Tiny House Creature #5
Spring rolls and disco balls!
Ready… Set… Quickfire garden update!
What we’re harvesting:
Radishes: mostly to put on buttered sourdough toast then sprinkle with fancy salt.
Kale: now that it isn’t being totally destroyed by cabbage worms we actually have some to harvest.
Rhubarb: the last harvest is going in the freezer!
Herbs: thyme, cilantro, basil, mint, parsely, tarragon, chives, and DILL! The dill was the first thing to go in my new dehydrator.
Cut. Dried. Dillbert. (and Cricket) Chamomile: to make my favorite summer nighttime tea - fresh chamomile, fresh mint, and a generous spoonful of sugar.
June Berries: from my neighbor’s tree at the end of our block… shhhhh.
Cucumber - the first English cucumber was used in the recipe below!
Coming very soon… snap peas, and snow peas.
Fresh Spring (summer) Rolls
There is no other dinner that feels more appropriate to talk about right now… it’s got to be spring rolls! There are three main reasons I love spring roll night:
I can eat a salad without eating a salad.
I don’t have to stand in front of the stove when its 90 degrees outside.
Peanut sauce. (“recipe” below)
Spring rolls are super flexible. In my opinion, the only things that are absolute requirements are rice paper wrappers (Three Ladies Brand is far superior to all other kinds, sorrynotsorry) and some kind of large leaf green, like lettuce or cabbage. Get creative with your fillings!
This is my regular filling combo:
And here is how I roll it up:
These spring rolls deserve the best sauce ever. But I’ll be honest, I’ve never actually measured the ingredients in my peanut sauce, so here are my best guesstimates. Stir it all up and taste as you go!
1/2 cup natural peanut butter
3 Tbsp soy sauce
2 Tbsp rice vinegar or lime juice (or both)
1 Tbsp sambal oelek or sriracha
1 Tbsp chili crisp
1/4-1/2 cup hot water (to desired thickness)
Get a Disco Ball
While at a local gift shop picking up some gifts and cards, I noticed a basket of 7” disco balls. Although this felt like a ridiculous spontaneous purchase, I now want disco balls everywhere. It makes me extremely happy.
I put this one in the south-facing window of my dining room, so it gets great sunlight. I thought to myself, “is this weird…? Is it odd how excited I am about putting disco balls in my home?” But when I searched the internet, it told me that no, I wasn’t weird. In fact, there are dozens of articles about how to incorporate the disco life into your decor. This one is my personal favorite, because Apartment Therapy thinks everyone should have a disco ball under their coffee table, in their bathroom, and on their couch among all their pillows.
Vegetarian Summer Cooking on The Splendid Table
Hetty Lui McKinnon is my personal kitchen goddess, so of course I’m going to recommend her latest guest spot on The Splendid Table podcast. She answers listener questions, and talks cooking-while-camping. She even allowed TST to put her Eggplant Char Siu recipe on their website - this recipe is out of her latest cookbook, Tenderheart, and I already had it double bookmarked.
I’ll be back in two weeks with a full-size House Creature for paid subscribers! Not a paid subscriber yet? Join in so you don’t miss out!
Luther and I have recently become radish lovers! Yours from the garden are so pretty!