Asian Spinach Wraps

It's hot here this week. 

Really hot.

So hot I was ready to uproot and move my family to Alaska.  They decided that was being a bit dramatic, so unfortunately, I'll have to settle for long, lazy trips through the supermarket.  You know..the supermarket with air conditioning.  Lovely, breezy, chilling air conditioning. 

It really wouldn't be all that bad, but most people (read: me) don't have air conditioning up here in the Northwest.  Therefore, the 90 degree temperatures we've been getting have made it pretty miserable in the house.

And it makes me not want to cook.  Shocking, isn't it?

My dear friend, Diane, saved me though.  She served these amazing goodies at our last book club get together.  I was one bite in when I asked for the recipe.  These.  Are.  Amazing.

They're cool, crisp, and fresh.  They have a great sauce with just the right amount of kick to it.   And best of all:  No cooking required.  No oven, stove, crockpot, or open flames required.

Here's what you need to gather:

Spinach, green onions, basil, bean sprouts, shrimp meat, garlic, ginger, rice vinegar, sesame oil, toasted sesame seeds, and soy sauce.

You'll also need to get spring roll skins (Banh Trang).

Most larger markets carry these in their ethnic food aisles.  You can also head to your local Asian market to pick some up.  Make sure you shop around and try other fun stuff while you're there; there are some amazing flavors to find.

First, you'll want to prep your veggies.  Tear off individual basil leaves and take the stems off of your spinach.  Cut your green onions into 3 inch pieces.

Next throw together your sauce.  In a blender or food processor combine the soy sauce, rice vinegar, sesame oil, toasted sesame seeds, garlic, and ginger.  Give it a good pulsing to combine.  This stuff is absolutely heavenly and I'm already trying to figure out a thousand other ways to use it.  The original recipe also calls for red pepper flakes and I highly recommend using them.  Just make sure you remember to buy them when you're lazily shopping in the cool grocery store.

I wish you could smell this right now.  Yum.

Now you'll want to grab a vessel large enough to allow your spring roll skins to lay flat.  I like to use my skillet.  It's nice and big.  Fill it with about an inch of water and you're ready to begin.  I've found that working with 2 sheets of the skins is easiest for me.  Place one sheet in the water and submerge.  Diane taught me that if you flip the second sheet to the opposite side and submerge it, it will keep the two sheets from melting together in the water. 

It only takes about 20-30 seconds for the skins to soften and be ready to go.  You could also dip them for about 10 seconds and place them on a damp dish towel and wait for them to soften.  I like to just let them sit in the water until soft.  Pull one out and give it a little blot with a paper towel.

I spread mine out on my favorite cutting board.  It's actually there in this picture; I think you have to squint and tilt your head sideways to see it though.  It's a hard thing to photograph, I discovered. 

First, put a layer of spinach in the middle not quite to the sides.

Next add the basil.  For some reason, the basil I bought was really strong.  If you aren't a fan of basil you can leave it out or just add it sparingly. You could even substitute some cilantro for a Vietnamese flavor.

Next comes the green onion.....

then the magic sauce.  My family likes theirs with a bit of sauce.  I like to be more generous when making mine.  It's just how I roll.  (Get it?  How I roll??  Sorry...carry on.)

Add some bean sprouts (or you could use julienned carrots if you're not a bean sprout fan).

And last, but not least, add on the shrimp meat.  Diane has also used smoked salmon with yummy results.

Now, shake your head when you remember that it's easiest to start folding from the bottom and quickly give your board a turn.  Then bring the bottom of the skin up towards the middle.

Fold each side in...

and fold tightly until it's all rolled up.  Voila!

You could make these like I did for a light summer dinner, or like Diane does as a tasty, fresh appetizer.  Hope you enjoy these as much as I do...but beware---we are finding them addicting!   Enjoy.


Asian Spinach Wraps

Spring Roll Skins
Spinach
Basil
Green onions
Bean Sprouts
Shrimp Meat
1/4 cup toasted sesame seeds
2 Tablespoons soy sauce
1 Tablespoon rice vinegar
1 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
1/2 teaspoon grated ginger
1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes
3-4 cloves garlic

For the sauce, blend sesame seeds, soy sauce, rice vinegar, sesame oil, ginger, red pepper, and garlic together in blender or food processor.

