Spring Rolls!

You know you love these papery thin mini-burritos stuffed with crunchy fresh veggies. You just feel so healthy and refreshed, right?! That's they way I feel when I am at a Japanese or Thai restaurant, because I have to order them. They are SO good! And after trying making these for the first time at home, I have to say that they taste exactly like they do in the restaurant! I'm serious, I'm not just saying that! I was hoping the wrappers I bought weren't too thick because I've had some at restaurants where the wrapper was all I could taste. Not these, uh uh. These were the perfect thickness. I found a big pack at the asian farmers market.

 All you do is soak them in warm water for a minute or two and they become clear and pliable. You have to be a little careful in handling them. I ripped the first one I did, but then I got the hang of it.

I stuffed them with avocado, cucumber, carrot lettuce, mint and some lime juice – but whatever you have in the fridge works. Let's roll!!                            

Spring Rolls serves 2

2 carrots, julienned

2 cucumbers, julienned

1 avocado, sliced

Some lettuce

3 spring roll wrappers or rice paper

lime juice

salt

Dipping sauce

Soy sauce mixed with some sesame oil.

1 Lay out your sliced veggies in small piles on a cutting board so it'll be easy to assemble each spring roll. Squeeze some lime juice over all the veggies and season with salt.

2 Soak first wrapper in warm water (I used a shallow quiche plate for this) for a minute and remove, letting the excess water drip.

3 Lay the wrapper flat on a smooth surface (I used another cutting board) and begin to assemble. First, you lay the lettuce down and then the rest of the veggies.

4 Once you are ready to roll, take the wrapper end closest to you over the veggies and tuck in tightly underneath then begin to roll away from you, holding on tightly. I just stuffed the two ends inside after I rolled and they stayed shut. If the roll doesn't stay shut for some reason, just add a tiny bit of water to seal. The more moisture the wrapper has, the more likely it will do what you want it to without ripping.