slaw is such a gross word to me... slaw... slaw... slaw... gross

today i made a slaw of sorts for our healthy sunday pot luck... the slaw started as pad thai spring rolls with spicy almond dipping sauce, but i didn't have any rice paper... instead i used rice noodles and threw everything together in a bowl... it was pretty ugly... things like slaw and goulash tend to be ugly i think... here is the recipe.

Pad Thai Spring Rolls with Spicy almond dipping Sauce Serves 5 (two rolls each) a Crystal recipe
Marinade
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice ; 3 ½ tablespoons honey; 1 ½ soy sauce ; 1 ½ tablespoons minced ginger; 1 tablespoon hot chili sauce; 1 tablespoon olive oil ; ¼ teaspoon sea salt
Blend all ingredients in a high-speed blender and set aside
Veggie “Noodles”
1 zucchini finely julienned ; 1 cup red cabbage shredded; 1 carrot finely julienned; 1 red pepper finely julienned; 1 ½ cups shredded coconut meat; 2 tablespoons cilantro chopped; 1 avocado julienned
In large bowl, place all the ingredients and toss with the marinade. Allow to marinate for at least one hour.
Spicy Almond dipping sauce
1 cup almonds; 1 tablespoon ginger minced; 2 cloves garlic minced; 1 tablespoon hot chili pepper sauce; 2 tablespoons lemon juice; 2 tablespoons honey; 1 tablespoon Braggs soy sauce; ½ cup water; Pinch sea salt; Pinch pepper
Assembling the spring rolls
Fill a salad bowl ¼ full with warm water. Soak a rice paper wrap in the warm water. Soak until very flexible but not rubbery. Make sure not to over soak the rice paper. If the rice paper is over soaked it will brake when wrapping the veggies. It is best to soak one rice paper wrap one at a time. Lay the soaked rice paper wrap on a cutting board surface. Place one slice of avocado in the center of the rice paper wrap. You will see the avocado from the out side when the spring roll is served. Place a small handful of the marinated veggie mix on top of the avocado. Organize the veggies in a row like form that is about 3 inches long. Fallowing the line of the veggies, spoon two tablespoons of spicy almond sauce on top. Fold both the outer sides of the rice side around the veggies, avocado and sauce. Fold the side that is closest to you over the veggies tightly, and continue to roll until you have a tight wrap. Serve two together on a plate.

p.s. i added fresh basil and mint leaves... also i added the thickness from a can of coconut milk to the almond sauce...

the slaw improved balance...

produced joy

and encouraged grace.