Spring Rolls

soak the rice wraps individually in warm water

spread on a clean towel & fill with rice noodles & whatever else you like (we did tofu, carrots, cucumber, mint & basil)

get an assembly line of friends to fill & wrap (note home made peanut sauce for dipping)

Voila--spring rolls! Dip, eat, repeat.

I've heard these called spring and summer rolls...but whatever they're called, they're easy & AMAZING! Our friends Annie & Steve showed up with many of the fixins and showed us how to do it. We got a little assembly line going, disproving the "too many cooks spoils the broth" theory and demonstrating that group cooking is lots of fun! We made 2 big batches of these babies. Not the best photos but we were too busy to be artsy.

Beet Juice

Beets, carrots, lime, ginger. Ain't it beautiful? Tasted good, too.

Sweet sweet potato soup

Thanks to the farmer's market this past weekend, we had lovely soup, which was awesome on this rainy rainy evening.

2 sweet potatoes, quartered & baked
1 apple, cored, peeled and baked
garlic cloves, peeled and roasted
olive oil
onion
celery
carrots
lemon
garam masala
cumin
vegetable broth
mint (courtesy of our yard)

Roast potatoes, apple, and garlic at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes. Allow potatoes to cool & remove skins. Simmer veg broth, onions, olive oil, celery, and carrots in a big pot. Blend potatoes, apple, garlic, and a bit of broth in a food processor. Add to soup pot. Add spices. Bring to boil. Add lemon zest. Add sprig of mint for garnish.