Nothing beats a spring roll in the clean and bright flavor department. We've made these twice recently for two different celebrations and they got gobbled up quickly both times. Filled with raw vegetables, fragrant basil, and marinated tofu and they are delicious vegetarian-style, or throw in a bit of rotisserie chicken or shrimp for a meat version.

The most difficult part of the recipe is the prep time. Once you have all of your ingredients lined up, these little rolls come together in a snap. And, of course, the last roll you do will probably be your prettiest. Like me, you can eat the few mistakes you make along the way!

Basil Spring Rolls with Peanut Yuzu Dipping Sauce

Basil Spring Rolls

Ingredients

1 package, Rice Paper Wrappers
1 medium sized daikon radish, finely shredded
6 cups baby romaine lettuce leaves
3 large carrots, finely shredded
2 green onions, finely shredded
2 large bundles, Genovese Basil or Thai Basil, stemmed
marinated tofu, recipe follows
dipping sauce, recipe follows

Directions

Rehydrate the rice papers following package instructions. Add lettuce, basil, carrots, daikon, green onions, and tofu as pictured below. Wrap spring roll by folding in the right and left side, then roll from the bottom to the top, keep the package as tight as possible, without tearing the wrapper. My rice papers, came with helpful folding instructions, too. Continue to assemble until you have the desired quantity. Serve within the hour. Do not refrigerate! I found refrigerating dried them out and dulled their fresh flavors.

Spring roll ingredients, prior to "rolling"

Marinated Tofu

Ingredients

1 package, extra firm tofu
1/4 cup soy sauce
4 Tablespoons sweet chili sauce
2 Tablespoons sesame oil
1 teaspoon sriracha

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 F. Mix soy sauce, chili sauce, sesame oil and sriracha in baking dish that will accommodate the marinade and tofu. Remove tofu from the package and blot the excess moisture. Cut tofu lengthwise into 1/2 inch slices. Coat thoroughly with marinade and bake for 25 minutes. Enjoy the tofu hot, warm or cold. I love it cold on salads! It's great served on rice or with noodles, too.

Bird's-Eye View

Yuzu-Peanut Dipping Sauce

Ingredients

1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
1/4 cup yuzu soy sauce
1 tablespoon sweet chili sauce
toasted sesame seeds

Direction

In a small bowl add the peanut butter. Whisk in the yuzu soy sauce and sweet chili sauce until combined. If overly thick, add a touch of water to thin. Pour into serving bowl and garnish with toasted sesame seeds.

Blueberry Muffins

Adapted from Cook's Illustrated, Best Recipes

makes 12 standard-sized muffins, recipe can be doubled

Ingredients

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (10 ounces)

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon table salt

1 large eggs

1 cup granulated sugar (7 ounces)

4 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 1/4 cups sour cream (10 ounces)

1 1/2 cups frozen blueberries, preferably wild

zest of one lemon

Directions

Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray standard muffin tin with nonstick vegetable cooking spray. Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt in medium bowl until combined. Whisk egg in second medium bowl until well-combined and light-colored, about 20 seconds. Add sugar and whisk vigorously until thick and homogeneous about 30 seconds; add vegetable oil in 2 or 3 steps, whisking to combine after each addition. Add all of the lemon zest and the sour cream in 2 steps, whisking just to combine. Add frozen berries to dry ingredients and gently toss to combine. Add sour cream mixture and fold with rubber spatula until batter comes together and berries are evenly distributed, 25 to 30 seconds (small spots of flour may remain and batter will be thick). Do not overmix!

Use ice cream scoop or large spoon to drop batter into greased muffin tin. From my experience, these muffins do not rise a significant amount. For tall muffins, fill to the top of the tin. Bake until light golden brown and toothpick or skewer inserted into center of muffin comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes, rotating pan from front to back halfway through baking time.

Invert muffins onto wire rack, stand muffins upright, and cool 5 minutes. Serve warm, or room temperature.