Showing posts with label Vegetables. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Vegetables. Show all posts

Fresh Lumpia (Vegetable Roll)

08 April 2009 9 comments

Fresh Lumpia This fresh Lumpia is one of my favorite vegetable roll, the other one being Lumpia Ubod (Heart of Palm). This lumpia is mostly vegetable with a little bit of pork and/or shrimps. You can put almost any vegetable you prefer in it, you're the cook, why not? I'm sure there are many variations of this dish just like any other Philippine dish. Mine came from my mom, of course. For the wrapper, I use a regular crepe batter and make it with my crepe maker. If you don't have a crepe maker, you can use a non-stick pan to make it. In the Philippines, some people use the regular Lumpia wrapper sold in the wet market.

FRESH LUMPIA

Filling:

1/2 cup pork, cut into small cubes
1/2 cup shrimps, chopped
1 tbsp cooking oil
salt and pepper to taste (or fish sauce instead of salt)
1/4 cup chicken broth
*all these vegetables are cut into thin and short strips
2 cloves garlic
1 small onion
1 cup string beans or snow pea
1 cup potatoes
1 cup carrots
1 cup singkamas (jicama)
1 cup cabbage


Heat oil and pre-cook the sliced potatoes, set aside. Saute garlic and onions until limp. Add pork and saute until cooked. Add shrimps and season with salt and pepper or fish sauce. Add 1/4 cup chicken broth and the rest of the vegetables except the cooked potatoes. Saute until the vegetables are done but not over-cooked. Drain and let cool down.





Fresh_Lumpia_veggies Fresh_Lumpia_wrapper


Wrapper:
3 large eggs
1 cup cornstarch
2 tbsp. cooking oil
1 1/2 cup water
1 tsp sugar

Whisk the eggs, sugar and water. Add the cornstarch and whisk until well blended. Heat the non-stick pan and brush with a small amount of oil. Depending on the size of the crepe you want to make, pour the right amount on the heated pan. Tip the pan to spread the batter thinly. When the edges begin to separate from the pan, the crepe is done. Repeat until all the batter is used.


Sauce:
3 cups water
3 tbsp soy sauce
1 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp salt
3 tbsp cornstarch diluted in 1 tbsp water
ground peanuts, chopped (optional)
3 cloves garlic, minced (optional)

Mix all ingredients except the diluted cornstarch. Cook until it boils, lower heat. Add the cornstarch mixture and mix. Cook until thickened. Add peanuts and garlic in the sauce or if you prefer, sprinkle these on top of the wrapped lumpia and sauce when ready to serve.

Fresh_Lumpia1


To serve:
Use one crepe and place a piece of lettuce on one side. Add the right amount of filling on top of the lettuce. Fold the bottom part over and then fold the sides of the crepe. Secure with a toothpick.

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Light Yet Delicious Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

20 February 2009 9 comments

LIGHT CARROT CAKE


Carrot cake is one of my favorite cakes. It somehow lessens the guilt of eating cakes when you know that it has a vegetable in one of the ingredients. Even though this type of cake is good, it still packs a large amount of calories. A typical carrot cake with cream cheese frosting (3 oz slice) contains 425 calories. Yikes! This recipe from Cooking Light magazine is 100 calories less than the regular recipe. It also has coconut flakes, crushed pineapple and pecans (which I omitted since I don't like any kind of nuts in my desserts). Since I didn't have crushed pineapple, I used apple sauce (1 cup). Even with the substitutions, the resulting cake still was delicious. Dh loved it and commented that it is so light and moist. I only used half the amount of confectioner's sugar in the frosting and it was still too sweet for my taste. So next time I make the frosting, I will only use 1 cup confectioner's sugar and omit the butter entirely. I'm sharing the original recipe so you can tweak it to suit your taste.

Cake:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (about 6 3/4 ounces)
1 1/3 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup sweetened flaked coconut
1/3 cup chopped pecans
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
3 tablespoons canola oil
2 large eggs
2 cups grated carrot
1 1/2 cups canned crushed pineapple, drained
Cooking spray

Frosting:
2 tablespoons butter, softened
1 (8-ounce) block 1/3-less-fat cream cheese, softened
3 cups powdered sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Additional grated carrot (optional)
Preparation
Preheat oven to 350°.

To prepare cake, lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour, sugar, coconut, pecans, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon in a large bowl; stir well with a whisk. Combine oil and eggs; stir well. Stir egg mixture, grated carrot, and pineapple into flour mixture. Spoon batter into a 13 x 9-inch baking pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 35 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool completely on a wire rack.

To prepare frosting, combine butter and cream cheese in a large bowl. Beat with a mixer at medium speed until smooth. Beat in powdered sugar and vanilla just until smooth. Spread frosting over top of cake. Garnish each serving with grated carrot, if desired.



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