It’s A Wrap

There are certain eating styles that feed my atavistic nature. The one-handed noshing of Ethiopian Cuisine; the dunk and dredge of potato chips through a savory onion dip at bars and Football Sundays; the smokey delight of bar-be-que pork spare ribs on a waning Summer’s evening; any street food that requires only the hand to shovel the food from greasy paper to open mouth; they all bring a certain amount of satisfaction completely denied by the fork. In polite society the fork is necessary, but there are times when the hands and fingers are the best tools to get the job done. Eating with your hands makes eating a fun festival! The food fest is never complete until the decidedly naughty act of licking one’s fingers clean, relishing the very last molecule of taste. You might go and wash your hands at that point, but, even so, I always find that wonderful lingering smell that wafts up from the hands reminding me that I have eaten, oh, so very well.

To make this plain I do have a thing for wraps. I used to love the whole tomato-basil tortilla chicken wrap or the spinach lavash slathered with cheese and seafood. Alas, no more. Lettuce, cabbage and any other vegetable I can make into a wrap are my alternatives. My taste buds explode happily from all the flavors and textures. My hands get messy from all the ingredients. Yes, my mouth frequently bites off more than it can chew, but the smile and laughter of eating something wonderful cannot be suppressed. It’s a gorge fest filled with all the foods I love.

Today’s lunch is a twist on the Thai Lettuce Wrap. There’s some preparation here, but worth every ounce of effort. Indulge!

Super Thai Turkey Lettuce Wraps

Serves 4

Ingredients:

Wraps:

• Medium to Large Romaine Lettuce Leave, washed and wrapped in paper towels. Refrigerate until ready to assemble

Turkey:

• 1 Tablespoon canola oil (I use the stuff fortified with Omega 3)
• Fresh red and green chilies or dried red and green chilies (get as spicy as your palette can handle. I use Ghost chillies)
• 1 pound ground turkey meat (I get the leanest turkey meat I can find)
• pinch of sea salt
• 1-inch nub of ginger, peeled and minced
• 1 clove garlic, peeled and minced
• 3 green onions, washed, sliced thinly, both white and green. Reserve green part for garnish
• 1 oz roasted peanuts, roughly chopped
• 1 Tablespoon Thai fish sauce
• Juice and zest of 1 lime
• 2 teaspoons to 1 Tablespoon honey (adjust to suit your taste

Garnishes:

• Have fun shopping the produce section. Get anything that looks interesting
• Shaved carrot tossed with a little sea salt and rice wine vinegar
• Thinly sliced mushrooms tossed with gluten-free tamari, sambal olek and Braggs apple cider vinegar
• Fresh corn and sliced cherry tomatoes tossed with a little olive oil and sea salt
• Julienned green cabbage
• Thinly sliced green part of the green onion
• Roasted peanuts

Method:

• Get all your garnishes assembled
• Prep all your ingredients for the turkey
• Heat the pan
• Add the oil and warm
• Add the chilies and stir until spicy aroma is released (Do not walk away or you will burn the chilies.)
• Add the turkey and cook. Chop it up as you stir to mince it.
• Season with salt
• Stir in the ginger, garlic and peanuts, and allow to bloom for a minute
• Add the fish sauce and reduce down to almost dry
• Remove from heat
• Add the lime juice, zest and honey
• Taste and adjust seasoning

To Serve:

• Mound the turkey in a bowl
• Surround the bowl with the lettuce leaves and all the garnishes
• Stick spoons or tongs in everything
• Let your guests create their own wraps
• Be sure to supply a lot of napkins!

Cherry On Top

My new toy arrived the evening before I left town. That’s what new toys do. They make their first appearance just as you are running out the door and there’s absolutely no time to even flip the box open. As I jaunted up the I35 the box sat in a corner of my room. Oh sweet misery. At least the drive allowed my imagination time to compose new and interesting recipes utilizing my new toy.

I bought a Spirooli Vegetable Slicer, that fancy Japanese slicer that makes thinly shaved spaghetti-shaped pasta from vegetables. It is one of the key tools for cooking in the raw. I already do a raw carrot pasta salad utilizing a vegetable peeler. It was time to work on more advanced shapes. Purchasing the fancy slicer would be just the ticket.

This am I clipped through the market, running as if the hellhounds of Satan were snapping at my heels. I had over-slept YET AGAIN. Bah! Late for work and everyday my boss expects breakfast 5 minutes earlier than the day before. Ai-yai-yai! I rounded the corner in the produce department and ran right into the produce god unloading cases of fresh cherries. Their big, red, shiny skins dangled all succulent from green stems. This guy knows me. He didn’t even ask. He shoved a bag into my basket with a nod. I didn’t even have to slow down. I raced to the Ranch, stowed my produce and focused on breakfast.

After the breakfast clean-up I contemplated what to do with those cherries. For a few days my mouth was hankering for some Waldorf. The thing about Waldorf is that is a mayonaise based salad loaded with apples, celery, maybe raisins and, usually, some kind of nut. If I were clever the cherries were going to inspire a riff.

Almost Raw, Almost Vegan Cherry Pecan Waldorf

Serves 4 people

Ingredients:

Dressing:

• 4 ounces raw pecans
• 2 ounces filtered water
• 2 teaspoons real maple syrup (can add more or reduce depending on your taste)
• pinch of sea salt (to taste)
• 2 Tablespoons yogurt (I used Greek, but you could use soy)
• 1/2 shallot, peeled

Salad:

• 2 oranges, juiced
• 1/2 lemon, juiced
• 2 Granny Smith apples, washed, cored
• 2 celery ribs, washed and julienned (alternatively you could use a vegetable peeler and peel off long, thin slivers)
• 2 Tablespoons sundried cherries, chopped
• 1 ounce raw pecans, chopped
• handful fresh cherries, washed, stemmed, pitted

Method:

Dressing:

• Place all the dressing ingredients into the bowl of a food processor fitted with a blade.
• Turn on and mix for five minutes.
• Taste and adjust seasonings.
• Reserve in refrigerator until putting salad together.

Salad:

• Place the two juices in a bowl.
• If you are using a spirooli follow manufacturer’s instructions. The trick with this is to add constant pressure. I just used the one blade to get a shaved apple look.
• If you are slicing the apple by hand try to make the slices as thin as possible. You could also make matchstick shapes.
• Place the apple slices in the bowl with the juice. Toss to coat.
• Add the celery, sundried cherries and pecans.
• Start off with 2 Tablespoons of dressing. Gently mix into the salad. Feel free to add more dressing if you would like more dressing.
• Mound onto plates.
• Garnish with the fresh cherries.
• Serve immediately.

Notes:

• To make this completely vegan substitute soy yogurt for the Greek yogurt.
• To make the dressing completely raw soak (refrigerated) your pecans for 8 hours. Then blend without adding the yogurt.

Variations:

• Feel free to toast your pecans.
• Add candied pecans for an interesting crunch and taste variation.
• Why not try fresh and dried apricots, plums, cranberries?
• Instead of celery, try cabbage or kale.

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