Soak wrap skins in water (1 to 2 at a time) for about 20-30 seconds or until soft and pliable.  Spread out on work surface.  Place spinach, basil, green onion, sauce, bean sprouts, and shrimp meat in a row along the center.  Roll up burrito style; bottom up toward the middle, sides in, and then tightly roll until completely rolled up.  Serve with extra sauce for dipping if desired.  Enjoy! :)

Beef and Broccoli

Hello, my name is Missy, and I'm a slacker.  My dear friend Julie (hi Julie!!), emailed me today to encourage me to post the next recipe.  She called me a slacker.  I'm so glad she did. It made me smile, laugh, and race to my camera to download this recipe.  So please, feel free if you read this, to leave me a comment telling me to get my butt into gear.  It's a burden Julie shouldn't have to shoulder on her own. :)

This beef and broccoli recipe is one of my top three favorites out of all of my mom's recipes.  When I was growing up (and even now, I admit) I did not care for broccoli at all.  My mom would cook the meat and leave my portion out before adding in the onions and broccoli.  It was such a small thing; but it was just another way she showed me her love.  I was so blessed to have her for a mom, friend, and role model.

I'm not sure how "traditional" this recipe is in Asian cuisine, but I think it's super tasty and a quick fix for those busy nights.  If you are really ambitious, you can even slice your beef, mix the marinade, and freeze the beef in the marinade.  Pull it out the day before you plan to cook it and it will thaw in the marinade making it an even quicker meal for you to cook the next day.  Whatever you do, feel free to play with the recipe and enjoy! :)

Here's what you'll need to gather for this recipe:

1 pound steak (I usually use a London broil cut), broccoli, onion, sugar snap peas, soy sauce, brown sugar, cooking sherry, garlic, ginger, cornstarch, and canola oil.

First you'll need to cut your steak.  It will be really, really helpful to your jaw muscles if you cut your steak thinly across the grain.  Cutting across the grain instead of with the grain causes the steak to be much more tender.  For a thorough (and quite entertaining) explanation of why this works, check out Alton Brown here and forward to the 2 minute mark.  You'll thank me.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nevGqdtYoFA

Are ya back?  Was it educational and entertaining?  Yeah, that Alton Brown is one smart cookie.  So back to our steak.  My grain was running from edge to edge on the short side of the steak.  (Top to bottom as you're looking at it.)  So I cut it into 3 manageable pieces.

Then I gave each piece a quarter turn and cut across the grain.  Just like Alton taught me.  I'm such a good student.  (Not to mention I never look at garden hoses the same way!)

When you finish, you'll have a nice pile of steak slices like this:

Next, in a bowl mix together the soy sauce, brown sugar, sherry, garlic, ginger, cornstarch and a 1/4 cup of water.  Give it a good mix...

and add in your beautifully sliced meat.  Let that sit for at least ten minutes...or feel free to make this in the afternoon and let it marinade for a few hours.  The longer it marinades, the more the flavor will soak into the meat.

While that's marinating, cut up your broccoli and onion into bite sized pieces.  My mom only used broccoli and onions.  However, since I'm not a big fan of broccoli (and trust me, I'm being diplomatic) I also throw in some sugar snap peas or snow peas if I have them.

When you're ready to cook, heat a tablespoon of oil in your pan or wok.  Add half of the steak, reserving the marinade for later.  Cook over high heat until it's cooked all the way through.  Remove that from the pan and repeat with the other half of the steak.

Mmmm.  This is the point when you should taste test one (or five) of the pieces.  It's all about quality here.

Once your meat is done and set aside, heat another tablespoon of oil and stir fry your veggies for a minute or two.  Then add a 1/4 cup of water and put a lid on the pan.  Let the veggies steam until they are crisp-tender.  Remove them from the pan.  (You can just drop them right on top of the meat.)

Add the reserved marinade to the pan and bring it to a boil.  Let it boil for a few minutes, then add the meat and veggies back to the pan.  Stir and cook for a minute to warm everything back up.

How yummy is this?  Serve this over rice or noodles and enjoy a yummy dinner that's almost as easy and ordering take-out.  You can switch up the vegetables as your family desires; I've used green pepper instead of the broccoli and added water chestnuts for a little more crunch.  This is a great recipe to play with.

