Rice paper rolls

It only takes the slightest warm change in the weather for me to start craving rice paper rolls again.

When I make these bad boys, they’re not those dainty little wraps you see in Vietnamese restaurants. I make some absolute whoppers, like, a fatter Chiko roll.  There’s no reasoning behind this, I just get carried away with trying to add as much salad and deliciousness as I can, and then the battle to wrap it successfully begins.

In short though, they’re amazing. When I know they’re on the dinner menu, I get excited all afternoon.

I have popped on two different meat marinades: I interchange them for the meat – pork, chicken or beef. But a simple boiled prawn would also be amazing, as would a simple grilling of the meat with no marinade at all.

Ingredients:

Marinade # 1 – Stickier BBQ flavour

2 garlic cloves, crushed,

1 teaspoon crushed ginger

½ teaspoon crushed chilli (optional)

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1 teaspoon brown sugar

1 tablespoon BBQ sauce

Marinade # 2 – herbier, lighter

10 basil leaves

3 mint leaves

2 garlic cloves, crushed

½ teaspoon crushed chilli (optional)

2 tablespoons soy sauce

Ingredients for the rolls

1 carrot, sliced julienne

1 red capsicum, sliced thinly

Quarter head of lettuce, sliced

Half cucumber, sliced julienne

Large bunch fresh mint leaves

50 grams rice vermicelli noodles, cooked, drained and cooled

Pack of fresh rice paper rolls, ready to be soaked in water

 Hoisin sauce, to serve

Unfortunately (for you guys) I have no method that is easy to describe. I visualise it like a cigar – picture a rectangle in one-third of the circular wrapper that you place all the ingredients onto. And then it’s a matter of folding the short end over it long-ways, then folding the sides over, and then rolling it all the way over.

There is a number of online tutorials, I quite like this one.

This is what my table looks like just before we chow down - salads, mint, chicken, noodles, rice paper wrappers and a tray with warm water to soften the wrappers. 

Carrot, banana, oat and bran cake

A semi-healthy muffin or cake that doesn't need any icing!

125g butter, softened

100g sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla essence

2 cups self-raising flour

1 teaspoon each of cinnamon and mixed spice

½ teaspoon each of nutmeg and cardamom

1 cup milk

¼ cup low-fat natural yogurt

2 carrots, grated

2 bananas, mashed

½ cup oats

½ cup bran

About ¼ cup oats extra, for decoration

Can also add in any seeds like chia, pepitas etc, nuts such as walnuts or LSA. This could be in addition to the bran or oats, or to replace them

This makes one big cake or about 24 muffins.

Method:

Preheat the oven to 180C. Grease and line a cake tin with baking paper, or grease muffin tins.

Using an electric mixer, beat together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.

Add in the eggs one at a time until well combined, then add in the vanilla.

Put the spices in the flour, and then add this in intervals with milk and yoghurt, in about three sets. Continue to combine well with the beater.

Using a wooden spoon, gently mix through the carrot and banana and then the oats and bran.

Spoon the mixture into the prepared tins and sprinkle the extra oats on the top.

Muffins will take about 20 minutes, and the cake will take about 45-50 minutes. Test the cake with a skewer to see that it is cooked all the way through before removing from the oven.  

Muesli bars

Just about anything can go in this, just need the oats and enough binding stuff like honey, egg etc to keep it all together

2 cups oats

1 cup dried fruit – sultanas, craisins, blueberries etc

¼ cup seeds – sunflower, pumpkin, chia etc

1/2-1 cup nuts – any kind will work

1/2 cup honey

1 egg

¼ cup flour – or hazelnut or almond meal

1 teaspoon each of cinnamon, mixed spice, nutmeg (not all necessary, just adds a nice fruity flavour)

Mix it all in a big bowl. Add more honey or oats depending on the consistency. You want it to be pretty chunk, not liquidy at all.

I prefer to make these in patty tins, so that I don’t have to slice them into bars and create more mess. It also means I’m less likely to eat more than one.

If you don’t have patty tins, spray a big baking tin with oil and line with baking paper and just put it all in there, flattening it down firmly.

Bake in a 180C oven for about 15 minutes, just to get it all stuck together.

Eat when they’re cold.

Done!

Bircher muesli

Makes 3 servings @ 370 calories each

I made a batch of this to last me for three breakfasts, just to make it all a bit easier. Basically , you need to soak the oats and dried fruit and nuts in the juice and milk, and then in the morning, add in the fresh fruit and yoghurt.

1 cup oats (I used instant oats)

½ cup apple juice

½ cup skim milk

1 tablespoon seeds – sunflower, pumpkin etc

12 walnuts or a tablespoon slithered almonds

2 tablespoons dried blueberries or cranberries

1 teaspoon cinnamon

½ teaspoon mixed spice

In each bowl:

1 apple, grated or finely chopped

(Could substitute for other fruit – sliced banana, chopped fresh pineapple, pear etc)

1 tablespoon natural, low fat yoghurt

 

Method: Combine oats, apple juice, milk, nuts, seeds and dried fruits in a bowl and refrigerate overnight.

In the morning, add in the fresh fruit and yoghurt and combine well.

Drizzle with some honey if you want a bit more sweetness.