Morning Song Farm News

One of my favorite side dishes at Vietnamese restaurants is the vegetable-stuffed rolls that are wrapped in rice/tapioca skins. It never occurred to me I could make them myself until recently when I thought I'd give it a try. Ok...it takes some practice, but it's worth the effort of a few failed "logs" because these things are so tasty! Rice paper (see image) is sold in a dry, paper-like form in most grocery stores. You dip each sheet individually in a bowl of warm water, and the inedible rice paper sheet miraculously  turns into the flexible, tender skin that you recognize at once. I just couldn't believe that the dry form could ever turn into anything edible...I thought maybe the ones I'd purchased were old. They come out of the package brittle and plastic-like. A quick dip in warm water, though, and they're ready to stretch over whatever you choose to stuff them with. I put everything in the center, fold opposite edges in first, then just roll, dip and ...

Ingredients: 2 avocados 2 cup of steamed rice, chilled. Juice of one lime 1 cup of baby spinach leaves Sea salt to taste Purslane sprigs Halve two avocados and set aside. Dice spinach leaves into one inch squares, combine with broken bits of Purslane, set aside. Combine all other ingredients and then gently blend with the leafy green mix above. Scoop the finished rice mix into your avocado halves and serve immediately.

Purslane and avocados just beg to be combined! The rich creaminess of our Haas avocado is the perfect compliment to the crunchiness of Purslane. Ingredients: Purslane Mashed Avocado Sea Salt Garlic Mustard/horseradish mix (no yellow dye!) Rye bread This little bite appetizer uses Purslane in place of a lettuce or sprout filler. Combine crushed garlic,  avocado, sea salt and mash with a potato masher. Don't use a Cuisinart because it will become too smooth. Coat each piece of bread with the mustard/horseradish mix. Spatula bread with avocado mixture, and top with fresh Purslane. Cut into fours and hold in place with a decorative tooth pick.

Here's another quick fix! Usually prepared using the 7-8 ounce canned tuna, I encourage everyone to try baking their own tuna and preparing this recipe fresh. It's amazing, and super fast and easy. Trader Joe's sells a respectable frozen, vacuum-packed Ahi tuna which is great in this recipe. Bake with a little lime juice at 350 until white and flaky. Don't overcook. You can fork it into flakes, or use your Cuisinart for a lightning speed blend. Don't overdo the Cuisinart action or you'll have tuna pate. 2 regular sized cans of tuna, which are sold in 7-8 ounce units, or bake your own from scratch as recommended above 1 ripe avocado dash of lime juice for both baking the tuna (unless you are using canned) and for the salad 3 Tablespoons chopped Italian parsley 3 Tablespoons finely chopped green onions 2 cups spinach/mizuna greens salt and pepper to taste Mash avocado with lime juice. Gently mix in flaked tuna and blend in parsley and onions. Serve over spinach...