Korean Pancake Dipping Sauce, by Diane

 

This was the final part of our January Asian-inspired dinner. We had made a Korean kimchi pancake and needed a dipping sauce. This one turned out super well and was very easy to make! It would also be good for a dipping sauce for dumplings. Recipe from thefoodietakesflight.com

Ingredients:

1 tbsp soy sauce

1 tbsp water

1 tbsp rice vinegar

1 tsp sugar

1 tsp sesame oil

1/2 tsp sesame seeds

chopped scallion garnish

optional chili flakes

Directions:

Mix everything together until blended and adjust for taste!

Peanut Dipping Sauce, by Diane

 

This is not my photo but we forgot to take a good one here! This was a sauce for the Vietnamese Shrimp Summer Rolls we made for a big Asian-inspired dinner back in January. I customized this a lot, but the og recipe is from evolvingtable.com In the end it was awesome, so I suggest you tweak all ingredients until you're happy with the taste! I also added in chili crisp bc we love this!!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup smooth peanut butter

2 tbsp soy sauce

2 tbsp brown sugar

1 tbsp rice wine vinegar

1 clove minced garlic 

3-6 tbsp warm water

2 tbsp chili crisp

Directions:

1. Add all ingredients except water to a bowl and whisk until combined.

2. Slowly add in water 1 tbsp at a time until you get the desired consistency.

Vietnamese Shrimp Summer Rolls, by Diane

 

We made these back in January for an Asian-themed dinner. They are so simple to make, and you can customize as needed. We chose steamed shrimp for ease and they were a big hit! We served them with a peanut sauce which is posted here. These are my fave meals in the summer when it's hot out and you don't want to cook, only to eat something easy and cold. Yum!

Ingredients:

1 lb steamed shrimp, cleaned and deveined and chilled

1 package rice paper wrappers

hot water

1 package cooked rice noodles (we used vermicelli)

4 large carrots, shredded

1 head red butter leaf lettuce

2 large cucumbers, sliced into long matchsticks

1 bunch fresh cilantro

1 bunch fresh mint

Directions:

1. Have all your ingredients set to go in a line with a lightly greased try at the end to put the rolls on (the rolls get sticky as the set!). We found that lettuce on the bottom, noodles next, carrots/cucumber/cilantro/mint next, then shrimp last worked best! 

2. At the beginning of your line, have a large shallow pan filled with very warm water.

3. Soak a sheet of rice paper in the water until soft for a few seconds (if it doesn't get soft, the water isn't hot enough). Lay the circle out on a board.

4. At the bottom 1/3, lay down ingredients in the order as written above.

5. Wrap by folding over once, tucking in the sides, and the folding the rest of the way. Make sure it's as tight as possible without ripping the roll!

6. Serve chilled with a peanut sauce.

PB&J Smoothie, by Diane

 

I ran out of greens for my typical morning smoothie at the same time that this recipe popped up on my instagram from @thefeedfeed- kismet! This was a little more time to make since I had to make 2 batches, but it was really good! My only advice would be to use as little liquid as possible because both batches were a little thinner than I would like. I also added a little stevia to the berry portion because it was too tart for me. I loved it though and would definitely make it again!

Ingredients:

1 whole frozen banana

1 cup milk of choice (I used almond coconut- start at 1/2 cup and go up as needed to blend)

2 dates

1/4 tsp cinnamon

2 tbsp nut butter (I used almond)

4 tbsp oats

protein powder of choice (I used collagen)

2 cups frozen berries

1/2 lemon, juiced (I might skip this next time since it was tart)

1 cup water (again I would start at 1/2 cup and go up as needed to blend)

Directions:

1. Blend the banana through protein powder in one batch until smooth and creamy. Pour into a large glass and set aside.

2. Blend the remaining ingredients berries through water until smooth.

3. Using a large glass or mason jar, start by pouring 1/3 of the berry mixture in, then 1/2 the pb mixture, then alternate until it's all in. You can swirl it a bit if you need. I actually really liked drinking it unblended because it was nice to get both tastes in just like a real PB&J!