Baked Pork Egg Rolls

On our last trip to H-Mart, I picked up a package of egg roll wrappers.  I wasn't quite sure what I wanted to do with them, but after the Chinese New Year, I thought it may be fun to try a more traditional egg roll recipe - filled with pork and cabbage.



It turns out, making egg rolls is HARD!  I have instructions below on how to roll them, but it really isn't that simple.  I kept ripping the wrappers (maybe I needed to spread the filling out more?) and getting very frustrated.  I hate to admit it, but this might be my only egg roll adventure in the foreseeable future.  It's just so easy to buy them!



The taste, though, was really outstanding.  I was shocked how much the filling tasted like egg roll filling at a Chinese restaurant!  It was sweet and salty, just a little bit spicy, and I enjoyed the cabbage in it. I actually really liked eating the filling on its own (or over some white rice) just as much as in the egg rolls, so I may do that in the future as a quick throw together meal.  If you try this, let me know how it goes for you.  Do you have any tricks for rolling egg rolls?



Baked Pork Egg Rolls
from Ezra Pound Cake

Ingredients
1/4 c soy sauce
2 tbsp rice vinegar
1 tbsp light brown sugar
vegetable oil, for brushing on rolls
4 c cabbage coleslaw mix
1/2 c shredded carrots (I bought them pre-shredded)
4 garlic cloves, minched
1 tbsp fresh ginger, grated
sea salt and freshly ground pepper
1 lb ground pork
6 scallions, thinly sliced
16 egg roll wrappers (6-7" square)
1 large egg, lightly beaten
sweet-and-sour sauce or sweet red chili sauce for dipping

Instructions
1. In a small bowl, combine soy sauce, vinegar, and sugar. Set aside.
2. In a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium-high. Add coleslaw mix, carrots (if using), garlic, and ginger; season with salt and pepper. Cook, tossing, until vegetables are tender, 3 to 5 minutes.
3. Raise heat to high; add pork and soy mixture. Cook, tossing, until pork is no longer pink and liquid has evaporated, 5 to 7 minutes. Mix in scallions. Transfer mixture to a plate to cool.
4. Lay wrappers flat on a work surface, and assemble egg rolls. (See “how to” below.)
5. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Lightly oil a rimmed baking sheet; place egg rolls on sheet and brush with cup oil. Bake until golden, about 10 minutes. Serve with sweet-and-sour sauce and Chinese hot mustard.
Note: If baking from frozen, bake about 15 minutes.


How to Roll an Egg Roll






1. Place an egg-roll wrapper flat with one corner facing you.
2. Using a pastry brush, brush all four sides of the wrapper with egg.
3. Spoon 1/3 cup pork mixture near the corner closest to you. Fold that corner over the filling, and fold both side corners toward center of wrapper. (It should look like an open envelope.)
4. Tightly roll up filled pocket toward the far corner to close wrapper. Gently press down to seal the edges.
5. Repeat the process until you run out of filling or wrappers. Feel free to assemble up to 4 egg rolls at a time when you feel comfortable with the process.

German Red Cabbage

This is a recipe that my mom has made before and that I absolutely love.  She made it as a side dish for schnitzel with spätzle, which it is typical with.

This recipe is really easy. The originally recipe called to use whole peppercorns, allspice, and cloves, and add them to a bag with the bay leaf and remove them after cooking.  I already had ground cloves and a pepper grinder, and adding the ground version worked just fine for me.  I also didn't have allspice and didn't want to pay $6 for a tiny little jar so I used 1/4 tsp of cinnamon instead.

On that note, I did discover an amazing money-saving tip! At World Market, ANY spice, in a big jar, is only $2.99! Unfortunately they didn't have any allspice, but I was able to pick up some of the spices I needed for the rest of this meal.

This cabbage turned out delicious! The apple and sugar make it a little bit sweet and cooking the cabbage down for a long time gives it a different flavor and texture than when I make slaw.  I started the cabbage cooking and then just left it on low on the back burner while I made the rest of dinner - I only stirred it a couple times but mostly let it do its thing.  I love food that takes care of itself!

So what did I made to eat with this cabbage?  You'll have to stay tuned to see!

