Korean beef in lettuce leaves

David makes this recipe, and I enjoy eating it. I've told him I'd be happy to eat this every week!

korean beef in lettuce leaves

4 servings

adapted from The Flat Belly Diet Cookbook

sauce

3 T. orange marmalade

2 T. soy sauce

1 T. hoisin sauce

1 T. freshly grated ginger

1 clove garlic, minced

1 lb. 93% lean ground beef

1/4 cup canola oil

8 scallions, sliced

2 carrots, finely chopped

1 red bell pepper, seeded and finely chopped

a head of Boston or Bibb lettuce leaves (romaine or red leaf lettuce also fine)

In a small bowl, whisk together the 5 sauce ingredients.  Set aside.

In a large skillet, sauté the ground beef (no extra oil needed yet) until it is browned and cooked through. Drain off the grease.  Put the cooked beef into a bowl and set aside.

In the skillet the beef was cooked in, heat the canola oil over medium-high heat. Cook the scallions, carrots, and pepper for about 5 minutes, stirring often, until the veggies are cooked through.

Add the beef back into the pan, add the sauce mixture, and cook, stirring for another 5 minutes.

Spoon the beef mixture into the lettuce leaves and serve, or roll like a wrap to eat.  If using Boston or Bibb lettuce, the first few leaves are usually large enough for a wrap. After that, just put the beef on top of a curled up leaf, cut up and enjoy.

Tuna salad with cucumbers, pickled onions, and herbs

I'm always on the look-out for quick and easy dinner recipes, and this one caught my eye. Published as "Scarlett's Tuna Salad" in the New York Times, it came with high praise. I can confirm that judgment. Don't be put off by having to pickle a red onion--it's very simple, and you end up with a jar with beautiful pink contents, and the onions can certainly be used in/on things other than this tuna salad. The fresh herbs are important here. I happen to have basil and mint in my garden during the summer. If I were to make this in another season, I'd probably try a combination of parsley and cilantro, rather than spending the money on little containers of fresh herbs.

tuna salad with cucumbers, pickled onions and herbs

adapted from https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1019422-scarletts-tuna-salad

 serves 4-5

pickled onions

1/2 cup rice-wine vinegar

1 T. sugar

1 t. kosher salt

1/2 cup hot water

1 red onion, peeled, halved, and thinly sliced

salad

2 cucumbers, peeled if skin is thick/waxy, quartered length-wise and sliced about 1/4" thick

4 scallions, thinly sliced

4 limes, juiced, about 1/3 cup

10-14 oz. tuna, water packed, drained (original recipe used oil-packed tuna)

2 avocados, peeled and diced

freshly ground black pepper, to taste

handful of basil leaves, washed and chopped roughly

handful cilantro, washed and chopped roughly

handful fresh mint leaves, washed and chopped roughly

4 T. olive oil (the original recipe used 6 T.)

Make the pickled onions: In a clean glass jar with a tightfitting lid (I used a 1 pint canning jar), mix vinegar, sugar, salt, and water. Shake until sugar is dissolved. Bring a pot of water to the boil, and add the onions, letting them sit for just a few seconds in the hot water, then drain well and transfer to the jar with the vinegar. Let sit for about an hour, or make ahead and keep in the refrigerator for up to a week.

The salad:

In a large mixing bowl, mix the cucumbers and scallions with the lime juice.  Add the tuna, breaking it into bite-size pieces. Add avocados, 3 T. of pickled red onions, and 1 T. of pickling liquid from the jar, and the herbs. Drizzle with olive oil and mix gently.