Baked Vegetable Egg Rolls

While I was attempting to make Kate's butternut squash stuffed ravioli, I discovered that I had bought egg roll wrappers not wonton wrappers. So the wrappers sat in the refrigerator for a couple of days while I pondered what to make out of them. The answer was obvious yet it took me awhile to figure it out- egg rolls! I don't have a deep fryer, so I went with the baking option. Healthier but still delicious. I found a recipe that I liked on For the Love of Cooking but I didn't have some of the ingredients it called for. Therefore I made a good amount of substitutions.

You will need:

Egg roll wrappers
2 cups shredded red cabbage
2 cups shredded carrot
2 cups shredded various radishes (daikon works great)
7 shiitake mushrooms, chopped
3 scallions, chopped
1 inch piece of ginger, peeled and diced
3 large cloves of garlic, diced
3 tablespoons Hoisin Sauce
Sweet and Sour Sauce (I made mine from sweet chili sauce and honey)

Directions:

Prepare the vegetables. Chopped various radishes:

Sesame Kale Salad

After yoga, my friend Rachel made me this salad and it was so refreshing. I know the recipe is from online but I could not remember where from. I added some roasted sweet potatoes for some extra flavor.

Salad:
1 bunch lacinato kale leaves, sliced thinly
4 carrots, grated
2 shallots, sliced thinly
2 sweet potatoes, cubed
Dressing:
2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
3 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds
1 teaspoon caraway seeds
Bragg's liquid aminos to taste
salt and pepper

Spread the cubed sweet potatoes over a baking tray and drizzle with sesame oil. Then season with salt and pepper.

Sprinkle the sesame seeds on top. Bake at 375 degrees until a fork can be inserted into the potato pretty easily. Let cool.
Mix the dressing together and chop the vegetables. Toss the salad together and enjoy! We served this with sunny side up eggs for some extra sustenance.

Downton Abbey Tea Sandwich Extravaganza

Laura always makes me delicious food so today I wanted to make her something. I combined the two things she loves most: Downton Abbey and sandwiches. So I embarked on an epic Downton Abbey themed tea sandwich extravaganza. 

I decided to make four kinds of sandwiches: Coronation Chicken, Spicy Tuna, Cucumber, and Salami. I also made an English Trifle for dessert.

Coronation Chicken was by far the most time intensive and the most delicious! I started by preparing the chicken. I combined cooked breasts with sour cream and curry powder, poured the mixture into a bowl, and let the flavors combine in the fridge over the afternoon. Then I started preparing the mango chutney I'd add later. In a saucepan I combined distilled white vinegar, sugar, mango, raisins, garlic, mustard, crystallized ginger, and onions.

Then I started chopping the ingredients while the chutney bubbled. I sliced a cucumber in thin slivers and added some salt to dry them out a little.

Then I checked on the chutney again. Looking good!

Then I made the filling for the spicy tuna sandwiches. Pictured is diced sweet pickles, red onions, and Sriracha. 

Then I checked on the chutney again. The chopped mango and raisins looked more vibrant in color.

Enchiladas with Mango Sauce

So I was paging through some recipes I've collected in a junk drawer since moving to Ohio, and stumbled upon this enchiladas recipe in a Better Homes and Gardens "prizewinning recipes" cookbook. I found a whole bunch of cookbooks at a garage sale last summer -- some lady was giving them away. Her loss!

Poor Mark didn't know what enchiladas were until I made them today. I could only best describe them as tacos you bake, but it's not really an accurate description. Regardless, he's a believer now. The mango sauce really brought all of the chewy goodness together. (Sorry I got a little lazy with photos -- we ate them too quickly!)

Adapted from the Better Homes and Gardens Prizewinning Recipes 2007 Cookbook:

Enchiladas

Ingredients:
• 8(ish) 6- to 7-inch flour tortillas (original recipe called for 12 tortillas)
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 medium jalapeño or serrano chile pepper, seeded and finely chopped
• 1 Tbsp. olive oil or cooking oil
• 1 cup + 1/3 cup sour cream
• 1/4 cup mole or enchilada sauce (perhaps you can try making Laura's homemade enchilada sauce)
• 1 15-oz. can black beans, rinsed and drained (original recipe called for two cans)
• 8 oz. cheddar cheese, shredded (1 to 2 cups)
• 2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp. ground cumin
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1 recipe mango salsa (see below)