Thursday

Garden of Eden Spring Rolls with Creamy Peanut-Ginger Dipping Sauce



Do you love Spring?  


I do!

The explosion of colors and bursts of new life everywhere make my heart very happy.


Violas and Pansies are among the first to bloom here ~ these little jewels reseed themselves each year in abundance all over the garden. Since we garden organically with no chemicals, the flowers are edible.


 In case you're wondering, the dogs and chickens are not allowed in this part of the garden. ;-)  










Spring and Summer mean lighter meals around here, so you can probably guess where I'm going with this.






Garden of Eden Spring Rolls filled with all kinds of colorful goodness and herbs. And the bonus is ~  there no real "cooking" involved, just boil the rice noodles for 3 minutes.
The rest is a matter of rinsing the greens, discarding the tough stems, a little bit of slicing and you're ready to "roll".


This one is a combination of a couple of Spring Roll recipes, and close to the one found in the Whole Foods cookbook.
(Theirs are called Garden of Eva Spring Rolls.)


If you are gluten sensitive, it's your lucky day as these rolls (and the rice noodles in the filling) are naturally gluten free.






The wrappers (skins) are made from Tapioca flour (Manioc) and can be found in a well stocked supermarket, or Asian food store.





Brittle and translucent out of the package, they become pliable and soft when soaked for 30 seconds in very hot water, and then are ready to fill and roll.





I serve them with a simple peanut sauce;  Creamy peanut butter, finely grated ginger, sugar (or your favorite sweetener), soy sauce, lime juice, water ~ and chilies if you want it spicy.  This time, because of the delicately flavored flower blossoms, I made it without the chilies.





The ingredients for the filling are finely sliced Napa cabbage (you can use green cabbage, too), baby spinach leaves, Thai or regular basil leaves, fresh cilantro leaves, flat leaf parsley, fresh mint, thinly sliced scallions, edible flowers, and rice/bean thread noodles.






You can use any kind of organic edible petals or small flowers.

If you don't have access to edible flowers you can omit them and substitute a combination of bean sprouts, finely grated carrots, and perhaps some shredded purple cabbage.







I definitely need practice rolling the wrappers ~ they are slippery after soaking ~ making them a little more challenging to roll than Egg Roll wrappers, in my opinion.

But it doesn't matter how neatly they are rolled, they still taste fabulous . . .





Supremely fresh and healthy!






If you would like a printable copy of the recipe, you'll find it on the Once Upon a Plate Recipe Blog.

Thank you for coming by to visit today! 
~ mari











22 comments:

  1. Amazing! Those pansies are so pretty in spring rolls. I would have never thought of something like this.

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  2. G-o-r-g-e-o-u-s!! I would swoon to have these in front of me.

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  3. As always, absolutely stunning. Yes, I love spring! Love spring rolls too.

    Velva

    P.S. Would you mind if I used one of your photos for my Wordless Wednesday post again? I am in awe of your photos. You have a way of making food come alive.

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  4. All I can say to this one is WOW!!! Wish I could put that in a HUGE font!! Absolutely beautiful! :)

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  5. STUNNING! I mean these are truly amazing. I can't imagine the patience it required to put these together. I'm also not sure I could eat anything this beautiful. I could force myself though. ;-)

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  6. Well, you've done it. You've made something too pretty to eat! I'll have to email you about my wine tasting mix-up, its too embarrasing to share here.

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  7. This truly does go into the "food as art" category. These are beautiful and I would love that sauce on just about anything! These would be so impressive for guests!

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  8. ***GASP***

    WOW - These are the most beautiful spring rolls I've ever seen. You never fail to amaze me, Mari. I'm in awe!

    I'm looking forward to your first cookbook.

    :)
    ButterYum

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  9. This is not food... It is ART!
    Breathtaking!
    Yvonne

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  10. These are absolutely stunning Mari!!!I could have seen these being served with mejong tea at a royal tea party.

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  11. Mary, I have never seen prettier spring rolls.

    Ann

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  12. What a beautiful way to pretty up spring rolls..Mary.. like your painted cookies..fondue in s quash.. almond cake.. etc.. you have just five *****'d this dish.
    It's on the...
    Honor Roll:)

    Ils sont tellement beaux!

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  13. Unbelievably lovely! These look and sound incredibly delicious! What a fun appetizer this would be in a mini size for a party!

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  14. Those are the most beautiful spring rolls I have ever seen!!! :)

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  15. Thank you soo much for your amazing comments ~ I know I have some of the nicest friends and visitors in blog-land. I am very grateful for your support. ((hugs))

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  16. I'm in AWE...love your sweet violas peeking thru the wrappers! These are too beautiful to eat~

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  17. That's one of the most beautiful foods I think I've ever seen...I don't even think I could eat it, wouldn't want to ruin it!

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  18. These spring rolls are so beautiful!! I know they tasted great also. What a lovely presentation.

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  19. I really want to try and make these this summer! I have a good source for organic flowers.

    Thanks again for yet another amazing idea!!!

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Thank you for your comments, friends ~ they make my day!

A Sampling of my food . . .

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