Raw Vietnamese Spring Rolls with Spicy Peanut Sauce

Vienna has a lot of street food.  There is one place in particular that has these Vietnamese spring rolls that I always see people walking around with.  They look so delicious and I am always tempted to get them. After a movie with the hubby the other night, we were scrounging around the city for something quick to eat and my mouth started watering at the thought of those rolls.  We walked to the place and I asked the nice little man for an order when he so nicely told me that they had shrimp in them.  I'm allergic to seafood and get violently ill if it even touches my food, so that was not an option.   My response: WHAT??? But I want them, can't you make them without shrimp?   Him: no, with shrimp only.  Me: Ugh.  Fine, give me some of that rice and those bland veggies then.  Needless to say, I was a little pouty.  When I got home I started looking up recipes to make my own and was very pleased to know that I could actually get the ingredients at the store.  Almost every recipe I found had shrimp in it, so you can use it if that's your thing.  You can also cook the veggies before putting them in your rolls, but I liked the idea of using fresh, raw veggies for a nice crunch.  If you are allergic to peanuts, you could make a spicy sauce with hoisin, or just use a store bought sweet and sour sauce.  Anyway, I hope you all enjoy these, I know that I sure did!

PS- these get kind of gummy the next day, so I would only make the amount that you are actually going to eat.  If you are making them for a party, you could just prep the veggies and noodles the day before and actually roll them the day of the event. 

Raw Vietnamese Spring Rolls with Spicy Peanut Sauce

Ingredients:

Spring Rolls

• 1 package "glass noodles" (also called rice noodles or rice vermicelli)
• 1 package rice paper wraps
• 1 carrot, shredded
• 1 small cucumber, peeled into strips with a peeler
• 5 radishes, sliced into matchsticks
• 1 cup white or purple cabbage, shredded
• Mint or Thai Basil leaves (optional, see note)

Note: Thai basil is different than normal basil that you put in some Italian dishes, make sure you purchase the correct one.  Most of the recipes called for mint leaves for freshness.  We used about 2-3 whole mint leaves per roll and found this to be extremely overpowering and picked it out.  I would suggest chopping both the mint or basil very finely and sprinkling just a little into each roll so they are not overpowered.  

Spicy Peanut Sauce

•  2 tbsp. crunchy peanut butter
• 2 tsp. chili paste (more or less depending on how hot you like it)
• Juice from one lime
• 2 tsp. ginger paste or 1 inch of fresh ginger, chopped finely
• Soy sauce

Directions:

1.  Prepare all your vegetables and set them aside.

2.  Get a large bowl and fill it with extremely hot (but not boiling) water.  Place your glass noodles in the bowl and let them sit for 5 minutes.  As soon as the noodles are soft, they are ready.  Drain the noodles and set aside. 

3.  Remove your rice paper wraps from the package, and create an assembly line for wrapping.  Have a large bowl of very hot water on the left, your drained rice noodles, your vegetable platter, and a place to roll the wraps.  Use a smooth surface so your rice papers don't rip, a smooth cutting board, a piece of parchment, etc.  You are ready to roll!  Haha :)

4.  Dunk your rice paper wraps in the hot water, count to 8, and take them out.  Lay the wrap on your rolling surface, being careful not to tear them.  If it does tear, it is no big deal, just keep going. 

5.  Place a small amount of the glass noodles in the center of the wrap, making sure to leave space at the top and bottom of the wrap  so that you can fold it. 

6.  Place your veggies in layers on top of the noodles. Try to pack them tightly, and not too much filling.  Keep the space at the top and bottom for rolling!

7.  Fold the top edge and the bottom edge inward toward the center of the wrap. 

8.  Fold the right edge of the wrap toward the center of the filling, making sure that the top and bottom edges stay tucked inside. 

9.  Using your fingers, tuck the filling tighter into the roll toward the right edge.  Fold the entire wrap toward the left onto the exposed edge of the wrap. 

10.  Your completed wrap should be completely sealed on all sides.  It takes a couple to get the hang of the rolling process, so don't be discouraged if you don't get it on the first try.  Use a serrated knife to slice the rolls diagonally so they are easier to eat. 

