Shrimp Lettuce Wraps

Last spring one of my friends was preparing for a surgery and was on a very restrictive diet. To liven things up, I offered to make supper with lots of fresh ingredients from the farm. It was a really fun challenge to prepare a 5-course meal that was under 1000 calories.

This is the first course in the Asian-themed, low-calorie, five-course meal: shrimp lettuce wraps as an appetizer.

ingredients

• 2 Tbsp lime juice

• 1 to 2 Tbsp gochujang (which is a Korean hot pepper paste), or your favorite hot sauce

• 1 Tbsp oil (try sesame if you have it)

• 2 tsp honey

• 1 green garlic, grated (or 1 clove garlic)

• 2 tsp grated fresh ginger

• 1 lb small shrimp, peeled and deveined

• 1 head romaine lettuce (or other head lettuce), leaves separated

• 1 cucumber, cut in small cubes

• several radishes, sliced (or substitute salad turnips)

• several leaves fresh mint (or basil, or cilantro), cut in small ribbons

directions

Combine lime juice, gochujang, oil, honey, garlic, ginger, and shrimp in a bowl, stir, and let marinate in the fridge for an hour.

Preheat oven to 425. Arrange shrimp on a sheet pan and roast until just opaque throughout, about 10-15 minutes.

Allow shrimp to cool slightly, then lay out lettuce leaves and fill with shrimp, cucumbers, radishes, and mint.

Roasted Sweet Potato and Arugula Salad

The first boxes of the spring CSA season went out this past week! Here’s what they included: sweet potatoes (stored from last fall’s harvest), green garlic, arugula, leaf lettuce, french breakfast radishes, and chive blossoms.

One of the perks of CSA membership is the weekly CSA email. This email includes a list of each item in the CSA box that week along with storage and preparation tips. It also features one of the items in the box with a deep dive into its history, nutrition, and additional preparation suggestions. And, each week Farmer Katie selects or creates a recipe that utilizes some or all of the items in the box.

This week’s recipe utilizes all six of the items in the box, and it is delicious!

Roasted Sweet Potato and Arugula Salad

INGREDIENTS

Salad:

2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and diced

1/2 red onion, thinly sliced (or substitute green garlic)

1 tablespoon oil

1/2 teaspoon chili powder

Pinch of cayenne pepper (optional)

Salt and pepper to taste

6 cups baby arugula (and/or other salad greens)

4 radishes, sliced very thinly

2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds

2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh chives (or chive blossoms)

Honey-balsamic dressing:

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1 tablespoon honey

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

4 tablespoons olive or sesame oil

Salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 375°F. Toss the sweet potatoes and onion with the oil, chili powder, cayenne, salt, and pepper. Place on a baking sheet and roast for 20 minutes, stirring gently every 5 to 10 minutes. Increase the heat to 400°F and roast for another 5 to 10 minutes until the sweet potatoes are golden brown. Continue to stir the sweet potato pieces as needed to prevent over-browning. Remove from the oven when soft throughout and let cool slightly.

In the meantime, whisk together vinegar, honey, mustard, and olive oil. Season with salt and pepper and set aside.

In a medium bowl toss together arugula, sliced radishes, and chives. To serve, arrange arugula mixture on plates. Spoon sweet potatoes over arugula, sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds, drizzle with dressing, and serve. (Serves 4)

Recipe adapted from: The Iron You

Simple Snacks

Simple snacks with local veggies

If you’re trying to incorporate more healthy food into your routine, here are some easy ways to eat healthier snacks.

The quickest and easiest is to simply eat raw veggies with your favorite dip, like Ranch, honey-mustard, or homemade beet hummus like in the photo below. (For more delicious dip ideas, check out this collection.)

To make healthy snacking easier, have your veggies washed and sliced, and in an easy-to-grab container so you’ll be more likely to choose them over the bag of potato chips.

Veggies in the photo above include:

• carrots

• cucumbers

• multi-colored green beans

• kohlrabi

• multi-colored bell peppers

Other great veggies for raw snacking include:

• cauliflower

• broccoli

• radishes

• salad turnips

• cabbage

• snap peas

• cherry tomatoes

And fruits and berries are great for snacking! You can find local:

• strawberries

• raspberries

• blackberries

• cantaloupe

• watermelon

• apples

• peaches

• pears

You can freeze or dehydrate fruits and berries to make them last longer.

To step up your snacking game a bit (or for fancy appetizers), try incorporating vegetables into dips, spreads, or the beautiful tomato-basil bruschetta pictured below, crafted by one of our CSA members.

photo by Jen Amor

Tacos de Lengua

This one is for the adventurous folks out there. “Lengua” means “tongue” in Spanish, and this is a traditional recipe for beef tongue tacos.

Tongue, especially when slow cooked, is extremely tender and delicious. If you buy a whole or half beef locally, ask to have the tongue (and liver and heart!) when it’s processed. You can also find tongue at some local lockers. I got mine from Dageforde Farms (they come to the Beatrice Farmers Market!)

If you grew up eating tongue and hating it, give it one more try with this recipe…you’ll probably change your mind! The secret is using only the tender inner part of the tongue, and cutting it into small cubes.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 beef tongue

• 1 onion, chopped

• 6 garlic cloves, mashed

• 2 bay leaves

• 1 T. pepper

• 1 T. salt

• 1 large sprig fresh thyme

• broth to cover (or water with beef bouillon)

Topping options:

• Diced white onion

• Chopped green onions

• Chopped cilantro

• Green tomatillo salsa (or red tomato salsa)

• Cheese

• Thinly sliced radishes

• Lime juice

DIRECTIONS

Place all ingredients in crock pot with enough broth or water to cover them, and cook on low 6-8 hours. Remove tongue to cool, peel/cut off outer layer, and cut off any rough spots. Slice into small cubes, and sauté in frying pan until browned. Add meat to corn tortillas and top with diced onion, cilantro, green salsa, and thinly sliced radishes.