Finger Food

I am sorry about my absence from posting new recipes…I assure you that I have been cooking and baking but with a recent move to London, Ontario and a graduation on the horizon I have put a few things on the back burner.  One being bathing and the other, blogging.

I am still working on the one neglect, but I am about to bring blogging back with a bang…

After a very in depth conversation with my significant other about the dexterity of chopsticks (I mean they are just “extensions of the fingers“) we made the pledge to never eat with or have forks in our new abode.  Not only do chopsticks slow down every meal by forcing you to eat smaller bites, they make for a more gentle way of eating.  Rather than stabbing the food with three little sprigs, they just grasp onto the edges and make for a smooth and pleasant entrance into our cavities, or mouths…

Okay maybe we have gone too far…But let me tell you, we have had plenty of time to come up with reasonings for our “no fork household.”

It’s BYOF, people.  Or Bring Your Own Fork.

Meals have been very interesting as a result…But after a month of no fork action we have become quite skilled with our extended fingers.

As much as we like to put pressure on our dinner guests by serving sunny side up eggs or lasagna with a side of chopsticks, the need to make friends over enemies in this new city has become a priority and thus finger food is always a good option.

The other night we opted for a more time consuming dish but it was definitely worth every second of assembly.

We made fresh rolls. The perfect alternative to the deep fried version of spring rolls for a warm evening.

Fresh rolls are like wraps; they can be filled with anything your heart desires but before you start listening to that heart of yours you HAVE to try my combinations with raw parsnip rice as they were out of this world amazing.

Semi-Raw Summer Salad Rolls

Raw Parsnip Rice

* From Choosing Raw‘s Raw Parsnip Sushi Rice — I used tahini instead of almond butter and it was so so good. My mouth is watering just thinking about it.  The “rice” was refreshing and earthy, amazing for the first warm spring evening.

Baked Sweet Potato Straws

* Peel and julienne one large sweet potato.  Lay on a parchment lined baking sheet and drizzle a little olive oil, and sprinkle on salt and pepper.  Bake at 425 degrees for about 15 minutes or until lightly browned; turn over and continue baking until all sides have browned and the centres are soft, another 15 minutes or so.

Tofu strips

* Cut into very thin strips

Vegetarian pate (optional but a delicious addition if it is on hand)

Grated Beet

Avocado slivers

Spinach leaves

Sunflower sprouts (or any other kind of sprout)

Rice wrappers

1. Boil water and then set up your rolling station with three plates (one for soaking, one for rolling, and one for the finished product,) and your filling ingredients so that they are easily accessible.

2. Pour a little bit of hot water onto the bottom of the plate and place one rice wrapper into the water.  Press down the edges to assure that the whole bottom gets soaked (about 30 seconds) and then turn over.  Soak on the other side for another 30 seconds or until the wrapper is completely see-through and malleable.

3. Transport to the rolling plate and put a couple teaspoons of the “rice mixture” in a line in the centre of the wrapper.  Top with a little grated beet, some strips of tofu, avocado and some sprouts.  You don’t want to fill the wraps up too much or it will be nearly impossible to close.

4. Fold over the filling on each side so that the ends are covered.

5. And then cover the ingredients horizontally and roll tightly to the end.

5. Continue filling and wrapping with different combinations or until all the ingredients are used, or you feel like you have enough…Or you are quite frankly just sick and tired of wrapping.  To speed up the process I made sure I was soaking one wrapper while prepping another one so that when that one was finished I could just continue on rather than waiting to soak another.

6. Serve with almond butter dipping sauce ** or any other sauce you like.

Spicy Almond Dipping sauce

2 tbsp. almond butter

2 tsp. miso paste

1 dash fish sauce (remove for vegan version)

1 tsp. ginger powder 

1 tsp. garlic powder

chili flakes, to taste

hot water

1. Combine all ingredients in a bowl except for hot water.  Slowly whisk in the hot water until desired consistency is reached.

Enjoy these as an appetizer or as a meal with a side salad.  And remember, don’t discourage your guests from using their hands. It’s allowed!

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