11.  Place the peanut butter, ginger, chili paste, and lime juice into a small bowl and whisk together. 

12.  Add soy sauce and continue whisking until the sauce is thin enough for dipping.

 13.  Serve your spring rolls with a cup of miso soup and some spicy edamame for a complete meal.  Enjoy! 

Guilt Free Desserts: Bananas Foster

This is the dessert to go along with Dustin and Becky's Fancy Pants Dinner.  Again, happy anniversary guys! 

Bananas Foster is my absolute favorite dessert.  The traditional way of making it involves a lot of butter, sugar, full fat ice cream, and rum.  While it is certainly tasty, I wanted to come up with a version that I could enjoy more than once a year and not feel guilty about.  Try out this healthier (and vegan!) version, and let me know what you think about it! 

Bananas Foster with Spiced Caramel Sauce over Soy Ice Cream

Ingredients:

• 2 ripe bananas, sliced into rounds
• 2 tbsp. vegan margarine (or butter)
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 3 tbsp. cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. nutmeg, allspice, or pumpkin pie spice
• Seeds from one vanilla bean, or 1 tbsp. vanilla extract
• 3 tbsp. dark rum (optional)
• Soy ice cream

Directions:

1. Melt butter in skillet.  Add cinnamon, nutmeg, and brown sugar. 

2.  Stir constantly, making sure the sugar has dissolved and is no longer gritty.  Add in the vanilla bean seeds or extract and rum (optional).  If you do add rum, move the pan away from the stove while adding, unless you want to lose some eyebrows!  Cook until sauce has thickened like a caramel.  Be sure to stir constantly so it doesn't burn!

3.  Add in the sliced bananas, and stir to coat completely in the sauce. Cook for 1-2 minutes, until the bananas are soft, but not mushy.

4.  Layer in a glass with soy ice cream, or even yogurt for a delicious treat!  Enjoy!

Easy Rustic Vegetable Tart

This is one of those entrees that is easy enough for a weeknight dinner, but special enough for Sunday company.  It is very versatile and can be adjusted to any seasonal vegetables or picky taste buds.  This crust is also very versatile and can be used for a sweet pastry, vegetable pot pie, or anything with a traditional pie crust.  This tart is very hearty and satisfying on its own, but could be served along with some grilled chicken or fish for the meat eaters in your life.  As always, I hope you enjoy it as much as we did!

Easy Rustic Vegetable Tart

Ingredients

Crust:

• 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour, plus more for dusting the counter
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 1 cup iced water

 Filling:

• 4 cups fresh baby spinach
• 1 large red onion, sliced into rounds
• 1 large zucchini, sliced into thin rounds
• 1 large tomato, sliced into thin rounds
• 1 large squash, sliced into thin rounds
• 1/4 cup toasted pine nuts
• Olive oil for drizzling
• Salt and Pepper for seasoning

Directions:

 1.  Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.  Slice tomato, zucchini, squash, and red onion very thinly and toss with olive oil, salt and pepper.

 2.  Place all your vegetables (except spinach) on a parchmented baking sheet in a single, flat layer.  Bake for 10-15 minutes, or until the veggies are soft and just starting to brown.  While the vegetables are baking, prepare the dough.

 3. Place flour and salt into a large mixing bowl.

4. Add in olive oil and stir until it just comes together. 

5.  Add in ICE cold water and stir very well until a soft dough begins to form.

6.  Turn out onto a floured surface and knead 15-20 times until a cohesive dough is formed. 

5.  Roll out dough on floured surface into a large, rough circle.  You want the dough to be large enough to make a folded edge, and thick enough to support the vegetables.  You could also make smaller, individual tarts for a brunch buffet.  Place on parchment paper and onto a baking sheet to prepare for filling. 

6.  Place fresh spinach on bottom of dough and then layer your roasted vegetables on top.  Make sure to leave about 1 1/2 to 2 inches of your dough around the edge for folding. Sprinkle pine nuts on top of vegetables and drizzle with olive oil.

7.  Slowly and gently fold the edges of your dough up to create the edge of the tart.  There is no right or wrong way to design your crust, just make sure there are no tears. 

