Vegetarian Lettuce Wraps

I've been a gardener for a very long time, but this is the first year I've been somewhat serious about growing food. Flowers are fun and all, but there's nothing better than being able to tell a kid who is complaining that she's hungry to "Go outside and find a snack."

I've been doing THAT for a while, but only with tomatoes, strawberries, and blueberries. This year I decided we need to add peas, zucchini, sweet potatoes, eggplant, peppers, cucumbers, pumpkins, cantaloupe, and watermelon to the snack bar in the yard.

Some of it is going ... not well. For the first time ever, I'm not sure that we'll get any tomatoes, for example. But then there is the lettuce. HOOBOY.

Anybody need some green leaf lettuce? Because I have ALL OF IT. I didn't think to space out my planting time, so I have three packages of seeds that are now full-grown plants begging to be harvested. SO. MUCH. LETTUCE.

There are only so many times you can feed your family salad before they start looking at you funny, so now I've branched on to Vegetarian Lettuce Wraps.

Which, GENIUS. I can't believe I didn't think of it sooner.

Whether rolled up neatly or just hanging out, they are fantastic. I really wish I had thought to start making them years ago.

They're super easy and SO good, plus I like that I can make the troops assemble their own dinner. That's always a bonus.

Vegetarian Lettuce Wraps

1 tablespoon peanut oil
1 package firm tofu, drained well (Meatetarians can absolutely sub in ground beef here)
1 cup corn (frozen or fresh, I'm not about to judge you)
1/2 cup carrots cut into "matchsticks"
1/2 cup shelled edamame
1/3 cup soy sauce
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon red chile paste
Lettuce for wrapping all of the other fun stuff up in that list

1. Throw the oil in a large, non-stick skillet and turn the heat on medium. Toss in the block of tofu and shred it with a fork.

2. Keep shredding the tofu as it browns. It's going to take a few minutes for it to cook thoroughly.

3. Once the tofu is a nice golden/light brown color, toss in the corn, carrots, and edamame. Stir things up.

4. In a small bowl, combine the soy sauce, balsamic vinegar, and chile paste. Stir well with a fork.

5. Once the carrots are as soft as you want them (I left them a bit crunchy), toss the sauce in with the veggies and tofu. Stir everything up.

6. Scoop a tablespoon or so of the fun stuff onto a piece of lettuce and wrap it all up like a burrito.

7. Glare at your kid every time she reaches into the bowl of tofu and veggies and grabs a piece of tofu. THAT'S NOT HOW IT'S DONE, ALEXIS.

8. Enjoy!

Comments

[Di]

YUM! Love this, we will try it tonight. I've been looking for a new tofu recipe and this is a nice change of pace.

[Katie in MA]

I am such a good friend that if I lived close enough, I would volunteer to take some of that lettuce off of your hands. :) Lettuce wraps are DELICIOUS!

[Flea]

Thank you for posting the recipe! I have a tough time growing lettuce. One, because it's so dang hot. Two, because my stupid chickens eat it all before it's any size at all. But excess lettuce makes for great green smoothies.