Cooking with Bec!

   just like i promised here is my post and my cooking adventure with my cousin Bec! while i was in California talking to Bec about food, recipes and such, she invited me to come to her house and cook with her! i was ecstatic about this! (just to give you a little background, Bec is one of my many cousins who live in California. she's married and has two adorable daughters, Jenna and Anikah, who are a delight!) now...back to the adventure! we had planned ahead to make Kung Pao Chicken (one of my recipes), and Bec was going to find an appetizer/sides to go with it. Bec had this great recipe for a Watermelon Cooler. ahead of time she had frozen some watermelon wedges to use as ice cubes, which i thought was a great idea! for the appetizer she decided on

Cucumber and Avocado Summer Rolls with Mustard-Soy Sauce.
these were a lot of fun to make because it used rice paper rounds, which neither of us had tried using before.

it's shaped like a tortilla, but it feels like flimsy plastic. you dip it into water for about 10 seconds and then dry it off. it becomes very pliable.

 you then put your ingredients into it and roll it. they were very good although we both agreed it would taste better to infuse some of the dipping sauce into the actual roll, possibly by soaking the shredded carrot in it?

the main course was Kung Pao Chicken with coconut rice.  it was really good!

 we also had edamame (which i love!).

for dessert Bec had made  peanut butter ice cream and Jenna had helped make a mocha brownie to go with it. it was soo good! the ice cream was the best peanut butter ice cream i've ever had!

it was a great night and a lot of fun! i thoroughly enjoyed cooking with Bec and even learned some new things! if you want to check out her own blog go to: http://whatsformeat.blogspot.com/

Recipes:

Kung Pao Chicken
Ingredients: 

2 tablespoons dark sesame oil
1 cup chopped onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 pound skinless, boneless chicken thighs, cut into 1-inch pieces 
3/4 cup water
3 tablespoons lower-sodium soy sauce
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon bottled minced ginger
1 to 1 1/2 teaspoons crushed red pepper
1 cup thinly sliced red bell pepper (about 1 large pepper) 
1 cup snow peas, trimmed
2 tablespoons chopped unsalted, dry-roasted peanuts 
Preparation 
1. Heat sesame oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion to pan; sauté 3 minutes or until softened. Add garlic; sauté 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Add chicken; sauté 3 minutes or until chicken begins to brown.
2. Combine 3/4 cup water and the next 5 ingredients (through crushed red pepper), stirring with a whisk until sugar dissolves. Add water mixture to pan; bring to a boil. Add bell pepper and snow peas to pan; cook for 2 minutes or until vegetables are crisp-tender and sauce thickens. Sprinkle with nuts.

Cucumber and Avocado Summer Rolls with Mustard-Soy Sauce 
Ingredients:
Juice from 1/2 lime
2 Tbs. rice bran or canola oil
1 Tbs. rice vinegar
1/2 tsp. Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp. soy sauce
1 tsp. brown sugar
2 Haas avocados
20 rice paper rounds, 6 or 8 inches in diameter
10 green lettuce leaves
Leaves from 1 bunch fresh basil
Leaves from 1 bunch fresh mint
2 carrots, coarsely shredded
1/2 English cucumber, cut into thin strips 
Directions: 
 In a small bowl, stir together the lime juice, oil, vinegar, mustard, soy sauce and brown sugar until the sugar dissolves; set aside. 
Halve, pit and peel the avocados, and then cut them into 1/2-inch dice. 
Place a wide, shallow bowl of warm water on a work surface. Lay a clean kitchen towel next to the bowl. Dip 1 rice paper round into the water for a few seconds to soften, then lay it flat on the towel. Dip a second round into the water and lay it directly on top of the first one. Using another towel, pat the top of the rice paper dry. 
Center a lettuce leaf on top of the stacked rice papers. Starting about one-third in from the edge closest to you, arrange a few of the basil and mint leaves in a line across the lettuce. Top with a small row each of the carrot, cucumber and avocado; be careful not to overstuff the roll. Lift the bottom edge of the rice paper up and over the filling and then roll once to form a tight cylinder. Fold in the sides of the rice paper and continue to roll the paper and filling into a tight cylinder. Set aside, seam side down. Repeat with the remaining rice paper and filling ingredients to make 10 rolls. 
Cut each roll in half crosswise and arrange, cut side up, on a platter. Place the sauce alongside for dipping and serve immediately. Makes 20 rolls; serves 8 to 10. 

Watermelon Cooler
Makes: 9 servings
Start to Finsih: 15 min   
Ingredients: 
3c. coarsely chopped seeded watermelon
3/4c. sugar
1/2c. lightly packed fresh mint leaves  
2c. white grape juice
1tsp. finely shredded lime peel
3/4c. fresh lime juice, chilled
32oz. club soda, chilled
Fresh mint sprigs
Watermelon wedges or balls
Directions:
1. Place watermelon in a blender or food processor. Cover and blend until smooth. Strain watermelon puree through a fine mesh sieve; discard pulp.
2. In a large bowl combine sugar and mint. Using the back of a wooden spoon, lightly crush mint by pressing it against the side of the bowl. add grape juice, lime peel, lime juice, and watermelon puree, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Stir in club soda. Serve in glasses over ice. If desired, garnish with mint sprigs and watermelon wedges or balls. Serve immediately.