Spring Rolls with Peanut Sauce

I love Spring Rolls.  So fresh and great for summer since you don't need to heat anything up!  And since we've been in the upper 90s all week that is a very good thing!  Plus they are so versatile.  You can load them up with whatever you like.  Make sure you get the rice papers and not the egg roll wrappers.  Egg roll wrappers are usually fried or baked after rolling while the rice paper for spring rolls is just soaked for a few seconds in hot water to get it soft and pliable.  No need to bake or fry.  Make as many or as few as you'd like.  Just prepare enough veggies accordingly.  Spring Roll Wrappers last indefinitely in their dry state so you can use what you need and save the rest for later.  I got the peanut sauce recipe from my sister, Kirsten.  Enjoy!

Spring Rolls

Spring Roll Wrappers (Rice Paper)
1 block firm or extra-firm Tofu, pressed and then cut into thin strips
1-2 Tbsp. soy sauce
Greens:  spinach, red leaf lettuce, green leaf lettuce, Napa cabbage, etc. -washed, dried, and torn into strips
Herbs:  fresh cilantro leaves, fresh basil leaves, fresh mint leaves-washed, dried and coarsely chopped
Veggies:  Carrots, cucumber, snow peas, mushrooms, bean sprouts, broccoli slaw, red onion, green onions, etc. -cut in very this strips (except snow peas which I just leave whole.)


-Press tofu to remove moisture.  Cut into thin strips.  You can optionally pan fry the tofu (and then sprinkle with soy sauce) to get a crispy outside but I usually skip this.  Sprinkle with soy sauce and set aside.  


-Fill a pie plate or wide bowl with hot water. Immerse rice paper in warm water for a few seconds to soften them up just until soft but still flexible (work with one rice paper at a time, being gentle as they break easily when brittle). Remove from water and place rice paper on a kitchen towel and let rest approximately 30 seconds until it's more pliable.  


-Arrange greens, herbs, veggies and tofu on bottom 1/3 of rice paper.  Make sure the ingredients are evenly spread out from one end to the other.   


-Pressing down on the filling with your fingers (pressing down on the ingredients is particularly important because it tightens the roll), fold the bottom end of the sheet (side nearest you) over the top of the fillings and roll into a cylindrical shape halfway.


-Fold the left and right sides inward and complete rolling the remaining half (If rice paper is too dry to seal, moisten unsealed edges with a little more hot water). Transfer summer roll to a plate, seam-side down, and cover with dampened paper towels. Make additional roll in the same manner.

-To serve, halve rolls on the diagonal and place the rolls upright on your serving platter. Serve with your favorite dipping sauces.  For an appetizer, serve one or two halves per person. As a main course, serve at least six halves per person.  

Peanut Sauce
1/4 cup sweetener (whatever you like to use-sugar, honey, agave, etc.)  You might not need all the sweetener so start with half the amount and then add as desired.
1/4 cup peanut butter (creamy or crunchy work, I kind of like crunchy for the added crunch)
3 tbs soy sauce
5 tbs water
3 tbs cooking oil
1 or 2 cloves freshly pressed garlic cloves


In a small saucepan combine sauce ingredients, heat and stir until dissolved.

Zucchini Crumb Muffins

My kids were asking for doughnuts one Saturday morning.  I made these instead and you know what?  They were just as happy!  Seriously!  Even though they had zucchini in them and the only sugar in them is in the crumb topping.  They loved them.  The muffins themselves are only sweetened with the one mashed banana so if you think you'd like something a little sweeter you could always add 1/4 cup of your favorite sweetener: brown sugar, agave, honey, sugar, maple syrup, etc.  You could also add 1/2 tsp. salt if that's what you like.  For the crumb topping I didn't really use a recipe.  I just mixed until it was nice and crumbly.  I think this is pretty close to the proportions I used.  You just want it to be crumbly.  This recipe made 24 muffins.

Zucchini Crumb Muffins

3 Tbsp. ground flax
9 Tbsp. HOT water
2 cups shredded zucchini, packed
1 ripe banana, mashed
1 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. ginger
3 cups whole wheat flour

Crumb Topping:
4 Tbsp. Earth Balance, softened
3-4 Tbsp. flour
4 Tbsp. brown sugar
2 Tbsp. wheat germ
1 tsp. cinnamon

Whisk ground flax with HOT water and set aside.  Mix applesauce, banana, and zucchini.  Add flax mixture.  Mix well.  Add vanilla.  Combine flour, soda, baking powder and spices in separate bowl.  Stir into zucchini mixture.  Spoon batter into muffin cups.  Sprinkle a spoonful of crumb topping onto each muffin and very lightly press into muffin.  Bake at 350 F for about 30 minutes.  Muffins will be very moist but a toothpick inserted in middle should be clean when they are done.