Merry Christmas Everyone!

Housewarming gift for J+T

This embellished fibre art is roughtly 6"x6".

1 Crochet, 2 Knit = 3 gifts

These are some of the items I knit (and crochet) for Christmas presents this year.

How to make Rice Paper Rolls

J1 was in town for 4.5 days, and I kept harrassing her about what I should make for her to eat. I promised to make some Salad Rolls (with Chicken), I've been told they're actually called Rice Paper Rolls by J3. Either way, this is how I make my version:
Step 1: Get yourself some Rice Paper, any variety should look like this.
Step 2: To reconstitute the rice paper, you'll need to soak it in some warm water. I put a small pan on low while I make the rolls, just so I don't have to keep running hot water from the tap.
Step 3: Make some vermicelli, this also comes dry. Soak in hot water, until soft, this can take a couple minutes.
Step 4: Have your veggies prepared ahead of time. I use english cucumber, red pepper, carrots and lettuce.
Step 5: Lay your rice paper on a plate, the lay a piece of lettuce on it. My plate is white, so its hard to see the rice paper in this picture.
Step 6: Add some vermicelli.
Step 7: Add your carrots.
Step 8: Then add your cucumber and red pepper.
Step 9: Add you chicken. You can add just about anything you'd like to the roll (basil leaves, mint, sprouts, whatever you'd like). I usually just make up a chicken broth for some soup I'll make later on. I use one chicken breast, place it in some water, with ginger, carrots, celery, onions, salt & pepper. Boil until the chicken is cooked, take the breast out, let it cool, then pull it into shreds. You can also soak your vermicelli in the broth to give it some flavour if you choose. But strain all the other things out of it first.
Step 10: Fold over the short edge of the paper.
Step 11: Fold over the two sides, then roll. The paper will still be damp enough to stick to itself.
Step 12: This is how the final product should look like, you can also make it so that the filling sticks out of one edge, or cut them in half for a better presentation. I should have cut it and taken a picture of the inside, but it was too late when I remembered. Serve with a peanut or sweet chili sauce dip. Enjoy!