Recipe - Vietnamese Spring Rolls with Peanut Dipping Sauce

Vietnamese Fresh Spring Rolls

If you happen to be keeping a garden you may have an abundance of spinach on hand. These rolls are great for using your fresh spinach up.
You can switch out ingredients for this recipe to whatever you have on hand but this is a quick and dirty basic recipe for these wonderfully refreshing rolls.

Things you'll need for the Spring Rolls:

Rice Spring Roll Wrappers/Skins (not the frozen kind that you would use for Filipino Lumpia - that's a whole different recipe.)

Banh Trang Spring Roll Skins

Shrimp Any Size - Cooked, shelled and deveined. (I find it easiest to use larger shrimp that have been butterflied. But I have used local small shrimp (often called salad shrimp) many times and they are just as good.)

I was able to find these at my local Uwajimaya Asian Grocer. If you are a vegetarian you can just omit the shrimp and go heavy on the greens & veggies.

Dried Rice Noodles - Being half Asian these type of noodles are like spaghetti to me. I always have them. If you are not familiar with them you may have walked by them if you have an ethnic isle in your grocery store. They go by various names like maifun, rice sticks, pancit bihon. They are spindly looking noodles that look like threads. They are inexpensive and you can do bazillion things with them.
I used Filipino style Pancit Bihon noodles for this.

Leafy Greens -  As I mentioned above fresh spinach is great for this. You can use lettuces (which I used the day I made these.) Boy choy greens (tops) or even napa cabbage green (tops) if you like an extra crunch.

Mung Bean Sprouts - Again you can use regular bean sprouts but if I could urge you to seek out and try something new, give mung bean sprouts a try. They are deliciously crispy and are fun to snack on. My kids will eat an entire package of them.

Optional Ingredients -
You can matchstick up a carrot or two.
Thai Basil
Cilantro

Things to have on hand -  2 large bowls of cold water. (Like a mixing bowl)

First you'll want to soak your rice noodles in water to soften them up. (You may need to wait a few minutes for this to happen.)
In your second bowl of water you'll lightly soak your wrappers.
Just soak them long enough so they become pliable.

Lay it out on your counter and add your mung bean sprouts and softened noodles:

Mung bean sprouts

Rice noodles added (I know its hard to see - white on white stuff.)

Add your greens (and other optional ingredients) and your shrimp too:

Then all you do is fold over the bottom of your circle (think rolling a burrito but leaving one end open.) And then starting at the side tightly rolling it up.  Sorry I couldn't photograph myself doing that.

Ta - da! That's it. Crazy easy huh?

Now for the peanut dipping sauce I cheat a little bit. I know the big complicated way to make it in a traditional way. But I created a cheater's way to do it.

Things you'll need for the peanut dipping sauce:

2-3 tablespoons of Peanut Butter (I use all natural - creamy if you like it smooth crunchy if you like a little crunch.)

3-4 tablespoons of Mae Ploy Sweet Chili Sauce- or something similar.

2 teaspoons of Lime Juice

Mix well and dip your rolls into it.

 It makes for a nice light dinner or lunch.

Enjoy!

xo-Thea

More recipes are available here:

http://thegreyareamom.blogspot.com/p/recipes.html

Stages of Babies

My oldest "baby" holding her new baby cousin.

This weekend I held a newborn baby for the first time in years. Its my cousin's newest little one.
So tiny and wonderfully baby smelling.

When I held her I gave her little bottom pat-pats and did the bouncy walk for a couple of minutes while her mom settled into a chair so she can nurse her.

What a joy it is to hold someone so tiny and new.  It is a reality check on life. How amazing it is to hold a life in your arms as its just beginning.
I personally don't get the "I want another one..." jonesings, EVER. I had my kids very young and my "baby" will be 10 years old in a couple months.  I'm done riding the pregnancy train. I hug my teenager/tween babies with the same affection as I did when I was able to tote them about in my arms. I saw my best friend of almost 30 years do the same to her children this weekend too. She have her daughter a nice long loving hug.  It was really sweet. We as a society need to hug more I think.

What aids my lack of desire to want more children because not only do I already have 4 kids but my relationship with my kids is in a stage where we are passed babies in general. We're in teenager land with one who will be leaving for college in a little over a year.  And also the possibility of that within the next 10 years I will be a grandmother. Yep, I said it a GRANDMOTHER. How's that for a reality check. I'm not even in my late 30's yet.

Babies are wonderful and so precious. I love to hold them and do my expert bouncy walk and then passed them onto their mama. I have many friends who are the same age as I am just now having their children and I am more than happy to play the role of "Auntie".
When was the last time you held a newborn? Do you hug your kids with the same affection as you did when they were babies? You should.

