Vegetarian Summer Rolls

Happy Monday Everyone!

There is nothing like bathing suit weather to make you want to scale back and eat healthier. 

I swear if I lived closer to the equator I would be one hot mama.

With the stress of wearing bathing suits and shorts, comes the natural instinct to add more fruit and vegetables, and eliminate the macaroni and cheese based diet that I follow the rest of the year.

Here is a tasty, crowd friendly snack, that serves as a nice alternative to the regular crudite platter seen at most summer barbeques.

You can mix and match the type of vegetables you use, and add shrimp or crabmeat if you are feeling fancy.

I serve this with a spicy peanut sauce, but feel free to use any asian-style dipper.

Store bought makes it even easier!

Recipe:
Yields 14 rolls

Ingredients:
7 sheets of rice paper (found in any Asian section of most supermarkets)
Three Carrots, cut into matchsticks, or peeled into strips
One Cucumber, cut into matchsticks
One Red Pepper, cut into matchsticks
28 Chives, or a green onions cut into strips
1-2 ripe avocado, sliced into thin strips
One handful of cilantro, chopped
Toasted Sesame Seeds

Other options: Radishes, Green or Yellow Squash, Shrimp or Crabmeat; add rice vermicelli....

Directions:
1. Prepare all of your vegetables; cutting into strips or peeling into strips
2. Set up your workstation; I use one deep plate for soaking the rice paper, one for rolling, a cutting board for cutting and lastly the serving platter.
3. Working with, and soaking one sheet of rice paper at a time in water, soak until pliable; lay vegetables in a stack in the center of the rice paper (about 1/4 way down), tuck one edge of the rice paper under the vegetables and roll tightly, folding in the ends as you go. Fight the urge to overstuff or the rice paper will rip.
Once rolled, cut in half and place on serving platter.
4. Once all of the rolls are complete, sprinkle with sesame seeds
5. Serve immediately with dipping sauce

Enjoy!