I hope your family likes this recipe as much as mine does.  Enjoy!!

Beef & Broccoli

1 lb. steak, sliced thinly across grain
1 bunch of broccoli, cut into bite size pieces
1 onion, cut into wedges
1 cup sugar snap peas
1/3 cup soy sauce
2 Tbsp. brown sugar
3 Tbsp. cooking sherry
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 tsp. ginger
1 tsp. cornstarch
1/4 cup water
3 tbsp. oil

Marinate steak in mixture of water, soy sauce, sugar, sherry, garlic, ginger, and cornstarch at least 10 minutes.  Drain well, reserving marinade.  Heat 1 tbsp. oil in skillet or wok.  Add steak slices, half at a time.  Stir fry over high heat until cooked through.  Remove from skillet and repeat with remaining steak.  After steak is cooked and set aside, add broccoli, onion, and sugar snap peas to skillet.  Stir fry 1-2 minutes.  Add 1/4 cup water and cover, steaming until veggies are crisp-tender.  Remove from skillet.  Place marinade in skillet and bring to boil.  Boil, hard, for 3 minutes.  Return meat and veggies to skillet and stir fry with marinade to heat through.  Serve over rice or noodles.  Enjoy!

2 Weeks

I can't believe it's been two weeks since I've gotten a blog up; then again, I'm more surprised that it hasn't been two months.  The past two weeks have been, well, chaos and insanity around my house.  Let's go for a run down shall we?

***2 separate nasty viruses have run their courses through my home.  Through every...single...member...of this family.  I'm pretty sure we've caused the stocks for Tylenol and tea to go through the roof.  I have to say, though, that I love these nighttime/daytime packages.  I don't have to think as hard in my weakened condition.

***My desktop breathed it's last breath.  Which, really wouldn't have been SUCH a big deal had the laptop not picked up a computer virus that put it down for almost a week.  I guess it was feeling left out of the virus loop mentioned above.

***This is Sophie, our bulldog.  (She was giving my husband the evil eye here, I think.  Or maybe she was just too lazy to hold her eyes open.  Bulldogs...they're all a bunch o' slackers, I tell ya.)  Apparently Sophie decided that if we were sick, then she should be too. 

This is Sophie's spleen when they had to do emergency surgery to remove it after it torqued on itself.  (We learned that it should have been about the size of the doctor's hand.)   The twitches from the vet's bill are starting to diminish...a little.  We are so thankful for our vet though...they saved Soph and took great care of her.  She's a lucky dog.

***I got to cook twice with my friend Amanda for her senior project.  Actually, she did most of the cooking and I just got to supervise.  That means, of course, that I had to taste the ingredients (you know...cheese, bacon, chocolate) for quality.  She's lucky to have such a dedicated mentor.


***I finished up teaching my Cajun/Cooking Class at homeschool co-op.  It was SUCH fun!  The boys (all six of them) are great kids and great cooks, as well.  We laughed, cooked, ate, and learned.  I think they enjoyed it too...I know I did.  (I'll add a picture as soon as I get permission from all of the parents.)

***Lastly, because we live in the Pacific Northwest, we couldn't miss the opportunity (sick or not!) to go and visit the Olympics in Vancouver.  It was amazing---the atmosphere, the people, the cauldron, the athletes...I could go on and on.  If you're ever near an Olympic city, really try and visit.  We didn't have tickets to any events, but we did have a fantastic time soaking in the flavor of the games in the city.

So, I do apologize to all 5 or 6 of my readers, but I'm back and will be posting a new recipe in just a few minutes.  I'll try and make up for lost time! :)

Learning is FUN!

I had to share some pictures that my dear friend Rebecca sent me.  She teaches in the gifted program at her middle school.  Whether you're public, private, or home-schooled, I think this is a great idea for some hands-on fun that cements the study of the ancients right into their little brains.

They made pyramid models---with candy!  There was a little sugar high going on, but they also learned without realizing it.  Checking angles; putting into play the information they learned about the pyramids; putting in geographical details.  What an awesome project!  One child even commented that this was the best school day ever---they got to play around and not learn anything!  HA!  I love it when we can sneak learning in super fun activities.  We all have more fun that way!

I love the entrance way of this one.

This one made me giggle, just a little.  Very inventive, but my sarcastic inner self kept imagining smores in the desert. 

