I make authentic Vietnamese rice rolls on a regular basis but this variation is a nice summer spin.  I arranged a platter of the ingredients and let everyone roll their own.   I didn’t photograph any of our plates because they were a mess but so delicious that I was content to eat mine with a fork.

The day was warm and I didn’t want to heat the cottage up by using the stove.  I made everything ahead and served when the rest of the gang arrived from the city.  The meal was cool, refreshing, quick to eat and allowed us to make the kick off of the football game across the street at the “big” cottage (we only get 1 station via antennae on our cottage TV).

This is how they were supposed to look.

Thin dried rice noodles, soaked until el dente

Rice paper wrappers, soaked on round plastic screens

1 red pepper, seeded and thinly sliced

1 avocado, peeled, pitted and sliced

1 head leaf lettuce, washed

2 carrots, peeled and julienned

1 cup loosely packed mixed fresh herb springs, such as mint cilantro and basil

Hoisin sauce, to taste

I added some protein by sautéing 2 sliced chicken breasts in satay sauce.  We were out of avocados so put out guacamole instead.  Strips of purple onion and slices of mango upped the taste mix and the vitamin and antioxidant levels.

Kath’s quote: “Rice is a beautiful food.   It is beautiful when it grows, precision rows of sparkling green stalks shooting up to reach the hot summer sun.   It is beautiful when harvested, autumn gold sheaves piled on diked, patchwork paddies.   It is beautiful when, once threshed, it enters granary bins like a (flood) of tiny seed-pearls.   It is beautiful when cooked by a practiced hand, pure white and sweetly fragrant.”-Shizuo Tsuji

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