Must See These 3

This is the first installment of Must See These 3.
A gathering of 3 related or unrelated topic links that you as a parent should see.
--

A Food Fight in the Produce Aisle - The Wall Street Journal - What do you think? Should prepackaged food get placement next to fresh fruits and veggies? Does it give the illusion of freshness undeservedly?
--
The Real Problem with Toddles and TV- The New York Times - I personally no longer have toddlers but  this quote caught my attention; "Honestly, did anyone ever genuinely think they were doing their children a developmental favor by sticking them in front of that scary big baby who rises in the sun on Teletubbies?" 


Have you flipped through the crappy kid shows on TV recently? No wonder everything from the 1980's gets remade.


--
Lastly this link was provided to me by my eldest daughter. She is a junior in high school taking an Accelerated Program Psychology class. (I know, who does that?) 
Well she has come home many times overwhelmed with excitement about things she has learned from her teacher who proudly displays a sticker on his podium stand that reads "Kill Your TV". He's great.


This will be the best & most informative thing that you'll watch all week.
The Secret Powers of Time - Cognitive Media



Eat dinner with your family this weekend okay?
^_^ -Thea

Meet - Jenny

Jenny is pretty much our cooking guru here. Homegirl can cook! 
Have you ever been around someone who just knows what to do in the kitchen?
Jenny rocks the culinary skills like a boss.
In addition to that she is a great mama, hard worker & is 100% fun!

Jenny & her son Isaiah 

Let's get to know Jenny!

xo-Thea

A couple words about food.

"Mom, I'm hungry."
"Mom, what's for dinner?"

My eldest daughter & her piece of carrot cake.

Two sentences that are in constant repeat in my home.
I love food. I absolutely love to eat but I am a bit picky about what I eat 98% of the time.

Becoming aware of what you eat and where it comes from I feel is really important for a family to know.

Homemade Bruschetta 

I find it fascinating that a lot of us don't think about things like that. We just eat "whatever" to fulfill the current hunger pains.

We spend lots of money on our homes, cars and clothes but we skimp on the costs of our food. Which we put into our bodies that we hope will last decades. Seems a little backwards and that is why I am picky about what I eat.

I'm definitely not here to preach about this topic, but as a mom who buys and cooks all the food in my home, its on my mind a lot. "What AM I cooking for dinner?"  For me it became even more noticeable when I became serious about using coupons about a year and half ago. (We'll revisit that later.)

I know there are a million blogs dedicated to the subject of sustainable or organic living and healthy eating. A lot of times they are a really "heavy" read. Save the world! Don't eat the animals! Only shop at certain places! Do it now or die!
Which is truly wonderful thinking but let's be honest, a lot of times most of us can barely handle what is on our own plates.  We have to save ourselves and our own families first before we can save others.
But it doesn't hurt to become educated as a family. Knowing is half that battle.

Here is a little list of a few movies that my family has watched on the food topic:

• Forks Over Knives - A take on "healing" yourself by eating a plant base whole foods diet. This was particularly interesting to our family with my husband having high cholesterol & me being a sugar addict. (My own father died of complications from diabetes.)
• Food Matters - A lot like Forks Over Knives.
• Food, Inc. - A look into what makes a hamburger cost less than a bunch of carrots in America. I actually had a friend from another country say to me "That's why Americans are so fat." after seeing this movie.  :/
• What's On Your Plate? - This one is definitely one that younger kids can watch and get. The movie is presented by two young girls who seek out where their food comes from. 

I feel its important for you to know I'm not a vegetarian, I don't always buy organic produce, I have a monthly grocery budget and I have a massive sweet tooth. But I do what I can to help my family eat well. We prepare foods together, go grocery shopping together, garden together and we eat together.
After all what matters most is each other and being together. After I realized that I changed my own thinking about eating.

-Thea

Motherhood Truths

Somedays I think about saying, "Yes, go a head and kill each other! I'm tired!" But that would be the lazy way out.

Thea's two oldest children.

^_^

I actually do something much worse. I've had the long standing punishment of hugging.
There is nothing worse than having to hug the person you are pissed at. Especially your sibling.

It is a very effective punishment.  The two pictured above are 16 & 15 and I cannot tell you how many times these two have been forced to hug each other in the past 6 months.
They hate it just as much maybe even more so as they did when they were toddlers.
When I toss out the "I'm going to make you hug!!!" Shit cools down really fast.

Hug it out!
xo-Thea

Recipe - Zingy Refrigerator Pickles

And I mean zingy!

So I had a huge fail on growing cukes again this year. Maybe it was the unreasonable heat we had this year my lack of attention whatever. But thankfully there have been amazing sales on cucumbers recently.
I have to admit I do not like them plain. Not a fan but in pickle state- they are pretty awesome.

I whipped up a batch of my version of refrigerator pickles.

Ingredients:
3-4 firm cucumbers (washed & scrubbed)
3 tablespoons of finely chopped white onion
2-3 cloves of garlic finely chopped
1 cup of white vinegar
1 cup of water
4 tablespoon of Filipino vinegar (suka) I used Sukang Maasim Its available at most Asian food stores. White vinegar is a great substitute if you can't get your hands on the Filipino vinegar.

