[2] Conventional Chinese egg rolls stuffed with cabbage and pork. Here’s the recipe (photo © Melissa’s).

Like Reuben sandwiches? Like egg rolls? Here’s a fusion of the two: the filling of a Reuben in a crunchy egg roll wrapper, instead of on pumpernickel bread.

If you plan to kick back with a beer or two this weekend, make this yummy snack to go with the brew(s). To make a more formal meal of it, serve with a side of potato salad.

The recipe was developed as an appetizer or snack at at Mader’s, a German restaurant in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Chef Dennis Wegner created them for a summer festival circa 1990.

The recipe was sent to us by Dietz & Watson, a purveyor of quality deli products.
 
 
RECIPE: REUBEN EGG ROLL

Ingredients For 4 Portions

 
Preparation

1. LAY an egg roll wrapper flat on a work surface. Place two pickle slices toward the bottom end of the wrapper. Top with a portion of corned beef, a portion of cheese and a portion of sauerkraut.

2. BRUSH the edges of the egg roll wrapper with the beaten egg. Begin rolling the wrapper tightly around the filling. Halfway up, fold in the sides, then continue to roll the rest of the way. Repeat with remaining wrappers and filling.

3. HEAT oil to 350°F in a large, high-sided pot. Gently drop in the egg rolls and fry until golden brown and cooked through, about 5 minutes.

4. REMOVE and drain on a towel. Slice on a bias and serve with deli mustard.

One way to tackle the problem: Stock up on frozen vegetables. Mix them with rice and potatoes, toss them with olive oil and black pepper for a spicy side or snack, add them to soups. However you use vegetables, the convenience of pre-cleaned, sliced, and ready-to-use frozen variety in the freezer means you’ll eat them more often.

FRESH VS. FROZEN VEGETABLES

While canned vegetables can lose a lot of nutrients during the preservation process*, frozen vegetables tend to be as healthful—and even more healthful—than some fresh produce.

According to the USDA, that’s because fresh vegetables can sit in warehouses, losing nutrients, while frozen vegetables are quickly put into production: cleaned and blanched in hot water or steam to kill bacteria and arrest the action of food-degrading enzymes. They are then flash-frozen.

A pretty way to eat your veggies. Photo courtesy Green Giant.

Just don’t put frozen vegetables into “long term storage” and forget about them. Over many months, even the nutrients in frozen vegetables will degrade.

STOCK UP & SNACK SNACK AWAY

And as winter approaches and the price of fresh vegetables climbs, don’t hesitate to fill up the freezer with bags of frozen vegetables. Think of them beyond mealtimes, as a quick snack. Instead of reaching for refined sugar or carbs, microwave a cup or two of veggies and enjoy them with a drizzle of flavored olive oil, a squeeze of lemon or lime juice, a sprinkle of Parmesan, or, if you must, a pat of butter.
 
*Tomatoes and pumpkin are two exceptions.
 
READY IN FIVE MINUTES

We were jonesing for a dinner of healthy veggies last night—lots of them. So on the way home, we stopped off at a specialty food shop to look at the take-out options: baked acorn squash, caramelized brussels sprouts, edamame salad and others.

Veggies are heavy. We realized that at an average of $13 per pound, we were ready to buy almost $30 worth of simple preparations. Whoa, we said, there’s got to be a better way.

We walked a block to the supermarket and bought three bags of frozen vegetables, which we knew we could combine and microwave, ready to eat in five minutes. And we did: no muss, no fuss. Mission accomplished; healthy veggie dinner consumed (for protein, we added some cubes of tofu).

After dinner, we looked for other ways to use the rest of the frozen veggies. We found this recipe from Del Monte, which adds cranberries and pecans to create a colorful side dish of orange squash, green broccoli, red dried cranberries and brown pecans. The cranberries and pecans make the dish more appealing to those who are vegetable-resistant.

It takes 30 minutes to prepare, longer if you want to use all use fresh vegetables. Prep time is 30 minutes.

Ingredients for 8 Servings

Preparation

1. COOK and drain broccoli as directed on package. Meanwhile…

2. COOK squash in orange juice in a 12-inch skillet, over medium-low heat, 8 to 10 minutes, until tender but firm. Stir frequently.

