You may have noticed I've taken a break from making my tasty three-fruit salad every morning. It's not for lack of inspiration, but I've really only been eating one fruit - red grapes. I just can't get enough! Breakfast, snack, dessert.... I even roasted them with dinner last night. I don't remember liking them this much before baby, so I guess this would be considered my first pregnancy craving. Not as traditional as pickles and ice cream, but much healthier!
Another food I have been craving a lot is Chinese, especially egg rolls. They are so tasty, but terribly fatty - deep fried, full of ground pork, and incomplete without that sticky sweet sauce. I really wanted to eat them without feeling like crap afterward, so I edited them down to the best bits and made a version I'm not afraid to indulge in every week. I hope it satisfies your craving too.
Five-Spice Mushroom Egg Rolls
1 tsp. olive oil
2 medium shallots, minced
6 oz chopped brown mushrooms (about 1 1/2 cups)
1 cup chopped green cabbage
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 tsp. Chinese 5-Spice powder
4 oz firm tofu, crumbled
1 Tbsp. tamari, or to taste
6 egg roll wrappers (find them in the produce section)
1 Tbsp melted butter or olive oil
Dipping Sauce
1/2 cup mango chutney or apricot preserves
2 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar
1. Preheat oven to 425
2. Heat the oil in a large saute pan over medium high heat. Add the shallots, mushrooms, and cabbage and cook until the mushrooms have released their water and cooked down a bit, about 8 minutes. Add garlic, 5-spice powder, and tofu, and saute 1-2 minutes longer. Remove from heat and stir in tamari.
3. Fill the wrappers like a burrito, placing about 1/4 to 1/3 cup in the center. Fold the bottom corner over the filling, fold the sides in, and roll it over the top corner. Seal the flap with a dab of water and set aside on a baking sheet. Repeat with remaining wrappers and filling.
4. Brush the egg rolls with melted butter or oil and bake for 8-10 minutes, or until browned on one side. Flip them over and return to oven until browned on all sides, about 5 minutes more. Remove and allow to cool while you mix the sauce. These are lava-hot when they come out of the oven, so be sure to let them cool a bit.
These tasty rolls make an excellent appetizer for an at-home Chinese dinner, or can be a complete meal when served with my Asian Cabbage Salad. Now I just have to find a way to incorporate red grapes....
Every year the Environmental Working Group tracks pesticide use on fruits and veggies, then compiles a list of the worst offenders, calling them the Dirty Dozen. They also share the Clean 15, which have the lowest pesticide concentration. You can find it here if you're interested (there is a Get the Guide Here link to click if you don't want to sign up). While it varies from year to year, stone fruits typically top the list, so it's good to make a point of always buying them organic. Stone fruits are those with hard pits, like peaches, nectarines, plums, cherries, even almonds! With that in mind, here it is:
Today's Salad
Peaches
Red Plums
Banana
Tart and tangy from the plum, sweat-sour from the peach, and creamy smooth from the banana. This was a good one!
I was cruising the aisles at Whole Foods today and discovered a new fruit, the Aprium. I pretty much assumed these little gems would be a lot like the Pluots I ate all the time in California since they are both hybrids of the apricot and plum. Turns out they have different names because they are quite different kinds of fruit. While the pluot is like a tart plum, the aprium seems to be more like a regular apricot except without the fuzzy skin. Tasty! With that as my starting point, here it is...
Today's Fruit Salad
Aprium
Banana
Strawberries
This is just the right blend of sweet and tart. You can see from my previous posts that I'm really enjoying strawberry season. And with a fresh new salad every day, they get a chance to shine in different ways.
Today's Salad
Strawberries
Pink Lady ApplesCherries
This pink salad was very fresh, but a bit tart.
I like to start my days with a fresh fruit salad. I know what you're thinking, chop fruit, put in bowl, eat. Not the most challenging of dishes. But while many people think the best way to add interest to a simple salad is to include a wide array of fruits, a raw food book I read once recommended a much simpler method. Try only three. But try a different three every day. That is so easy, why didn't I think of it? Now I buy a variety of in-season fruits, but only use three in my salad each morning. You can really taste the nuances in each and I have created some delightful combinations that otherwise wouldn't have crossed my mind. I will be sharing my latest salad creations here along with any tasting notes. And if you are inspired to try your own, please share them!
Today's Salad
Strawberry
Watermelon
Mango
Since all of these fruits err on the sweet side, I added a squeeze of lime to balance it all out. This is one step farther than I usually go, and in this case it really paid off. Everything was juicy, sweet, and just a bit brighter because of the lime juice. Yum yum!
