Food Star of the Week

As many of you know, I collect cookbooks but I have a unique inability to follow recipes. I adore the idea of recipes but I rarely follow them completely.  I do, however, find a lot of inspiration from recipes, cookbooks, and food blogs. And then I harness that inspiration to make many strange recipes, some of which I have shared here.

This recipe I am about to share, though, is not just another one of "Emily's weird ingredient combination experiments." THIS ONE IS REALLY, REALLY GOOD! Trust me!  Especially if you like vegetables and curry.

First, let's say hello to the ingredients:

-2 tablespoons of Trader Joe's Thai Red Curry Sauce {or any other brand}

-1 cup spinach

-1 large zucchini

-1 medium to large tomato

-Rice paper

-1 cup Bean sprouts

-1/2 cup Alfalfa sprouts

-Black pepper SPAM {completely optional}

I am really into sprouts lately and currently have 8 trays of sprouts growing on my kitchen counter. They are a source of endless fascination for me.  And they are delicious!  I want to find more recipes that include sprouts.  But instead of looking in a cookbook or online like a normal person, I just make up sprout recipes instead!  Here's a look at my Tuesday night eats....

1.  Chop up the tomato and saute it with 1 tablespoon of Thai Red Curry Sauce.

Saute it until the tomatoes are very soft.

2.  Chop up your zucchini in long, thin strips. Or, if you happen to have a giant collection of semi-obscure kitchen gadgets, use one of those!  {I have a very large collection of obscure kitchen gadgets, and I really do love this spiralizer!}

3. Now add the zucchini to the tomato mixture.  Add another tablespoon of Thai Red Curry Sauce.  Saute until the zucchini is fully cooked and incorporated.  5-10 minutes.

4.  It's spinach and SPROUT TIME!  Add about 1 cup of spinach and 1 cup of bean/legume sprouts!  Cook for another 2 minutes.  Remove the mixture from heat to let it cool before you wrap it!  The next part is 100% optional.

5.  Sometimes when I'm at the grocery store, I grab unique items with no clear plan of how to make use of them.  Yesterday I happened to grab a container of black pepper SPAM.  I eat SPAM a few times a year and I like it. 

The black pepper/pork flavor was excellent in these wraps.  I fried up a few TINY pieces.  

6.  Wrapping time has now arrived.  Follow the package instructions on your circular rice paper.  My instructions said to dip the rice paper circle in warm water for 5 seconds.  Being completely unable to follow instructions, I held my rice paper circle under the sink for about 30 seconds.  This was not a good idea.  Just follow the instructions on your package.

7.  Load up your wraps!  I put the SPAM on the bottom, then the veggie mix, and then some alfalfa sprouts on top.  Then I wrapped up a few yummy wraps!  So, so, so good.  Quick tip DO NOT OVERFILL THE WRAPS.

Delicious!  They were such a tasty treat! YUM YUM YUM!

PS:  Extra sprout info - I've been ordering my sprouts online from Amazon.  The company is Sprout House.  I have had terrific success with high germination rates {meaning nearly all the seeds really do turn into sprouts}. I highly recommend Sprout House sprouts if you want to enter the joyful world of sprouting.  Email or comment if you'd like additional sprouting info.