Light Salmon Spring Rolls

Jesus said: "But those who drink the water I give 

will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, 

bubbling spring with them, giving them eternal life."

Food for the Palate
Ingredients:
2  5oz fillets of Salmon
1 medium carrot, peeled into ribbons
1 English cucumber
1 avocado
cilantro, chopped

Dipping Sauce:

3/4 cup lite soy sauce

1/4 cup rice wine vinegar

1 Tbsp sesame oil

1 1/2 Tbsp honey

1 tsp minced ginger

4 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 cup chopped scallions

Instructions: Preheat oven to 425F

Prepare your dipping sauce first. Add all ingredients into a bowl and mix well. Half of the sauce is for dipping and half is for a marinade. Pour half of your sauce over salmon and marinate for 30 minutes. Then bake your salmon in the preheated oven for 15-20 minutes, depending on how you like it cooked. We like medium rare. Remove from oven and let cool.

Prepare your veggies. Slice your avocado vertically. Make medallions with your cucumbers. Peel your carrot using your peeler to make ribbons. Chop your cilantro. Have your veggies ready for layering along with your salmon. Set all aside.

In a bowl large enough for your rice sheets, add warm water. Dip your rice sheet, one at a time into the warm water and lay on your counter or cutting board. Layer avocado, carrots, cucumbers, cilantro and salmon about 1/4 of the way on your rice sheet. Now carefully roll it all up in your rice sheet. Make sure after the first tuck you overlap the sides onto your roll. Don't make the mistake of making your rolls too big.

Add 1/2 tsp olive oil to a nonstick sauté pan on medium heat. Once your pan is heated add your rolls. Cook on each side until lightly browned, about 4-5 minutes per side.

Place your salmon rolls on a plate and serve with dipping sauce. Tasty to the Palate!

Officially, these salmon rolls should be called "Summer Salmon Rolls". Spring rolls are deep fried and definitely not light. Summer rolls are left raw, and certainly a healthier choice. So, it just makes sense for me to call them something in-between. 

Food for the Soul:

One of my favorite stories in the Bible is about a woman, sin, a well, water and Jesus. You guessed it, "The Woman at the Well". This story teaches us that God's love is not contingent upon our being sinless. On the contrary, it is all about Jesus meeting us right where we are in our sin. You can find this story in the Gospel of John, chapter 4, where Jesus is sitting, waiting for her as she walks to Jacob's well to get water for herself on this specific day. 

As the woman approaches the well, she sees Jesus sitting there. Little does she know that He is waiting just for her. As she moves towards Jesus, she realizes that He is a Jew. There is no one else around and He asks her to give Him a drink of water. I am sure that this makes her nervous. Not only is she finding herself in a place with a man all alone, but He asks her for a drink of water. This alone must have caught her off guard, as Jews of that time had nothing to do with Samaritans. Jesus and the woman greet each other with pleasantries and then she continues with her business. 

I envision her beginning to lower her bucket to retrieve some water for her vessel when Jesus says: "If you only knew the gift God has for you and who you are speaking to, you would ask Me, and I would give you living water." John 4:10

I can only assume that the woman is still unnerved and trying to get her water and continue on her way as soon as possible. But His Words intrigue her and she just has to ask; "Where are you going to get this living water?" I wouldn't be surprised if she had an air of sarcasm in her voice as she speaks. After all, she alone knows the motives that lie underneath a man's offer. For she has been approached many times before, only to be scorned, abused and abandoned by too many men to count. But something about Him keeps her there. Her instinct should be to hurry along but instead she moves slower than normal. She is sure that if this man only knew how vast her sins were, He would want nothing to do with her. But she can't seem to make herself work faster. 

Then Jesus speaks; "...Those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring with them, giving them eternal life." The more He speaks, the more she realizes that He isn't talking about drinking water. As He starts talking to her about the many men in her life, she senses that she needs to flee. She doesn't know how He knows that she has been married several times, and that she is sleeping with someone that is not her husband, but it makes her feel exposed. She takes note of her feelings and realizes that the one thing she doesn't feel is judgement from this man.

The woman stops what she is doing and turns to look at Jesus. She is drawn to His eyes. She expects to see condemnation and scorn in them. But instead, she only sees love and acceptance. He must be a prophet she thinks to herself and wonders why a prophet would be here of all places, conversing with  her.

"Woman," Jesus replied, "believe me, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. .....Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is Spirit, and His worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth."

As she ponders the bold statements that Jesus is making she tells Him "I know that Messiah" (called Christ) "is coming. When He comes, He will explain everything to us." With a little pride in her voice, she stands with her chin a little higher, letting Him know that she is not as ignorant as some believe her to be. She knows that if only for her alone, she needs a Savior. 

 Then Jesus declared, "I, the One speaking to you-I am He." Immediately she feels nothing but love, truth, redemption, and acceptance. She is beyond excited as she bursts with joy knowing that what Jesus is sayings is Truth. She doesn't know how she knows, but she does. For the first time since she was a very small girl, she actually feels recognition for the character of her heart, and not for the sinful deeds that have plagued her soul. It doesn't matter how many men she's been with before today. All that matters is that the Man standing in front of her believes that she is redeemable, has shown nothing but love, and has offered her the living water that can cleanse her soul and give her deliverance. She has been touched by the Messiah and she is compelled to tell everyone. As she runs back to the village where she is known with a sorted past, she doesn't care what others think about her, because she knows what He thinks of her. And she tells everyone. 

The story of the woman at the well isn't just her story alone. Jesus told this story so that we would know that it doesn't matter where we have been or what we have done. Her story is no different than yours or mine. We all have sinned and fall short of God's glory. But salvation comes to those who recognize their desperate need for forgiveness. The Living Water Jesus offered to the woman at the well is the same water that He offers to you and me. May we all be spiritually refreshed at that well daily! Satisfying to the Soul!