Grinchmas, 2020
For my birthday, my kids bought me an ugly Christmas sweater… three years in a row. And the mom drama gets worse. Somehow, it’s still 2020, there is nowhere to wear the newest edition. Bah Humbug. Am I wrong in assuming Christmas parties just aren’t going to be a thing this year? I’ll miss the champagne towers and sparkliness. Maybe a little less, I’ll miss trying to keep up on all the chit-chat and inside jokes of Chris’s coworkers that I’m not quite sure I’ll ever understand. I’m quite sure he feels the same about my work holiday parties. Upside – there is potential for the sweaters to join the work-from-home yoga pant collection and I can confidently rock it through the Spring.
And that’s where I am thankful for dear friends who hosted us for a small night of fun games, good company, and delightful food. A little Christmas cheer and the snow falling – sounds idyllic, especially for this weird year! And we made some spring rolls to bring. I suppose they aren’t the most Christmassy of all the appetizers, but they are cheerful and colorful and look so, so happy on a Christmas plate. They are also pretty dang healthy, at a time when we are overindulging on all the holiday cookies!
I should give the credit to my sissy for this treat, she totally taught me how to make them. Hers are also way prettier! My plan is to give you my go to’s for making this happy snack, but you can change it up in so many ways! Use chicken or tempeh instead of shrimp, cut out veggies you don’t dig, use some or all of the stuff listed here! Change out the herbs (thai basil, mint, scallions), the world is your oyster! Serve them up with some tasty peanut sauce!
Vietnam: Spring Rolls
You should be warned, these are a labor of love. Prep time cutting all those veggies is a bear and depending on how many you want to make, rolling can take some time also, but I promise, they are worth it. On the plus side, there are minimal dishes – a knife and your cutting board!
Ingredients
- Rice paper wraps
- Boiled shrimp (deveined and shells removed)
- Rice Vermicelli
- Avocado
- Red Pepper
- Cucumber
- Cilantro
- Red Cabbage
- Carrots
- Radish
- Jalapeno
- Lime
Directions
- Julienne slice all the veggies. The thinner your veggie pieces the easier it will be to roll.
- Fill a wide pot or plate with water and place one rice wrapper sheet in the water for approximately 10-15 seconds, too long and they become too sticky to manage.
- Stuff your spring rolls with your desired ingredients. Don’t overfill as wrapping will become difficult. Leave about an inch from the wrapper’s edge to allow room for rolling.
- Turn in the sides of the wrapper and begin to roll! Repeat and repeat until you run out of stuffing or you’ve lost your sanity!
*** And then when you have all these vegetables already cut up and left over, feel inspired to make this bowl for a health lunch
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