Update

My mother informs me that she does not cut the wrappers in half diagonally. She wraps them whole, eliminating the doubling up and ensuring that they are tight.

Oopsie.

Did I mention that I cook by experimentation and vague memories?

Once again, here's a link to step by step wrapping by someone less novice than I.

Clearing out cupboards=Spring Rolls

   We still haven't done a big grocery shop in a few good weeks, as we're still trying to eat all the food in our cupboards. This was so we don't
1. Pack & take it with us, and 2. Throw good food out, and 3. have to go to the grocery.

So finding two spring roll wrapper packs gave me an extra challenge .

I tackled it head on and made Filipino lumpia, and fresh Chinese style spring rolls. YEAH-YUH.

I love my mother's lumpia so much that she made it for our reception, and I wrote about it here. Every time I visit she gives me frozen plastic baggies full and I take some out when I need something fried.

So here is her recipe (as tweaked by me):

Ingredients:

• 1tbs of canola oil
• 2 cloves minces garlic
• 1/2 pound ground turkey or lean beef (I used half and half turkey & meatless crumbles)
• 1 Package egg roll wrappers, the frozen kind work best, pictured far left 
• 8 oz or so of green beans, finely chopped
• 3 Grated carrots
• 2 tbs Soy Sauce, I use Toyomansi

Find this stuff at Asian food stores. The soy sauce is with the Filipino food, and the rice wrappers are with the Chinese or Vietnamese foods. And, yes, there is a difference.Or get it here. The ones on the left are frozen and the ones on the right are dry. 

Preparation:
1. Heat a large sauce pan over medium  heat, and throw on the garlic until it smells good but not burnt.
2. Brown the meat.
3. Add the green beans. They should be chopped like this:

Add the grated carrots and and soy sauce. Cook till veggies are soft, making sure soy sauce is equally distributed.

The next part is really important.

Drain! Soggy filling makes soggy eggrolls! Unless you like that.

And the filling looks like this:

I like a more veggie to meat ratio, so I could have probably used more green beans.

Now the rolling:

Start by cutting the wrappers in half, diagonally.

I used two triangles per roll, so they will hold up.  You may lose a few. I always do. But fry them and they're fun to crunch on.

Use a tablespoon to portion out the filling. More or less, if that's how you roll (ha ha!).

this one's a lil fattie

Use a spoon to push them back in there and have a bowl of water (with or without flour or cornstarch) to wet them and get them sticky.

Roll it over, fold the corners, and roll towards the point. Use that water!

No one can get them as tight as a mom who's made thousands of  lumpia. Your first ones will be a little loose.

My mom puts them in the freezer right away, in baggies or Tupperware. This helps them set and are easier to take out a fry when you need them.

I made about 15 fat ones. Hers are a bit thinner and tighter. A thing of beauty.

Fry these on high, 'till the wrapper turns golden brown.

For a dipping sauce:

Break a clove of garlic into white vinegar. Simple as that.

Add soy sauce and sesame seed oil to taste.

I already had these ingredients so this meal cost me nothing but an hourly wage! Wait, I had to buy carrots. So make that less than $2, and I worked for free :p

 And now the fresh spring rolls!

I basically tweaked this recipe from about.com:

This vegetarian Chinese-style spring roll recipe uses shiitake mushrooms and soy sauce for a very Asian flavor. You can also learn how to wrap spring rolls by following my illustrated step-by-step instructions here.

Ingredients:

• 1/3 green cabbage, chopped into thin pieces
• 2/3 cup fresh bean sprouts
• 1/2 cup snow peas, sliced into thin strips
• 3/4 cup shiitake or portabello mushrooms, sliced thin
• 3 scallions, chopped
• 2 carrots, grated
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp sesame oil
• one bunch fresh mint
• spring roll wrappers (the dry ones)
• water

Preparation:

Combine all ingredients (except for wrappers and water) in a large mixing bowl, stirring well to coat the veggies with soy sauce and sesame oil. Submerge spring roll wrappers in water until pliable one at a time. Place 2 to 3 tablespoons in wrappers. Place two or three mint leaves on top and wrap your spring rolls. Serve with a dipping sauce.