Especially when combined with this tasty treasure.


I think this one is my favorite.  And not just because I really like Twizzlers.

See the gold on top?  The Egyptians thought the capstone to be one of the most important parts of the pyramid and it was often covered in gold.  And the palm trees are so cute it just hurts!

These kids ALL did a fantastic job and were able to show what they had learned in a unique and fun way.  I love it.  Go Rebecca!!


And just so you don't feel recipe deprived, here's a link to my current favorite Pioneer Woman recipe, Pasta alla Betsy.  You really, really need to try this soon.  The woman's my hero!

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2007/09/cooking_with_my_punk-ass_little_sister_penne_a_la_betsy/


Enjoy!!

Where I've Been

I sincerely apologize for my lack of recipes the past few days; the Fed-Ex Christmas shipping deadlines snuck up on me before I knew it!

But I have an even better reason for my absence--I've been helping this sweet young thing.

Isn't she a cutie?

This is my dear friend Rebecca's daughter.  She's a senior in high school and is learning how to cook for her senior project.  I've been helping her out a little; she's doing a great job.

This week she cooked a brunch meal. A really sweet brunch meal.

She whipped up these little things -- Strawberry granola parfaits.  The recipe has yogurt, jam and ricotta cheese.  Very rich.  Very Tasty.

She also made a no-crust quiche with ham, bacon, spinach, and cheddar; PW's cinnamon rolls (yum!); a fruit plate; and a punch.

She's cooked two meals now and has three to go.  Then she'll be developing her own cookbook with the recipes she's made.  It's a really cool senior project that will help her when she's out of high school. 

Plus, it tastes really good right now.  And she cleans up after herself.  It's a win-win all the way around! :)

My Guilty Pleasures

Yep, guilty pleasures. We all have them; some are childlike, others may be frivolous. Some are embarrassingly nerdy while some are just goofy. No matter who you are you have at least a few guilty pleasures.

If you don't, just pretend that you do. It'll make me feel a whole bunch better. Thanks.

After a little contemplation, here are five of my top guilty pleasures.

1. Taylor Swift




Apparently, I haven't been able to let go of my inner teenager yet. Swift's unabashedly love-struck teeny-bopper lyrics still resonate within me somewhere. I'm particularly partial to "You Belong To Me" right now. She's not exactly known for deep, life changing songs, but she's just got a fun, spunky attitude and I think she's a kick.


2. Twilight



Yes. I am one of THOSE people. I've read the books a few times. I've seen the first movie and am working on getting to the second. A friend and I actually took my boys to watch the filming of New Moon. (Missed them by a few hours and got stopped coming back across the border because of KinderEggs, but that's another story.) I can't explain what the draw is for me, other than the inner teenager I talked about above. I'm just a sucker for a love story.


3. Bejeweled Blitz



I am such a nerd; I have spent countless hours busting up these little jewels on facebook. There are so many more necessary and worthy activities I could be doing, yet I find myself shifting these little boogers around trying to beat my previous score. It's truly addicting.


4. Starbucks Hot Chocolate


$3.00 for a hot chocolate. It's excessive. It's frivolous. And yet...I love these things. I live near Seattle--we have coffee stands on opposite corners in many places and quite a few of them are open 24 hours. But I don't care for coffee and after trying all of the various shops, I have to say that Starbucks makes the best hot chocolate. Calorically and financially speaking, this is definitely one of the "guiltiest" of my pleasures...but I can't seem to kick it just yet!


5. SpongeBob SquarePants



Yes, it's a child's show. True, the first time I saw it I couldn't understand the appeal of what looked to be a talking piece of cheese. But I've grown to love him. I have been known to watch him by myself long after my children have left the room to move on to their next adventure. I love his innocence and naivety; I snicker at the way he can annoy Squidward without even trying. Maybe he makes me feel better about myself by getting into even crazier situations than I seem to find myself in. Who knows...but he makes me laugh. And laughter is always a good thing, right?

So those are some of my nerdy guilty pleasures that I know I'm probably too old for, but will enjoy anyway. I hope you won't think less of me because of them. I wouldn't blame you if you did, but at least I'd have the big yellow sponge to cheer me up. :)

Holy Happy Cookbook Batman!!

I love my dear friend Rebecca.

