I’ve officially crossed over from novice blogger to experienced blogger. This comes thanks to Kristen’s (of Dine and Dish) great program, “Adopt-a-Blogger”. Kristen founded this program to pair experienced bloggers with novice bloggers in a sort of mentoring program. I missed being a novice (though I had some wonderful mentoring from Lydia — THANK YOU LYDIA!). And now I’m *experienced*.
So without further ado, let me introduce you to my adoptee: Katie from Eat This. She hails from a small town outside of East Lansing. She’s cooking up a storm of whole grain and natural foods while finishing up her PhD in neuroscience. I’m psyched to try some of her recipes because she’s cooking with interesting yet common ingredients, inspiring me to get out of my usual ruts. You know, things like venison, jicama and bulgur. Also, very cool — she has a "cookbook of the month." Each month she cooks several recipes out of one cookbook… it's a great way to really delve into one particular style or theme. So check out her blog and say hello!
Honestly, I still feel like a novice blogger… just this week I'll celebrate my one year blogiversary. As I peruse Katie’s site, it looks like she’s figured out a lot of the technical things of blogging that I’m still working on (like widgets). Since I know that so many of you are more experienced blogging than me, I ask:
What advice would you offer the novice?
__________________________
I never posted these Vietnamese Spring Rolls that I made during my cooking class in Hanoi.
¼ pound ground pork
¼ pound peeled and deveined shrimp
1 small bundle of glass noodles
2 eggs
5 scallions
1 handful wood ear mushrooms
1 handful dried shiitake
½ carrot
½ kohlrabi
½ small onion
4 small shallots
4 garlic cloves
Handful cilantro
1 tsp fish sauce3
1 tsp. black pepper
2 tbs. oil
1 pack rice paper
Vegetable oil for frying
1. Soak Mushrooms in warm water for 15 minutes
2. Soften glass noodles in a bowl of hot water. When soft, drain and set aside
3. Remove woody stems from mushrooms, and slice thinly.
4. Chop onions, shallots, garlic, cilantro and scallions. Combine in a bowl with the mushrooms.
5. Chop shrimp finely, and add along with pork to above mix.
6. Cut glass noodles into short lengths and add to the mix along with bean sprouts and remaining ingredients (except rice paper and vegetable oil for frying).
7. Mix well and let rest for 10 minutes.
8. Dip each sheet of rice paper in hot water for 30 seconds. Place a spoonful of the mixture onto the paper. Tuck in the ends and roll into a tight cylinder. Continue until all the mix is used up.
9. To fry: heat about 2 cups of oil in a frying pan. When it’s hot, a chopstick will sizzle when placed in oil. Put spring rolls into the oil, seam side down. Fry until golden brown, turning continually with a low fire.