Recipe Thursday

When I was home last week my mom gave me a package of rice paper that she probably found at an Asian grocery store or Whole Foods. I was very excited about these, and I immediately had to try my hand at making Vietnamese spring rolls. The Whole Foods website has a recipe for spring rolls and a peanut sauce (already naturally gluten-free) that didn't look very daunting, which you can find here. However, I was pressed for time so I just bought Thai Kitchen's Peanut Satay Sauce instead which, if not authentic, worked out well. Here is the spring roll recipe that I adapted, the ingredients of which are entirely interchangeable (but the mint and cilantro are KEY):

2 ounces thin rice stick noodles (I cooked the whole bag without thinking and had a huge pile of rice noodles leftover)
18 or so shrimp, cooked and peeled (I just bought cocktail shrimp and cut them in half lengthwise so they would fit in the roll better)
1 cup grated carrot
1 cup mung bean sprouts
1 cup cucumber, peeled, seeded, and julienned
1 large head of stiff lettuce or cabbage (chop some of it into thin, short strips)
1/4 cup mint leaves, chopped
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
Rice paper (spring roll wrappers)

Cook rice noodles as directed. Dip rice paper wrapper in hot water. Wrapper will feel rubbery -- don't leave it in the hot water longer than a few seconds for maximum workability. Layer ingredients on wrapper. Fold the bottom of wrapper over the top of the ingredients. Fold sides, roll up, place seam side down on plate. Cover with wet lettuce leaves to keep them from drying out. I stored them in the fridge under a damp paper towel, all covered with saran wrap.

These were so fun to make, and sooooo good! Turning appetizers into a main course is always a good idea.

Adventurous

Hmmmm

Sometimes it is obvious when a photograph is more suited for black and white rather than color or vice versa. This is something I've been learning just in the past three years since I got a digital camera. Before then I would shoot with black and white film only and was trained to look for shots that would look good in black and white. But the digital camera thing has opened up worlds of options!

But with options comes indecision. These are some photos on which I can't decide -- b&w or color? What do you think?

Recipe Thursday

My Mom and sister (who took this photo) made this recipe whilst in Paris and emailed it to me. First of all, I was jealous that they were in Paris. Second of all, as much as I like the food that I cook, I still miss food cooked by my parents. So here is the recipe, straight from my Gmail à la my sister's latest blog post.

From: mom @ emailaddress.com
Jun 19
Re: Great Recipe

Quinoa Black Bean Salad

Delicious, especially if you're a fan of black beans and limes like I am. Ingredients (use vegan versions):

Soph--we tried this quinoa black bean salad (without black beans) and it was pretty terriffic--kind of like the whole foods version !!--worth the effort--make a ton at a time !
LOVEMom

1 cup quinoa, washed & drained
2 cups water
1/4 cup olive oil
Juice of 2 fresh limes (or to taste)
1 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 can black beans, rinsed
1 1/2 cups cherry tomatoes (108-oz pkg), cut in half
5 green onions, finely chopped
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
Salt & pepper to taste
1. Wash & rinse quinoa. In a saucepan, bring quinoa & water to a boil. Reduce & simmer, cover & cook until all water is absorbed, about 10-15 minutes. Let cool.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together olive oil, lime juice, cumin, and red pepper flakes.
3. Combine cooled quinoa, beans, tomatoes, & onions in a large bowl. Drizzle dressing over salad and toss with cilantro. Season with salt & pepper and serve.

I haven't gotten around to making this yet, but it sounds really easy (I don't know why she said it was 'worth the effort,' though I suppose it takes more effort than a bowl of cereal which has been my go-to lately) and delicious! Especially if you love quinoa like me. I don't know why she said to use vegan ingredients since she's never mentioned veganism ever before, and I can't even think of any non-vegan versions of these ingredients, but whatev. Also, now I see where I get my affinity for hyphens and exclamation points!

Pre-Craigslist

A relic from the days before internet advertising.

Surface Tension Series

This caught my eye on the way into lab one morning -- they looked like diamonds suspended in the bushes!

Photo Monday: Cancer Camp Edition

I am back from cancer camp! Beautiful Colorado, great students, post-docs, and faculty from around the world, lots of learning, good food...it couldn't have been any better!

We managed to get some hiking in -- Aspen trees in the mountains of Snowmass.

Worked hard, played hard: 7am to 9:30pm with breaks for eating and hiking! This was one of the classrooms. Microscopes for everyone!

Went hiking at the beautiful Maroon Bells on our free day, then ventured into Aspen.

Free concert on the slopes outside our hotel!

Partying it up on the last night! Don't think scientists can't dance! It was a blast, but made for getting up at 4:15 yesterday morning quite difficult.