2 tablespoons of pickling salt (if you like them more salty add more salt)

1 tablespoon of turmeric

1 teaspoon celery salt ***(I did NOT have celery salt and was too lazy to go to the store so I chopped up some celery/celery tops for the flavor)

2 full sprigs of dill (I had some fresh from the garden!)
pinch of sugar
pinches of red pepper flakes
--

First you prepare your cukes.

I just cut mine into slivers and remove some of the seeds. *If you like your pickles softer in the end you should boil the cukes whole for 3 minutes or less to soften them up.* I like mine super crunchy!
I didn't have any jars with a wide mouth on them so I used two recycled deli containers that are about 30oz each. I just stuffed them in like so.

You'll then need to boil your liquids together. Bring to full boil and allow to cool slightly.

I added everything on top of my pickles thinking that gravity would pull a lot stuff down & it has.

Toss in your onions, garlic, dill, celery (or celery salt, turmeric, pickling salt and sugar. (I had two containers that I evenly divided each ingredient into. If you are smarter than me you should mix everything in a mixing bowl and then dump them into your containers accordingly.)

Add your warm vinegar and water to the containers accordingly then top off with the red pepper flakes.

Secure the containers lid and over the sink give it a good shake.
Then pop them into the fridge so they can cure.

We waited about 24hrs hours before breaking into them. Each day in there they just get even better. They are zingy, sour, tart and wonderful if you like that type of thing. I need to go buy some pastrami to make a sandwich and have one of these bad boys on the side.

You can change up this recipe to match your likes of course. Enjoy!

xo-Thea

--
This recipe was originally posted on September 18, 2009  
This recipe is one of the most popular recipes I've posted on my blog. I've also since learned how to grow cucumbers but I still will probably grab a few cucumbers from the store when the sales are good.

Crafts - Halloween Blood Sprayed Flowers

My kids are older so as a family we've evolved through the stages of Halloween.
Where we once had stuffed Ziggy plushes lining the window sill that simply had "Boo! I love you" on them. We now have darker themed items like light up skull heads and blood sprayed floral decor.

I am a bit out there with my home decor anyways, but I do try to keep things fun and interesting if the occasion arises. Also having teenagers in the house adds a whole new level of Halloween fun.  Horror flicks, scarier themed costumes, you know stuff you love when you are a teenager. 

So this is a fun cheap project to do.

A lot of the time you can find fake flowers at the thrift store on the cheap.

Inexpensive fake flowers.

At your favorite local craft store you can find bottles of acrylic craft paints for around $0.50 to $1.50 depending on your area and store brands. 

Simply choose a couple shades or red or even black and simply drizzle some "blood" on. You could even paint or dye the flowers black. That was our second choice but we were going for The Shining type of look. 

My Halloween decor

I know this project isn't for everyone. My husband can barely handle horror flicks. But I am growing with my kids and I want home to always be a fun place for them. We do a lot of projects like this together. The mantle in the picture above my decorated by my oldest two. I do however keep our stuff Ziggy plush out for sentimental reasons.

Boo! I love you.

 The family that plays together stays together right?

xo-Thea

Recipe - Grilled Sweet Potato Salad

I’m really proud of myself for making something so pretty and delicious. This is a simplified recipe from a book I checked out from the library, and is super quick and easy to do if you are having a BBQ and need a quick side dish.

The ingredients you will need (the quantities depend on how many people you are feeding):

• Sweet potatoes – sliced into 1/3- 1/2″ pieces

• Onion- thinly sliced

• Cheese – a crumbly mild one (I used feta)

• Cilantro- fresh and finely chopped

• Lime juice

• Olive oil

• Salt and Pepper

To prepare: Slice the sweet potatoes and brush with olive oil, then sprinkle on the salt and pepper and set aside. Slice the onions so they can be thrown on the grill too! Have cilantro, cheese and and lime ready.

To cook: Place the sweet potato on upper rack of the grill and let cook for about five minutes on both sides or until the BBQ marks are present. The onions only need half of that time so add then when you flip the potatoes. Also check to make sure the sweet potatoes are soft. Place potatoes and onions in a large shallow bowl then drizzle lime juice and toss. Then add cilantro and cheese on top! Easy peasy!

Minis

Small foods are cute right?

Mini foods from my garden. -Photo by Thea

2 mini cucumbers
1 mini bell pepper
1 mini Hungarian hot pepper

I have no justification as to why I picked these other than my lack of patience.

Well actually I think I did to feel better about my mass amount of green tomatoes that I have in the garden.  I'm thinking about going out and picking them anyways and letting them ripen inside on the counter. I know there are about a million tips, tricks & myths on how to get your tomatoes to ripen inside. But for me, just bringing them in and letting them hang out in the kitchen on the counter seems to do the trick. (For me at least.) How about you? Or do you just bring them in & fry them up? ^_^

Green Heirloom Tomato - Photo by Thea

Mmmmm! I can think of about 20 dishes that could use some tasty tomatoes!

*Off to make dinner!*

xo-Thea