Spring Rolls

My love,


I want to tell you a story. 


I think about it a lot. 





Once upon a time there was a boy and there was a girl. 
They met in college. 
And the boy liked the girl, and the girl liked the boy back. 
And one day, she was wearing a blue sweater. 
And he was wearing a brown suede jacket. 
And he looked at her, and she felt like he looked into her soul. 
For a second.
And then he asked her to go out with him, on Halloween. 
And she said, "Sure."
And they went out. 
And they kissed. 
And it was the best kiss ever. 
And that was that. 
And they fell in love. 
He ended up becoming a writer. 
And they went to Europe. 
And he was a dancer for a little while. 
And she taught art to children. 
She taught the children how to make color wheels and things with clay. 
And she wore pink shoes to their wedding. 
And they built a life together. 

Everyone grows up with a love story, I think. That is the love story of my parents.  The abbreviated version. They have built such a beautiful world for themselves. Out of sweat and tears and blood and love. 


I cannot believe it sometimes. 


Sometimes their goodness makes me cry. 


The other day my mother brought me chocolate chip cookies and strawberries and spring rolls. The spring rolls were beautiful. 


Food is absolutely the best manifestation of love.  
Or at least, food is the best manifestation of love until you actually find real romantic love. 
Which I have yet to do. 


So spring rolls are my love of the moment. They are particularly fitting, given that it is so SPRING-ISH right now. I mean, everything is so green. SPRING HAS SPRUNG. It's a beautiful thing. 


How to Make a Spring Roll


I asked my mother what recipe she uses to make these, but she said she just made it up, which is her way. You simply take the rice paper wrappers, dip them in a bowl of hot water until they are soft and pliable and then fill them with thin rice noodles, lettuce, cucumber, tofu, grated carrots and whatever else you like.And serve with a chipotle mayonnaise. That is how my mother makes her spring rolls. 
There are more ideas, plus a real recipe here: http://markbittman.com/vietnamese-summer-rolls


xoxo