. Repeat around the circumference of the jar. Add lid and twist on ring until just fingertip tight. Process for 10 minutes (I had to do 3 batches of 2 for the size of my basket. Carefully remove jars and avoid tipping as you scream when the handle comes of your basket and you burn your hand saving a jar from falling and smashing on the tile and flinging broken glass and pickeled veggie lava all over you set on a towel on the counter. Keep  spaced out and undisturbed to cool overnight. 

After 24hrs, check that that all have sealed properly. If so, store for a minimum of 2 weeks and up to one year.  Refrigerate for a couple days before eating. If any did not seal properly, put them in the fridge and eat within a couple weeks.


Hypothesis:

The perfect homemade canned giardiniera has just been created. 


Results:

To be determined...