I left out the mushrooms and snow peas because I didn't have any. Subbed steamed bok choy for cabbage, and dried chives for fresh scallions. I added sesame seeds and a sliver of  of fresh ginger to each roll. Then I let rice vermicelli noodle soak in hot water, 

 add them to this mix:

For the dipping sauce, I added peanut butter to the above sauce recipe. Make sure you pull each dry wrapper off the stack before wetting it. Or you'll have one big chewy rice ball.

 And these babies are going to a potluck tomorrow!

I only bought bean sprouts and bok choy, so that's another $4. I grow mint in the yard.

I'm loving this empty cupboard challenge!

Recap: The Food

 Four things that were important to me at our party were:

1. Food,
2. Beverages,
3. Cake, and
4. Dancing.

    Food is probably the most important reception detail. Every one's expecting some sort of meal and most of the guest made a sacrifice to be there, so we wanted to make sure they were well fed. I think they were, since we had lots left over, and reports of people going for seconds.
    I really wanted to incorporate Filipino dishes into the menu, in addition to the catered food. No one, I mean no one makes pancit and lumpia like my own mother makes them, so I asked her to make these dishes. It was the most wonderful gift to not only Hubbs & I, but to everyone else. I love her pancit and how she mixes the clear rice noodle with the yellow flour noodles. I asked her to skip the Chinese sausage, because not many people like it, myself included. Her lumpia (Filipino eggrolls, which are deep fried & skinny. Someone described them as a cross between an empanada and a taquito, and I guess that's an accurate description coming from a non-Filipino) don't taste like any one's I've ever had before. There's none of that seasoned pork flavor you'd inside a potsticker. She used ground beef, shredded carrots, green beans, garlic & soy sauce. Sometimes I crave them and grab a few from the freezer and fry them up.

My second-cuz and the lumpia. Photo by Bob Laigo

   My mom and aunt came over and cook for hours, quietly and diligently. This meant so much to Shawn & I. There is really no thanks big enough for what these ladies did for us, no card of gift that would equal their gift. I only hope I can give this gift to my family in the future, returning the favor in down the line.

Here they are working hard in my tiny kitchen. Photo by Lindsay Salet

Pancit prep. Photo by Lindsay Salet

    I was elated to see people enjoying these dishes. A dear old friend, with whom I lived in college, reminisced about the time when I tried to make it at our house, but my  mom's is the real deal.

Plus, here is what I learned about catering:

1. Make sure you go over every detail beforehand including how things are served.  I had asked that out London Broil be served sliced, but they were put into tiny sandwiches with horsey sauce on them. Granted, this dish was mainly for others, but I generally stay away from condiments. I didn't even eat one.
2. If you order something you should get it.  Beware the person who writes things down so illegibly that even she or her staff couldn't read it. I was supposed to get a single serving of mac' & cheese, only because the caterer insisted, stating she does single servings for brides all the time. I can just imagine the special requests! I said this would be great. Sadly, I think they forgot. I wondered if they couldn't decipher her notes!
3. Ask who is working the event. We had a lovely, enthusiastic and helpful staff member who I remember to this day. Make sure you get people who smile and are helpful, and who don't look like they just want to go home. Actually say this to your caterer and the message will get passed to staff. Maybe the lurchy guy will smile next time.
4. Money Talks. Pay your bill & tip well. Your business and input will always be welcome in the future.
5. Give an accurate guest count. Don't try to account for people who may come. If they haven't replied "yes" they probably won't show. You will not run out of food. You'll have leftovers, most likely. You can always donate the rest and write it off. Since we stayed in town with family, we ate a lot it it the next night.

Seems simple, but I wish I had done these things. Just for my peace of mind. It is so nice not to worry about little details anymore, even thought I said I wouldn't worry about them in the first place.