3. STIR in butter, broccoli, cranberries, pecans, orange peel and salt; toss to coat. Serve immediately.
  

Whether your guests want a glass of white wine, sparkling wine or other clear drink, add a bloody effect with crème de cassis (blackcurrant liqueur) or any red fruit liqueur.

For the mocktail set, use raspberry syrup instead of cassis and add it to club soda, ginger ale or lemon-lime soda. If you can’t find raspberry or other red fruit syrup on the shelf (check the pancake syrup area), you can make it:
 
RASPBERRY SIMPLE SYRUP RECIPE*

Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. CLEAN and slice berries. Place in a medium saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer and cook for about 20 minutes, skimming off any foam.

2. REMOVE from heat and strain into a clean pot. DO NOT press down on the berries to release more liquid. Discard the berries.

3. ADD sugar to the berry liquid and return to a boil, stirring frequently to dissolve. Simmer for 5 minutes until the sugar is completely dissolved, continuing to skim off any foam.

4. REMOVE from heat and cool completely. Pour into a glass container, seal and refrigerate. The syrup will keep for several weeks.
 

RECIPE: VAMPIRE DELIGHT

Ingredients For 1 Drink

 
Preparation

1. PLACE first three ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake.

2. RIM a martini glass with cassis and pour some down the side to get a pool of “blood” at the bottom of the glass. Add cocktail and serve.

 
*This recipe is for simple syrup for beverages, not for pancake syrup. You’ll need to reduce the syrup further for a thicker pancake-style syrup.
  

The filling was totally bland, seemingly lacking in seasoning of any kind. The label mentioned white wine, salt, white pepper, ground savory, dried parsley, ground thyme and black pepper, but the spices were indiscernable. As was the salt. Tthat chicken pot pie has 970 mg of sodium per 1 cup serving—more than half of anyone’s daily allotment—and it still tasted bland. Some people might have added even more salt.

But we lifted up the crust, sprinkled ground sage and thyme onto the filling and mixed them in. It was a vast improvement—not as good as if the herbs had been baked in originally, but much better than the first bite.

Here are some take-aways:

It’s the universal answer: salt is cheaper than herbs, and most people don’t know enough to complain. In fact, the more salt people eat, the more they expect and want “saltiness.”

Rule of thumb: If the salt jumps out at you and you’re not eating an intentionally salty food (pretzels or potato chips, e.g.) it’s over-salted. The salt flavor should be in the background; most foods shouldn’t taste “salty.”

Prepared foods—packaged foods and meals consumed outside the home—are the worst culprits. With convenience comes salt, one thing that few people need more of.

Excessive dietary salt consumption over an extended period is associated with hypertension and cardiovascular disease, in addition to other adverse health effects.

The American Heart Association recommends 1,500 milligrams of sodium (salt) per day*. But the average American’s salt intake is more than twice that: 3,436 mg sodium daily.

A single teaspoon of salt contains approximately 2,000 mg of sodium. Even if you don’t salt your food, if you eat restaurant food or processed food—canned, prepared and frozen meals or components—you’re often consuming more salt than a deer at a salt lick. Just look at the sodium content on the nutrition labels of condiments, mixes, soups, tomato sauce and any prepared foods or meals.

Single items sold by fast food restaurants can typically have 2,000 mg of sodium. And many other restaurant meals are also packed with hidden salt.

No matter how young and healthy you feel now, control your salt now and you won’t have to pay the piper later—in the form of hypertension (high blood pressure) and other conditions.
 
*Some people are in higher risk groups for coronary disease and should check with their healthcare providers.

[2] Sunchokes (Jerusalem artichokes) grow underground like potatoes, and can be cooked in the same ways (photo © Melissa’s Produce | Facebook).

[3] The smaller the Brussels sprouts, the more tender (photo © Sweetgreen).

[4] Crème fraîche is cultured cream like sour cream, but without the latter’s tanginess (photo © Vermont Creamery).

