Lotus Root Chips

We're entering my favorite season. The days are getting longer, celebrities are getting thinner, and magazines are getting thicker. It's Blockbuster Season.

Between the Twilight sequel, the Pirates sequel, and the last Harry Potter, what's a Snacro girl to eat at the theater? The only thing in the theater snack case that's seen anything remotely close to a vegetable are the peanut m&ms.

So I decided to try my own series of Macro Movie Snacks. I should start with the ones that didn't work:

-Wakame Chips. This was my weapon of choice in high school, and it alienated entire rows.

-Daikon Veggie Rolls. We've discussed on this blog how daikon smells like a cadaver once it ripens. Don't and say you did.

-3 Course Fish Dinner. May had the soups in her cup rests, I kept the salads on my lap, and the salmon fillets were on the floor. It was a lovely meal by Legal Seafood enjoyed while watching True Grit, but I'm not gonna lie, it was really uncomfortable trying to hide those fish fillets going in. And everybody in the theater seemed pretty surprised that somebody would smuggle a full formal dinner into a movie theater.

Successful Macro Snacks:

-Trader Joe's Seaweed Snacks. These thin sheets of nori seaweed are toasted in sesame oil and dusted with sea salt. The price is right at $.99, but you should be prepared to buy at least three, because they'll be gone in 60 seconds... har har har.

-I would say granola bars, but these are a lame snack food. They only last about a minute. True movie snacks are built to last at least thirty minutes.

-Little Lad's Herbal Corn. This stuff is amazing, and for $5, you'll get a bag you can repurpose into a tent to live in. The bag is huge, and rather than be smothered in the normal buttery trappings of theater popcorn, it's got fresh dill sprigs and nutritional yeast. Yum!

And that brings us to the delicious...

Lotus Root Chips

Pictured above are the Sweet Lotus Chips

Ingredients:

2-3 lotus root pods (available at your local World Mart or Chinese/Japanese grocery store)

Bragg's Liquid Aminos

Olive Oil

White Wine Vinegar

Nutritional Yeast

Sea Salt

SAVORY LOTUS CHIPS (Crunchy and salty)

Heat olive oil in skillet. Slice lotus root into thin rounds (about half the width of an oreo cookie). Toss slices into the skillet and squirt about 2-3 tsp Braggs into the skillet, cooking until all the liquid is gone and the slices are chewy like bacon. Throw into a ziplock baggie, sneak into theater, and enjoy!

SWEET LOTUS CHIPS (Similar to sweet potato fries or taro chips)

Whisk 3 tbsp. olive oil, 3 tbsp. white wine vinegar, pinch sea salt and 1 tbsp. cool water in large bowl. Place slices in bowl and allow to soak 1-2 hours. We agreed that this is the best because then the lotus roots can really absorb the flavor.

Place soaked roots on cookie sheet and coat in a generous dusting of nutritional yeast. Bake 10-15 minutes at 400.