German Red Cabbage
Adjusted from All Recipes
Yield: 3 servings

Ingredients: 

1/2 medium head red cabbage, cored and sliced

1 large tart apples, peeled and sliced

1/2 medium sweet onion, sliced and separated into rings

3/4 cup water

1/2 cup cider vinegar

1/4 cup sugar

1-1/2 teaspoons butter

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 tsp ground peppercorns

1 tsp ground allspice

1 tsp ground cloves

1/2 bay leaf

1 teaspoon cornstarch

1 teaspoon cold water

Directions:

In a Dutch oven, toss cabbage, apples and onion. Add water, vinegar, sugar, butter and salt. Add the peppercorns, allspice, cloves and bay leaf. Add to Dutch oven. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 1-1/4 hours.

Remove bay leaf. In a small bowl, combine cornstarch and cold water until smooth; stir in cabbage mixture. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 1-2 minutes or until thickened.

Fish Tacos with Latin Slaw for two

Tonight I needed a nice simple dinner, just for me.  I still have lots of cabbage left from before the farmer's market closed for its spring hiatus, so I decided this would be a good week to continue to try new types of slaw.

This recipe looked super simple, and the ingredients were pretty minimal. Fish tacos are my mom's absolute favorite at the Cheesecake Factory, but this is definitely a trimmed down and healthier version!

By way, because I know a lot of friends have asked me before, this is a tomatillo.  It's like the green apple of tomatoes - it's more tart than a big red tomato and it's itty bitty. It comes with a skin on it that you have to peel off.  I love to use tomatillos in guacamole instead of tomato.

Although the original recipe called for a lot of patient, 3-hour marinating, I decided to cut all that out.  The only "marinating time" I allowed for was the time while I ran on the treadmill - and I am definitely not running 3 hours at a time.

I also tried to kick up the spice because...well because I always kick up the spice.  I definitely still could have used some Chulula on my taco.

Also, I got some great grocery deals!  Tilapia was only ~$2 for a filet, and I got the greek yogurt (I used Yoplait) for free by combining a store sale with a coupon!  I also got $15 worth of matzoh for free by spending $25 at the grocery store - all ready for my Passover seder (and some matzoh brie)!!

These tacos were really good.  I loved the slaw and the chipotle-greek yogurt sauce had a great flavor while keeping the tacos light and healthy.  I didn't even miss the rice in the Cheesecake Factory version!

And what did I do with the extra 1/2 avocado?  Ate it with a spoon, of course :)  Man, I love avocado!  It was a great "appetizer" for these tasty tacos.

Fish Tacos with Latin Slaw

Adapted from Eighty Twenty

Serves 2 (4 tacos)

2 tilapia (or other white fish) filet

1/4 cup white wine

1-2 tbsp lime juice (~1 limes)

2 tsp cumin

1 tsp crushed red chili flakes

1 tsp chili powder

4 -8" whole wheat tortillas

Latin Slaw

1 cup shredded purple and green cabbage

1/4 cup onion, sliced
1/2 avocado, sliced
1 tomatillo, peeled and diced

1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and diced

1 tbsp low fat mayonnaise

3 tbsp lime juice (~1 1/2 limes)

1 tsp apple cider vinegar

2 tsp olive oil

1 tsp salt

1 tsp freshly ground pepper
1 tsp cumin

Sauce

6 oz fat free Greek yogurt

1 tbsp chipotle seasoning

Instructions:

Marinate fish filets in white wine, lime juice, and cumin in the refrigerator, at least 2 hours or overnight.

For slaw: Mix together cabbage, onion, avocado, tomatillo and jalapeño in a large bowl. In a small bowl whisk together lime juice, mayonnaise, oil, vinegar, cumin, salt, and pepper. Add to dry ingredients and refrigerate until ready to use.

For sauce: mix chipotle seasoning into yogurt and refrigerate until ready to use.

Grill fish filets until done (~2 1/2 min on the Foreman), then cut into 2" thick strips. Microwave flour tortillas covered by a damp paper towel for ~30 seconds, or until soft.

Add 2 tbsp sauce to tortilla, then add fish. On top add 1/4 cup Latin Slaw.  Enjoy!

Potato, Green Cabbage, and Leek Soup with Lemon Crème Fraîche (or Sour Cream)

 

There were a couple reasons I decided to make this soup.  I wanted to make something fairly light, and one of my farmer's market purchases this week was a big head of green cabbage, so I wanted to find something to utilize some of it, while still leaving some to make Asian Slaw later this week.

Now, I could have used this cabbage for some St. Patty's Day corned beef and cabbage, but that just didn't sound very good.  I wanted some soup.

And I wanted a nice hardy soup, that I could eat for dinner.  I tried to make potato leek soup for the first time during snowmaggedon, but I wanted to find a recipe that didn't use heavy cream to cut down on the calories.