[5] Sliced almonds can be tossed into just about anything, from yogurt and scrambled eggs to salads and grain dishes (photo © Happy Belly | Amazon).

[6] Sprigs of fresh rosemary (photo © Burpee).

[7] Fresh thyme (photo © Good Eggs).

[8] Pomegranate juice, required for the jus (sauce), can also be used for cocktails before dinner (photo © Pom Wonderful).

If you can’t find sunchokes, substitute zucchini.

What are sunchokes? They’re also called sunroots, earth apples, more popularly, sunchokes. They are neither artichokes nor from Jerusalem! and See photo #2 and the explanation below.
 
 
RECIPE: OLIVE OIL POACHED SALMON WITH SPICED CIDER JUS, BABY BRUSSELS SPROUTS & SUNCHOKE PURÉE

Prep time is 45 minutes, cook time is 1 hour 15 minutes.

Ingredients For 6 Servings

Olive Oil Poached Salmon

 
For The Sunchoke Purée

 
For The Brussels Sprouts

 
For The Spiced Cider Jus

 
Garnish

 
Preparation: Spiced Cider Jus

1. COMBINE pomegranate juice, apple cider, cinnamon stick, cloves, peppercorns, and orange zest in a medium pot; reduce over medium-low heat to 1/2 cup. Pour through a fine-mesh strainer, discard the spices and zest and return reduced cider to the pot.

2. ADD the butter and heavy cream, whisking to combine; add salt to taste. Using a hand-held immersion blender, blend until light and foamy. Cover to keep warm and set aside.
 
Preparation: Sunchoke Purée

1. PREHEAT oven to 220°F. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil; add the sunchokes and cook until fork tender. Drain and transfer to a baking sheet. Place in a warm oven and allow to dry. Meanwhile…

2. BRING butter and heavy cream to a simmer in a small saucepan, over medium-low heat. Transfer the dried sunchokes and crème fraîche to the bowl of a food processor. With the machine running, add the hot butter and cream mixture; continue mixing until purée is smooth and creamy. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
 
Preparation: Brussels Sprouts

1. COOK butter over medium heat until it begins to brown. Add brussels sprouts and almonds. Cook until heated through; season with salt and pepper.
 
Preparation: Olive Oil Poached Salmon

1. BRING bring olive oil up to 160°F in a large Dutch oven or stockpot, over low heat. Add the rosemary, thyme, and kosher salt.

2. PLACE place the fillets into the hot oil carefully. Make sure the oil completely covers the fillets; add more oil if needed. Slowly poach until the center of each salmon fillet reaches 115°F, about 12 to 15 minutes.

3. REMOVE the fillets gently and season each portion with fleur de sel. Place a portion of the sunchoke purée in the center of each plate. Making a well with the back of a spoon, spoon the brussels sprouts mixture into the well. Place a salmon fillet on top.

4. RE-FROTH the spiced cider jus and skim the foam from the top. Spoon around the plate, garnish with fresh pomegranate arils and serve.
 
 
WHAT ARE SUNCHOKES?

Sunchokes, a modern term for Jerusalem artichokes (Helianthus tuberosus) are edible tubers that grow underground, similar to potatoes.

They taste like a cross between potatoes and artichoke hearts, with a slight  nuttiness. Although many people peel them, we like the earthy flavor of the skins.

Native to North America and related to the sunflower, when in bloom, the sunchoke resembles a miniature sunflower. It is related to the aster and usually has bright yellow flowers.

The Native Americans who cultivated them cooked it for themselves and traded it with other groups, which is why Jerusalem artichokes are now grown in different regions throughout North America.

Early European explorers tried them, liked them, and sent them back to Europe, where it soon flourished throughout most of the continent [source].

Sunchokes/Jerusalem artichokes can be cooked like potatoes: boiled, fried, grilled, mashed, microwaved, or steamed. Raw, the flavor is reminiscent of jicama, and can be added raw to salads and wherever raw jicama is used.

The origin of the name “Jerusalem artichoke” is unknown but there are two theories, the first of which sounds right to us.

 
Whatever the origin of the name, try them. Like those early European explorers, you’ll like them.