Best Wishes for Good Health in the New Year

Gung Hai Fat Choi to everyone! That means Happy New Year in Chinese. (Okay, the Year of the Goat began a few weeks ago, but I'm catching up on things, so I'm a little late.) When I talked to my sister on the weekend she told me about the dragon dance she saw in Vancouver and I was a little sad that no such festivities were taking place in Kingston. When I used to work in Markham, Chinese New Year was the biggest holiday my school celebrated, complete with a dragon dance and yummy treats. Since I was feeling a little left out of the festivities, I decided to make Vietnamese Spring Rolls since it was also the Vietnamese New Year, the start of their lunar calendar. (Being Jewish I have a fondness for cultures that celebrate their new year at times other than January 1st.)

I tried making Spring Rolls a number of years ago and was very frustrated that the rice paper kept ripping and tearing. My friend Dianne gave me some good suggestions about working with the paper, and this time my Spring Rolls were delicious and appreciated by all my family, even my youngest, and most fussy eater. (I highly recommend making these for fussy eaters since you can tailor each spring roll according to their individual tastes.)
Here's the recipe for the rolls.

8 spring roll wrappers
lettuce (about four leafs)
2 ounces rice vermicelli noodles, cooked
8 large shrimp (cooked, without tails) - You could also use fried tofu or cooked chicken
cucumber, thinly sliced (or carrots or peppers, or all three)
fresh mint and cilantro
3 or 4 green onions, chopped
Hoisin or other dipping sauce

Prepare all your filling ingredients. Then, dip a single rice paper wrapper in a bowl of hot water for a minute. Next, lay the wrapper on a damp towel and let it sit for about 30 seconds. Lay your ingredients in the center of the wrapper, using the lettuce as a cushion. (Okay you don't have to use the lettuce this way, but I liked the way it looked.) Then, fold the bottom of the wrapper up, then the sides in, and finally the top over. You can use a little water to seal the edges, but I found the wrap stayed together well.


There's another reason I've been thinking about Vietnam lately. One of the families from my son's class at school has several adopted children from Vietnam. The family has been in the news a lot because their youngest two children, twins adopted from Vietnam, have some serious health concerns. I've been watching their story unfold on Facebook and on the news. Bihn and Phuoc Wagner have Alagille Syndrome. Phuoc received her transplant from her father a few weeks ago. Although the media portrayed the Wagner's family situation as a difficult choice, it was in fact the medical staff at Sick Kids who made the decision that Phuoc should have the transplant first. Phuoc is recovering well, as is her dad, and a number of people have come forward to be tested as donors for Binh. I haven't heard yet that they have a specific donor for her yet, but
the medical team sound confident that Binh will have her surgery too.

Although I don't know the family, I've been thinking about them all the time and hoping for the best for them. Since I couldn't be a donor myself, I was happy to help the family a little by donating to their gofundme campaign. Binh and Phuoc's transplant is covered by health care, but there are lots of other transplant expenses. The Wagner family is half way to their fundraising goal, and if you donate too, they might be able to make all their costs. It would be a great way to celebrate the lunar near year.