Wednesday, April 7, 2010

Poetic Toothfairy

I'm not sure if there are local toothfairies or if they are individually assigned to families, but my children have had one that always wrote a note of encouragement or thanks and included a tooth-related poem. I think my kids are finished with losing their teeth, so I think it's safe to put up this sample of a letter and poem that I recently found in my son's room. In the letter, the fairy tries to explain why she neglected to receive the offered tooth for a week or so.

Dear Daniel,

I'm very sorry it has taken so long to collect your tooth. There has been a Fairy strike the last few weeks. Some of the fairies (not me, of course) were complaining about how overworked they were, and how dangerous it was to flit about at night. I could tell you more, but it's a long story! Here's a poem, though.

There once were some fairies on strike,
They thought they would just take a hike.
You might ask, "but why?",
And they would just sigh,
That no one knows what it's like.

Now they are back as you see,
And their hearts are full of glee,
As they gather their "pearls"
From the boys and girls
From sea to shining sea.

Thank you for the nice tooth!

Love,
The Tooth Fairy

Monday, April 5, 2010

Thai Cold Spring Rolls

Thai Cold Spring Rolls

Anything goes inside the rolls, but I would most likely always include the carrot mixture, some sort of meat or egg, and some sort of leaf (spinach or lettuce) or bean sprouts. The recipe I use doesn’t call for rice vermicelli noodles, but we’ve always used them in the filling. Another must for us is the Chinese Peeanut Sauce for dipping!

These rolls can be made up slightly ahead for serving, or they can be assembled at the table (my kids prefer to fill their own).

Carrot mixture:
1 or 2 cups of carrots, grated
½ tsp black pepper
2 Tbsp sugar
3 Tbsp rice vinegar
½ tsp salt

Some filling ideas:
chicken breast sliced thin
spinach, lettuce or bean sprouts
egg yolks fried and julienned
cilantro
(rice vermicelli noodles, cooked)


-Mix carrot, pepper, salt, sugar and vinegar; reserve.
-Prepare all the other filling items.
-Briefly soak the rice papers in very hot water just until they begin to soften.
-Layer all ingredients on the rice paper and roll. Serve with peanut sauce.
**Don’t refrigerate before serving as they will harden.

Chinese Peanut Sauce (from Moosewood Cookbook, Mollie Katzen)

½ cup good peanut butter
½ cup hot water
2 Tbsp soy sauce
2 Tbsp sugar
2 or 3 medium cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp cider vinegar
1 to 2 Tbsp minced fresh cilantro (I’ve omitted sometimes; still good)
cayenne to taste
salt to taste (if peanut butter is unsalted)

1) Place peanut butter in a small bowl. Add the hot water, and stir patiently with a spoon or a small whisk until uniformly mixed.
2) Stir in remaining ingredients and mix well. Cover tightly and refrigerate. Let come to room temperature before serving.