This recipe uses cabbage instead of cream (it didn't make much sense to me either - but it worked!)  The soup is super creamy!  Especially because I got to use my new gift to myself....

My new immersion blender!  Isn't it pretty?  And it worked great!  Let's be honest, the real reason I made this soup was so that I could try it out.  But totally was a good choice because this soup was SO GOOD!  I used light sour cream instead of crème fraîche because it is way cheaper and has about 1/4 of the calories.  The lemony sour cream just made this soup, and the cabbage you garnish it with is super tasty.  LOVED IT, this is one recipe I will definitely make again!! I licked the bowl clean!

Potato, Green Cabbage, and Leek Soup with Lemon Crème Fraîche (or Sour Cream)

Halved from epicurious

yield: Makes 3 servings

Ingredients

1/4 cup crème fraîche or sour cream

1/2 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1/8 teaspoon finely grated lemon peel

1 tablespoon (1/8 stick) butter, divided

1/2 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

3 cups diced green cabbage (1/2-inch dice; from about 1/4 medium head)

1½  cups chopped leeks (white and pale green parts only; 1½ to 2 large)

1½ large garlic cloves, pressed

1½ cups 1/2-inch cubes peeled Yukon Gold potatoes (about 3/4 pounds) (I used white potatoes because they were cheaper)

1/2 2 x 2-inch piece Parmesan cheese rind (optional, I left it out)

1/2 Turkish bay leaf

3 cups (or more) low-salt chicken broth

1 tablespoons chopped fresh chives (for garnish)

Instructions

Whisk crème fraîche, lemon juice, and lemon peel in small bowl to blend. Cover and chill. DO AHEAD: Can be made 4 hours ahead. Keep chilled.

Melt 1/2 tablespoon butter with 1/2 tablespoon olive oil in heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Add cabbage; sprinkle lightly with salt and freshly ground black pepper and sauté until cabbage is almost tender but not brown, 6 to 8 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer 1/2 cup cabbage to small bowl and reserve for garnish.

Add 1/2 tablespoon butter to pot with cabbage; add leeks and garlic. Sauté over medium heat until leeks soften slightly, about 3 minutes. Stir in potatoes, Parmesan rind, if desired, and bay leaf. Add 3 cups broth; bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low; cover and simmer until all vegetables are tender, 20 to 25 minutes. Discard Parmesan rind, if using, and bay leaf. Working in batches, puree soup in blender (or use an immersion blender in the original pot) until smooth. Return puree to pot. Simmer until heated through, adding more broth by 1/8 cupfuls to thin soup to desired consistency. Season with salt and pepper.

Ladle soup into bowls. Top each serving with some of reserved sautéed cabbage. Drizzle crème fraîche mixture over soup; sprinkle with chives and serve.

Asian Slaw with Roasted Peanuts

One of my favorite salads is Asian Slaw.  There are lots of recipes that I have tried - most of which used Nappa Cabbage - but this one was a little bit different.  It used 2 types of cabbage - green and purple - both of which I was able to find at my new favorite farmer's market.



It also used peanuts which add an awesome flavor.  This is definitely my new favorite slaw recipe - it was so good!  For the fresh vegetables I used bell pepper (green and red) and spinach.  I love all the fun colors and this dressing was the jam!  The lime segments and lime juice made it super fresh.  I can't wait to hit up the farmer's market again next week so I can make some more!

Asian Slaw with Roasted Peanuts

From Rebecca Crump (EzraPoundCake.com)

Serves 6 to 8

Ingredients:

3 cups green cabbage, shredded (about half a small cabbage)

3 cups red cabbage, shredded (about half a small cabbage)

2 cups fresh vegetables (chopped baby spinach, bell pepper strips, snow peas, shredded carrots)

1/4 cup green onions, minced

1 lime, segmented and chopped

Freshly ground black pepper

1/4 cup unsalted roasted peanuts, chopped

Dressing: 

1/4 cup vegetable or peanut oil

3 tablespoons rice wine vinegar (or white wine vinegar)

Juice of 1/2 lime

2 tablespoons sesame oil

1 tablespoon fresh ginger, finely grated

1 to 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar

1/2 tablespoon soy sauce

Instructions:

1. In a large bowl, combine the cabbages, spinach, green onions and lime segments. Toss.

2. In a small bowl or food processor, combine the oil, rice wine vinegar, lime juice, sesame oil, ginger, brown sugar and soy sauce.

3. Toss the slaw with the dressing, season with freshly ground black pepper, and add the roasted peanuts.