(Vegan) Ginger & Lime Lettuce Wraps

A recipe from CSA member Madi!

Ginger & Lime Lettuce Wraps

(Vegan) Ginger & Lime Lettuce Wraps
I am a huge fan of butterhead lettuce, and so I was stoked to receive a head of it in our last share. I made these delicious vegan lettuce wraps — you could, of course, opt for ground pork/chicken/beef, however, I had some Impossible Beef on hand at home and figured I’d give it a whirl. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
-1 lb ground meat, or vegan meat
-1 small white onion, diced
-3-5 cloves garlic, minced
-1-2 inch knob of ginger, peeled and minced (I went heavy on the ginger)
-Bunch of green onions***, sliced
-1 head of butterhead lettuce***
-1 lime
-1 tbs neutral oil
-Tender herbs (basil, mint, cilantro) to top
-For the sauce: Soy sauce, sriracha, hoisin, rice wine vinegar (all to taste - find your perfect sweet/spicy balance)

Recipe:
1. Heat skillet at medium heat. Crumble vegan meat into a skillet, and brown for 5-8 minutes. Remove meat from the pan once browned to your liking, and set aside in a small bowl.
2. Add diced onions and minced garlic to the skillet, with a bit of neutral oil, and cook until fragrant.
3. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine a few splashes of soy sauce, sriracha, sweet chili paste or hoisin, and rice wine vinegar.
4. Add sauce and ginger to the onions in the skillet, and mix to combine.
5. Toss sliced green onions, your crumbled meat, sesame seeds, and the squeeze of 1 juicy lime into the skillet, and warm all together for a minute or two.
6. Spoon mixture onto your butterhead pieces, drizzle with more hot sauce, and top w/ either basil or cilantro, if desired!

Oi Muchim (Spicy Cucumbers)

From CSA member Ellice Lee!

One of my favorite things about Summer is eating crunchy, fresh veggies—and especially if they're spicy and a tad bit sweet! This recipe is a quick go-to. It takes about 15 min to prep and 15 min of marinating and then it's ready to serve. Tastes even better on Day 2, so you can always make this a day ahead of time.

Ingredients (Serves 4 to 6)
11⁄2 pounds (680 g) Korean, English hothouse, or Persian cucumbers
1⁄4 pound (115 g, or about 1 large bunch) Chinese garlic chives, cut into 1 1⁄2-inch (4 cm) pieces (or substitute green onions!)
1 cup (100 g) thinly sliced sweet white onion
2 tablespoons gochugaru (Korean hot pepper flakes—make sure you use the flakes, not the powder, or else it will be REALLY spicy)
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar (non or lightly seasoned)
2 teaspoons packed brown sugar (or honey, agave)
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds
11⁄2 teaspoons kosher salt

Directions

Cut the cucumbers into 2-inch (5 cm) pieces, then cut each of those pieces in fours.

Place the cucumbers in a large mixing bowl, then add the garlic chives, onion, gochugaru, rice wine vinegar, sweetener of choice, sesame oil, sesame seeds, and salt.
Mix everything together well with your hands, then pack it into a nonreactive storage container, such as glass or plastic.

You can eat this right away, but it tastes better if left to sit at room temperature for 15 minutes. This will last 3 to 4 days in the refrigerator.

This recipe has been adapted from Sohui Kim's Korean Home Cooking.

Gazpacho

Member Cara MacAteer has another great recipe to share - the epitome of summer!

GAZPACHO

I had made it most of the way through this unusual summer before I realized that I still had not made gazpacho despite all the hot, humid days where I wanted meals that don't require turning on an oven or stove. Then on August 13, I picked up my share to find that it had everything I needed except for the vinegar, oil, and salt, which I had in my pantry already. I sometimes have trouble finding a cubanelle pepper but my share included a beautiful one. I chopped up Farmer Ted's tomatoes, cucumber, pepper, onion, and garlic and tossed them into a Vitamix with some salt and olive oil and vinegar and had delicious gazpacho in no time.

Here is the recipe I use: https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1017577-best-gazpacho

INGREDIENTS:

About 2 pounds ripe red tomatoes, cored and roughly cut into chunks
1 Italian frying (cubanelle) pepper cored, seeded and roughly cut into chunks
1 cucumber, about 8 inches long, peeled and roughly cut into chunks
1 small mild onion (white or red), peeled and roughly cut into chunks
1 clove garlic
2 teaspoons sherry vinegar, more to taste
Salt
½ cup extra-virgin olive oil, more to taste, plus more for drizzling

PREPARATION

Combine tomatoes, pepper, cucumber, onion and garlic in a blender or, if using a hand blender, in a deep bowl. (If necessary, work in batches.) Blend at high speed until very smooth, at least 2 minutes, pausing occasionally to scrape down the sides with a rubber spatula.

With the motor running, add the vinegar and 2 teaspoons salt. Slowly drizzle in the olive oil. The mixture will turn bright orange or dark pink and become smooth and emulsified, like a salad dressing. If it still seems watery, drizzle in more olive oil until texture is creamy.

Strain the mixture through a strainer or a food mill, pushing all the liquid through with a spatula or the back of a ladle. Discard the solids. Transfer to a large pitcher (preferably glass) and chill until very cold, at least 6 hours or overnight.

Before serving, adjust the seasonings with salt and vinegar. If soup is very thick, stir in a few tablespoons ice water. Serve in glasses, over ice if desired, or in a bowl. A few drops of olive oil on top are a nice touch.