I love her more than my favorite pair of jeans; more than my sweet, slobbery bulldog; even more than my favorite chocolate fudge ice cream from Baskin Robbins. We're talkin' serious depths of my heart best friend love.

We've helped each other through many tough spots and plotted evil plans against unruly children. She's mothered my children while I was out of town and I've made sure the doctor knew the fentanyl needed to happen immediately regardless of what centimeter they were measuring.

Birthdays are especially fun for us. It's become a personal challenge to top the last years present. Some have been easy; others have required a bit more planning. We've stood front row at a Bryan Adams concert; rocked along to Richard Marx; been manicured, pedicured and pregnancy massaged. We get giddy when we find the perfect thing for the other.

So when Rebecca glided into my house this evening with a grin as wide as she is tall (okay, she's only 4'11", but still--it was BIG grin) I knew she had found "the gift". And she did. Oh, how she did. Did I mention I love her?

I've become a huge fan of Pioneer Woman this past year. If you've never experienced PW, you must go and check out her blog. No, really, go now. The link is over to the right and it's of global importance that you acquaint yourself with her. She's truly amazing and completely hilarious and she's a new hero of mine.

Anyway, back to "the gift". Here is what Rebecca brought with her:



Yep...it's Pioneer Woman's actual cookbook. It's full of amazing recipes, gorgeous pictures and sweet stories from her life on the ranch. I've ogled it at the bookstore and drooled at it online (my computer may never be the same) but I hadn't bought it yet. I was holding out hope that PW might somehow, sometime include Seattle in her book tour and we'd be able to road trip down to meet PW and have her sign our books. So far, Seattle hasn't been added. It was pretty sad.

Rebecca is so good though, she asked her aunt in Arizona if she could attend the signing there and get a copy for me. She couldn't. But my dear, sweet friend didn't give up and was able to arrange a little somethin' with the bookstore. So this is what the inside of my copy looks like:



That's for me! It's a Happy Birthday for me from Pioneer Woman!!

So, to Rebecca and to Ree, I say: Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!! You are both amazingly awesome women. And this is a new high for a birthday present. I'd better start planning for Rebecca's present now!!

Oops...I lost a month!

Somehow, it's already almost the end of October and I have seriously neglected my blogging. Thanks so much for those of you who gave me a kick in the pants to get my derriere back into gear and start posting again.

We've had a great, busy month. We went on a field trip to Portland; we've made it almost to the end of soccer season; and we had a fantastic visit with my stepsister who is pretty much amazing and always awes me with her independence, fearlessness and general coolness. She'll get to star in her very own post in a few days, because one or two sentences just isn't enough.

I've been collecting several wonderful recipes I must share. Good food really shouldn't be kept hidden...good recipes deserve to be passed along to bring joy to others-don't you think? Homemade enchiladas, my favorite crock pot Italian Beef, a rockin' chili recipe and many, many more should be posted in the next few weeks.

Plus, I've been playing with the camera and want, no NEED, to share with you how lazy, unmotivated and adorable a bulldog can be. It'll make you want to run out and get a farting, burping machine (I mean bulldog) of your own.

Thank you friends for inspiring me again and for letting me know that there really are people who might read this blog on occasion. And, really, even if there aren't, I'm good with that. I've been talking to myself for years. Why stop now?

Girlfriends

If you've ever had children or been forced to care for one for any amount of time, chances are you've read the classic Alexander and the No Good Horrible Very Bad Day. While Alexander had a day, I've extended mine into a whole week now. It's just been one of those hectic, frustrating, hurt-filled, head banging kind of weeks.

And this is why I love my friends. Girlfriends are just as necessary to my life as air, water and the occasional margarita. (Hmm...friends go with margaritas really well, don't they?) They are all varied and different, but each one holds a special place in my heart. I was reminded by one of them this weekend that it's okay not to try and have it all together all of the time. That's one of the great things about girlfriends...we can be there for each other when there is no way we can possibly hold it all together anymore. We offer food, hugs, alcohol, laughs, shoulders to cry on and time away to help recollect our sanity.

Girlfriends, you know who you are and I love you all. Your concern, love, laughter, chocolate, animals, margaritas and lunch dates have brought me much comfort and relief during the past week or so. Thank you for being such amazing women; I am blessed to have each of you in my life!