8.  Bake at 400 degrees for 15- 20 minutes, or until crust is crispy and golden brown.  Let stand for 5 minutes before slicing. 

9.  Slice into wedges and serve with a soy-herb dressing.  Round out this meal with a nice side salad or a light summer soup.  Enjoy!

Guilt Free Desserts: Poached Pears with Orange and Vanilla Bean Sauce

This is another easy, tasty, and light summer dessert that will satisfy your sweet tooth without sabotaging your weight loss progress!  Be sure to buy the freshest pears you can find, any variety will work.  I really hope you all enjoy this one!

Poached Pears with Orange and Vanilla Bean Sauce

 

Ingredients:

• 3 firm, fresh pears- any variety
• 1/2 cup white wine (or increase water by 1/2 cup and omit wine)
• 3 1/2 cups water
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 vanilla bean, split (or 2 tsp vanilla extract)
• 1 orange- zested and juiced
• 1/4 cup agave nectar (or honey)
• Soy or Regular vanilla bean ice cream

Directions:

1.  Using a peeler, remove all the outer skin from the pears, making sure the stems stay intact. 

2.  Turn the pears on their side, and use a small teaspoon to scrape the inside of the pears and remove the seeds.  Be careful not to remove too much of the outer fruit, so the pear stays intact when you poach it.  

3.  Add your wine, water, agave nectar, cinnamon, orange zest, orange juice, orange slices and a split and scraped vanilla bean to a medium sized sauce pot.  

4.  Add the pears to the pot and make sure they are submerged in the liquid.  If not, add a little more water until they are almost covered.  Bring mixture to a boil and then turn down to a simmer.  Simmer for 5 minutes, or until pears are tender but not falling apart.  

5.  Remove pears from the liquid and place in the refrigerator to cool while the sauce reduces.  

6.  (Sorry, I forgot the photo on this one!)  Turn the sauce back up to a boil and cook until the sauce begins to get thick, like a syrup.  This takes about 5-8 additional minutes.

7.  Place a scoop of your ice cream (or soy cream!) into a fancy glass and pour a liberal amount of your spiced syrup on top.  

8.  Place your cooled pear, stem side up, in your glass.  Garnish with an orange slice and enjoy immediately! 

Souper Soups: Curried Butternut Squash Soup

For some reason, I have been channeling Fall this week.  I've been craving Fall foods, roasted vegetables, spiced fruit, warm tarts.  I decided to make a three course, Fall inspired, vegan dinner for date night with hubby this week.  I was very pleased with the results, and hubby enjoyed it a lot more than I honestly thought he would!  This soup was our appetizer, the other two courses will come a little later, when I'm not so sleepy!

Note:  This soup can be served chilled as a shooter during the summer, warm with toasted pumpkin seeds during the fall, or even used as a baby food if you don't add the cream to make it "soupy."  Enjoy it!

Curried Butternut Squash Soup

Ingredients:

• 1 large butternut squash
• 1 cup water
• 3 cups soy milk, rice milk, or cow's milk
• 3 tbsp. vegan margarine
• 3 tbsp. curry powder ( you can adjust this to more or less depending on how spicy you like it)
• 2 tsp. salt
• 2 tsp. pepper
• 1 tsp. garlic powder
• Fresh basil for decoration (optional)

Directions:

1.  Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.  Clean the outside of your squash and remove any dirt or debris. 

2.  Using a sharp knife, carefully cut your squash down the middle lengthwise.  Place it on a piece of shelf liner so it doesn't roll around on you!  Remove the seeds and slimy membrane in the cavity, just like a pumpkin.

3.  Place the squash cut side up in a shallow baking dish.  Sprinkle salt, pepper, garlic powder, and curry powder all over the squash.  Fill the bottom of the dish with the water and place in the oven. 

4. Bake for 1 hour 15 minutes, or until all the inside flesh of the squash is tender and can be removed with a spoon.

5.  Scoop all the squash into a medium sized pot.  Take care not to bring any of the squash rind with you!

6.  Add the butter, milk, and a little more black pepper.  Blend with a stick blender, or a hand mixer until everything is smooth and silky.  You may have to add a little water to thin it out, depending on the consistency you would like.   Heat until steaming. 

