There’s a gadget in my kitchen that terrifies me. It’s my mandolin.

A mandolin is a crazy Asian blade slicer that can slice, julienne, matchstick…you name it. Oh and the thing is SHARP. The outcome of using it is pretty awesome, but every time I stick a hard root vegetable in it (like carrots!) I get this feeling like today might be the day I slice my fingers off.

Well, die another day…I made it through this one unscathed. Here’s a mugshot of the mint-green fiend:

This recipe is a little cobbled together because I wanted to make something for Steve. He’s not the biggest fan of carrots, so I marinated them in sesame and ginger (inspired by none other than Martha) to take the carrot-y edge off. Next up, he’s avoiding peanuts at the moment, so the dipping sauce for the rolls uses almond butter instead of peanut, which I quite like (adapted from this recipe).

The end result was super tasty, fresh and clean food. I think this one will happen around here often.

Sesame Ginger Carrot Salad

• 3 carrots grated or cut in matchsticks
• 3 tbsp sesame seeds
• 1 tbsp freshly minced ginger
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp toasted sesame oil

Toss everything in a bowl, cover and let sit in the fridge for an hour or two, if you can.

Almond-Lime Dipping Sauce

• 1/3 cup almond butter
• juice of 1 lime
• 1 tbsp tamari (or dark soy sauce)
• 1 tbsp sweetener like agave or honey
• 1 small clove of garlic, minced
• 2-4 tbsp water (start with 2)

Mix all ingredients in a bowl, starting the water at 2 tbsp. Increase as necessary to thin for dipping. Chill.

Vegetable Salad Rolls

You will need:

• rice paper wrappers
• a large shallow pan of warm water to dip the sheets in
• a flat surface (like a large plate or counter) to roll on

Here’s what I put in mine, but feel free to sub in your favourite veggies, or swap cilantro in for one of the herbs.

• carrot salad
• avocado
• cucumber
• red pepper
• bean sprouts
• red cabbage
• mint
• Thai basil

Prep all of your veggies first. Make sure everything is sliced nice and thin for rolling.

Place one of the wrappers into the warm water, and hold it there for about a 10-count. Pull it out (shake it over the sink a little), and place it on your flat surface. Let it sit for about 30 more seconds so it gets nice and pliable, then put all of your stuff in there. Try not to go nuts and overfill it, or it’ll be hard to seal.

It should look like this:

Fold the top down over the veggies, then fold the sides in, and then fold up the bottom and roll it over. (There might also be a handy-dandy diagram on your rice wrapper box.) If you tear the wrapper badly, it’s easier to wrap your torn one in a second sheet, than to start again.

Continue until everything’s rolled up, it should make about 8 rolls. You can serve them as whole rolls, or cut them in half with a nice sharp knife. Dip them in the almond-lime sauce and enjoy!

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