an all-time fave.

yelena and i began making spring rolls in college. yes, we know you call them summer rolls in new york and other northern cities, but in vietnamese shops in houston, they are spring rolls. after ordering them 1000 times, we soon learned that, with a quick trip to an asian market (there are tons in houston, many not far from where we lived at the time), we could whip them up ourselves.

they live on as one of my favorite things to make. maybe because i like a food that houses itself (can we say burrito?), but also because it's easy and cathartic to put it all together, and it's fast and not terribly unhealthy. 

this time i stuffed them with carrot, cucumber, tofu (not fried), steamed kale, and vermicelli. 

i couldn't help but get the "three ladies brand" of rice papers last week. i mean, it's beautiful packaging for rice papers. and then i ate probably 6(!!) of them with a spicy peanut sauce (peanut butter, tamari, sriracha, garlic powder, sugar, and hot water).

so damn good. every single time.