7.  Pour into  glasses or bowls and garnish with fresh herbs, homemade croutons, or crackers.  Enjoy!

Guilt Free Snacking: Vegan Soft Pretzels

So, living in Austria has its advantages and disadvantages.  On one hand, it is beautiful, full of history, and there are amazing bakeries and cafes everywhere.  On the other hand, there are amazing bakeries and cafes everywhere.  See what I did there?  heh... Anyway, as I was saying, there area lot of bread shops here, and while it is convenient to walk by and grab fresh baked bread every day, it can also be expensive.  Pretzels can be anywhere between 1 and 4 euros a pop, depending on where you buy them from! 

We made homemade pretzels in culinary school, but I remember it being kind of complicated and it involving some kind of chemicals to boil the pretzels in.  I decided to look online to find some easier recipes, and was slightly overwhelmed at all the different ingredients, fancy equipment needed and actual cooking methods.  I found and slightly adapted what I believe to be an easy and tasty recipe! 

Note:  This recipe makes quite a few pretzels.  I baked half and individually wrapped and froze the other half for later cooking.  You can easily double or half this recipe depending on your family size.  Also, you can use Bob's Red Mill gluten free flour to make these guys gluten free!  Everyone in your family can enjoy these!

Vegan Soft Pretzels

Served here with vegan bratwurst, spicy mustard, and vegan beer cheese sauce!

Ingredients:

• 3 cups very warm water (for yeast mixture)
• 2 tbs splenda
• 2 tbs active dry yeast (make sure it is fresh)
• 2 tsp salt
• 9 cups flour ( you can use all purpose, gluten free, or whole wheat)
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 10 cups water (for boiling pretzels)
• 1/2 cup baking soda
• Toppings:  I used cinnamon/splenda, garlic and herbs, and sea salt

Directions:

1.  Pour your yeast, splenda and 3 cups warm water into a bowl and stir.  Allow yeast mixture to sit and bloom for 5 minutes.

2.  After yeast has gotten foamy, add in your olive oil and stir to combine. 

3.  Stir in your flour and salt and dump out onto a floured surface. 

4.  Knead your dough for about 5 minutes, or until it smooths out.  Separate into 2 even sized doughs and place into oiled bowls.  Cover in plastic wrap and allow to sit in a warm place for an hour or until doubled in size. 

5.  When your dough is puffy and doubled, it is ready to work into pretzels.  Dump it back out onto your floured surface. 

6.  At this time, preheat your oven to 425 degrees.  Also, fill a large pot with water and add 1/2 cup baking soda and allow to come to a soft boil.  Also, line 2 sheet pans and a section of your counter with parchment paper so you don't have to do it when your hands are messy. 

 7.  Cut each of your doughs into 9 smaller doughs and roll in flour so you can work with one at a time. 

8.  Take your dough and roll into a long skinny snake.  Think rolling out play dough here people!  Then lightly dampen each end of the snake with water.  Now you're ready to shape the pretzel!

 9.  Cross your ends over one another to make what I can best describe as some kind of an awareness ribbon shape. 

10.  Bring the right end straight up and stick to the outside edge of the circle.  If it doesn't stick, try adding a little dab more water. 

11.  Repeat the same with the other side, and adjust until it has that signature pretzel shape.  Go ahead and shape all your pretzels first, and then set them on the parchmented counter top.  This will allow the boiling process to go much more quickly. 




Note:  If you want to freeze some of the pretzels, DO NOT boil them first! Individually wrap the pretzels in parchment and place in a ziplock bag.  When you are ready to use them, allow them to thaw and rise for an hour before baking. 

12.  Place the pretzels 2 or 3 at a time into the boiling water for 30 seconds, flipping them over half way through.  They should puff up and get a little doughy during this time. 

13.  As soon as the pretzels come out of the water, place them on the sheet trays and sprinkle them with whatever toppings you desire.  Garlic and herb is pictured here, but you can also do plain salt, or cinnamon sugar. 

14.  Bake your pretzels for 12-15 minutes each, or until they are crispy and brown.  Enjoy!!!