Spring rolls

I love spring rolls, they are a super easy way to eat vegetables and lets face it, fun to both make and eat.
My problem is that Mr. Beam doesn't like them, there is something about the texture of the rice wrapper that he doesn't like, so I make them when he's not home.

I had the chicken in the fridge from when I made chicken stock the day before. I use stewing hens (older laying hens that become dinner when they stop laying), and their meat isn't as tender as the younger birds most people are used to eating. They need to be cooked longer and slower for them to have the best texture, which makes them perfect for chicken stocks and soups.

I also cut up some carrots and green onions into matchsticks.

I try different brands of rice paper every time I go to Uwajimaya, this is what I had on hand, I really haven't found too much of a difference in brands.  I didn't think to get a picture of it but, I fill a pie pan (or something similar) with hot water, when I'm ready to assemble the rolls I take one of the dried wrappers and submerge it in the water for a few seconds, how fast it softens depends on the paper and the water temperature, but it is usually 5 to 10 seconds, you don't want it to get mushy or it will tear before you can wrap it into a roll.

You lay the softened paper down and clump your other ingredients on to one side, I do the chicken first, then the carrots, green onion, and finally my lettuce (which is spinach this time).  To wrap it you fold the closest edge over the top of the veggies and meat. You then roll it to the middle and fold each side inward to seal the sides and continue rolling to the end. Then repeat with the next roll. I hope that's not confusing, I might have to do a picture tutorial for you next time.

I make a quick peanut sauce with peanut butter and  soy sauce (and a few other things) and I enjoy. Spring rolls are super versatile, you can put anything you want on the inside and just roll them up. I use whatever vegetables I have on hand, and have even made them vegetarian on occasion. You can also make them a little ahead of time, but I wouldn't keep them longer than 2 or 3 hours or the rolls will start to dry out,  I'll have to experiment with different containers to see if you can keep them till the next day, maybe a moist paper towel in a zip lock would work.

Tuna fish with Vegetables

There are days when I'm too tired to cook anything, you know the ones, where you've been pulled in too many directions and do not  have enough time to finish everything.
Mr. Beam was working, I had finally gotten home and just felt like crashing into bed, until my stomach cramped. I needed to eat something, preferably something with vegetables, as I hadn't really eaten much all day. Over the passed few years I've been trying to eat better, cutting out excess sugars and junk food but, it can be hard when you want something fast and simple.

My solution? Tuna Fish sandwich with added veggies.

I've got grated carrots, chopped celery, green onion, dill pickles, canned tuna, mayo, and Dijon mustard.  I couldn't think of anything else to put in there (at least from what I had in my fridge) but I'm sure you could add different vegetables to it as well.

I probably wouldn't add as much carrot next time, it turned out very sweet and carrot-y (And orange- Orange tuna fish is a little weird).

I like my Gluten free sandwich bread toasted, and I piled on the tuna-veggie concoction. It was tasty and filling and, other than the Mayo, good for me. 

Lemon meringue pie

Just a quick post.

I made lemon meringue pie today, but not your typical lemon meringue, I only had brown sugar instead of white. Other than it looking a little brown, both inside and out, it tasted amazing...

This is the only picture I have of it, taken with my phone and sent to Mr. Beam as a tease.
It's on my list to make again, maybe then I'll get the recipe and more (good) photos for you :)