Now, I don't want to complain, as this is fantastic, fresh, and flavorful (you gotta love alliteration), not to mention absolutely beautiful. And lettuce grows like gangbusters here in Arizona, where there are few pests to ravage the crops. However this bounty means that this is the one item that we CANNOT go through fast enough. I am trying extremely hard to reduce our overall waste, with specificity to our food waste (did you know that the average American throws out 1400 calories A DAY????). But I feel like I am constantly peeling off the outer leaves of a head of our lettuce because it's gotten slimy and brown, tossing it in the compost bin. And each time I do, I cringe, thinking of those leaves as dollar bills that I am throwing away.
Here's the thing: there are only so many salads that this woman can consume in a week. And only so many sandwiches that feature lettuce. And that seems to be ALL lettuce is good for.
We also get Swiss chard, arugula, spinach, collards, mustard greens, kale, etc. These are fantastic; there is so much a person can do with these different greens. But lettuce... I mean, really - type "lettuce recipe" into a search engine, and I challenge you to find something that doesn't also contain the words "salad" or "sandwich." I did come across a soup recipe, but it called for some specialty lettuce, and I wasn't sure how a basic leaf variety would do as a substitute.
I'm desperate here. If you know of a recipe that calls for lettuce but isn't a sandwich or salad, please send me the link or post the recipe. A reward may follow. I don't know what that reward (if there is one other than oodles of praise being sung from the rafters) might be, although the way Zooey has been behaving may result in the reward being a cute but naughty three-year-old coonhound.But in all seriousness, I'm at the groveling stage.
We had the exact same problem when we first started our CSA, and found this recipe a total life saver. It's great with chard, but also lettuce and other greens too.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Cinnamon-Spiced-Swiss-Chard-Pancakes-101410
Outstanding - this looks amazing; what an interesting concept! Thank you SO much for sharing! Zooey is behaving (at the moment), so you win the prize of NOT getting her dumped on you! :)
ReplyDeleteHave you considered purchasing rabbits? Or G. Pigs?
ReplyDeleteSeriously, have you considered lettuce wraps? Or using leaves as a bedding for a unique protein like a scoop of tuna or lentils? You can use the leaves as hamburger buns or shred it and use it as taco filling. You could also use it as a sweet to simply go with a savory meal like red beans and rice.
You can def go carb free and use it as a wrap! Or here's some lettuce soup that I found... it looks kinda gross, but given the ingredients list, it sounds pretty good:
ReplyDeletehttp://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Lettuce-and-Tarragon-Soup/Detail.aspx