Vegetable Rolls
by Marjan
Savoring every day of spring and all the abundant delicious fruit and vegetables from our garden... and of course, entertaining family and friends!
Drop me a line if you'r a purest like me and prefer to consume vegetables organically. Personally to taste each healthy bite and recognize individual textures and flavors is key to feed both my soul and body! I never jumped on the bandwagon of fruit and/or vegetable juicing, smoothies, or bowls. I know it's convenient and easy; but for me, eating is pure joy and pleasure, never a chore! I don't eat because I have to. I eat because I love whole foods. Most importantly, a nice crunch with different textures elevates a gastronomic experience. Sure, I occasionally enjoy a fruit smoothy or bowl for desert, but I'll save it for when I'm really old and loose my teeth. Now, that's a joke!
For me, the best way to enjoy vegetables is either raw or under cooked to preserve nutrients, texture and flavor. For one of my recent gatherings, I prepared my favorite vegetable appetizers. In my last post, I promised to share with you this recipe as it continues the tradition of eating healthy with vegetables. Incorporating multicolor vegetables such as carrots, celery and zucchini, I cut and slice them into two inch sticks and wrapped them in slices of Persian cucumbers filled with herbed cream cheese.
Creamy, crunchy, sweet, nutritious and delicious, these rolls are fun to make and pleasing visually and palatally. Therefore, it is a great snack to prepare and eat with kids, or serve at your next gathering. I'm certain these beautiful vegetable rolls will please both children and adults, carnivores and vegetarians.
Enjoy!
Directions:
Amount of ingredients will depend on number of people serving, size of vegetables, combination of preferred vegetables based on your taste and appetite. Therefore, I'll simply list ingredients and directions without amounts. Mix and combine all the vegetables, or simply choose one or two of your favorite vegetables.
Persian cucumber (ends cut and sliced with a potato peeler into long strips)
Multi-colored carrots ( peeled and cut into sticks)
Celery (cut into sticks)
Red, green, yellow, and orange bell peppers (cut into sticks)
Zucchini (cut into sticks)
Cream cheese mixed with freshly chopped herbs such as basil, mint, or tarragon
Roll out flat a strip of cucumber and spread a thin layer of soft cream cheese with herbs on top. Choosing multicolor and variety of preferred vegetable combinations and tightly pack 4-5 variety of sticks from one end of the cucumber strip and roll it to the other end. The cream cheese will hold vegetable sticks together with the cucumber wrap. If the wrap does not hold, either you have placed to many vegetable sticks or not used enough cheese; or the cucumber strips are too thick or too thin. Either way, after rolling two or three rolls, you will get the hang of it. It's easy! Have fun making these rolls and enjoy!
Savoring every day of spring and all the abundant delicious fruit and vegetables from our garden... and of course, entertaining family and friends!
Drop me a line if you'r a purest like me and prefer to consume vegetables organically. Personally to taste each healthy bite and recognize individual textures and flavors is key to feed both my soul and body! I never jumped on the bandwagon of fruit and/or vegetable juicing, smoothies, or bowls. I know it's convenient and easy; but for me, eating is pure joy and pleasure, never a chore! I don't eat because I have to. I eat because I love whole foods. Most importantly, a nice crunch with different textures elevates a gastronomic experience. Sure, I occasionally enjoy a fruit smoothy or bowl for desert, but I'll save it for when I'm really old and loose my teeth. Now, that's a joke!
For me, the best way to enjoy vegetables is either raw or under cooked to preserve nutrients, texture and flavor. For one of my recent gatherings, I prepared my favorite vegetable appetizers. In my last post, I promised to share with you this recipe as it continues the tradition of eating healthy with vegetables. Incorporating multicolor vegetables such as carrots, celery and zucchini, I cut and slice them into two inch sticks and wrapped them in slices of Persian cucumbers filled with herbed cream cheese.
Creamy, crunchy, sweet, nutritious and delicious, these rolls are fun to make and pleasing visually and palatally. Therefore, it is a great snack to prepare and eat with kids, or serve at your next gathering. I'm certain these beautiful vegetable rolls will please both children and adults, carnivores and vegetarians.
Enjoy!
Directions:
Amount of ingredients will depend on number of people serving, size of vegetables, combination of preferred vegetables based on your taste and appetite. Therefore, I'll simply list ingredients and directions without amounts. Mix and combine all the vegetables, or simply choose one or two of your favorite vegetables.
Persian cucumber (ends cut and sliced with a potato peeler into long strips)
Multi-colored carrots ( peeled and cut into sticks)
Celery (cut into sticks)
Red, green, yellow, and orange bell peppers (cut into sticks)
Zucchini (cut into sticks)
Cream cheese mixed with freshly chopped herbs such as basil, mint, or tarragon
Roll out flat a strip of cucumber and spread a thin layer of soft cream cheese with herbs on top. Choosing multicolor and variety of preferred vegetable combinations and tightly pack 4-5 variety of sticks from one end of the cucumber strip and roll it to the other end. The cream cheese will hold vegetable sticks together with the cucumber wrap. If the wrap does not hold, either you have placed to many vegetable sticks or not used enough cheese; or the cucumber strips are too thick or too thin. Either way, after rolling two or three rolls, you will get the hang of it. It's easy! Have fun making these rolls and enjoy!
