Phew! I’m sure you can relate when I say I’ve been busy the last two weeks! Earlier this week I spent time with my mother, aunt, sister and cousins in San Francisco. We stayed right on Union Square at the Sir Francis Hotel. Have you heard of that hotel? It’s truly remarkable. The building is old and the architecture is so detailed. I felt like royalty staying in such a beautiful place! Have you ever been to San Francisco? If so, have you ever taken a moment to look at the modern buildings juxtaposed against the Victorian architecture? The buildings and homes in San Francisco are so eclectic and the streets are always bustling.
Naturally, there were a lot of holiday decorations on every street corner and many more people. It was really special to see the giant Christmas tree and Menorah all lit up on the square. And to listen to a marching band performance the next morning. My cousins’ Uncle is 6 foot 6 so we all guessed how many “Uncle Swens” stacked on top of each other it would take to reach the top of tree. My cousin Julia was closest at 12 Swens. It was a little over 12.5 of him, 83 feet! That’s some serious Christmas spirit. Needless to say I have had my share of fun this week.
Amongst the trip to San Francisco, one to Sacramento, CA and some other adventures I’ve fallen behind on blog postings! The holidays always bring about a lot of family and friend time. A much loved and appreciated break, but finding time to write for the blog is hard. Today, now that the holiday celebrations have died down, I have been marathoning through and trying to write up all the recipes I have pictures for. They’ve accumulated for a while, patiently waiting to be posted.
Despite the family activities, this is the busiest time of year for a blogger. Everyone is looking for recipe ideas and are trying to find quick and delicious appetizers to bring to parties or if we are hosting, satiate our guests while we run around in the kitchen! Then the New Year rolls around, we’ve all had too many sweets and we are looking for healthy recipes as we focus on our New Years resolutions and bettering ourselves. I think the trick to starting new habits is taking them one step at a time and making it fun and easy! I know I am always working towards eating healthier and being a more mindful, compassionate individual so I’m hoping together we can support each other through whatever our goals may be!
Having it all planned out ahead of time definitely takes the guess work out of changing habits, regardless their content. I’ll be posting a lot of healthy recipes in the coming weeks to help push us to reach our goals! I am filled to the brim with wholesome recipes, mindfulness activities and articles about ethical and sustainable consumption. And I am particularly excited to tell you about this vegan mushroom lettuce cups recipe! Echoing what I have mentioned in other posts, easy and healthy are a recipe for success! These make a great lunch, snack, side dish or the recipe can easily be doubled or tripled to make it a main dish any (or every) day of the week. Oh, and did I mention they are delish? You can have your Chinese take out and your health too!
December has been bringing the San Francisco Bay an abundance of food and this week I picked up a beautiful portobello mushroom at the farmers’ market. I love using mushrooms as a meat substitute, because they have such a satisfying thick mouth feel. I’ve had mushrooms as a substitute in orange chicken, in burger patties and many other creative ways, but this recipe keeps it simple. The highlight is the mushroom. It still tastes like a mushroom, because that is exactly what belonged in these mushroom lettuce cups, and I love it.
Mushrooms are a fungus that grow amongst decomposing matter. Look for organic ones or wild harvested that have grown in nutrient rich soil, because they will absorb whatever is present in their growing medium, good or bad. Mushrooms are one of the only sources of selenium which is important for a healthy thyroid. They also contain good amounts of fiber, riboflavin, copper, potassium, phosphorus, pantothenic acid and niacin. As I was saying before they are absorbent like a sponge, so if their soil is rich in minerals they will be too!
These vegan lettuce cups also have ginger, garlic and cilantro to keep us healthy this winter. Garlic and ginger have great anti inflammatory properties and are used to treat colds. While cilantro is an excellent blood purifier, helping to reduce LDL or bad cholesterol from the blood. However, I know that cilantro is one of those things you either hate or you love, so it’s just a garnish and you may easily leave it out of the recipe. I also added Asian pear into the filling to add a light sweetness and crunch. Alternatively, you could add a can of water chestnuts to get a similar texture and flavor if you don’t have access to Asian pear.
The prep time for this one is super easy. Shouldn’t take more than 15 minutes to prep and cook these bad boys. I know you’re busy.
P.S. I’m super stoked on how the picture of the filling for the lettuce cups came out! But I still have such a long way to go. I’ve been really into the “dark and moody” food photography look lately. Do any of my photography friends have any pointers for me?
Kelsey
Yields 5
8 minPrep Time
7 minCook Time
15 minTotal Time
Save RecipeIngredients
- 5 large iceberg or Romaine lettuce leaves
- 2 cups roughly chopped mushroom (I used portobello)
- 1 cup thinly sliced green onion
- 1 cup finely diced Asian pear
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp hoisin sauce
- 1 tbsp minced garlic
- 2-3 tsp grated ginger (depending on preference)
- 1 handful cilantro roughly chopped
- Sesame seeds (optional)
Instructions
- Toss everything but the cilantro in a frying pan on medium high heat.
- Stir to distribute the sauce
- Cook until heated all the way through (about 5-7 minutes)
- Scoop evenly amongst lettuce
- garnish with cilantro and sesame seeds
- Serve immediately!
Notes
This recipe can easily be doubled, halved or any other ratio. It's very flexible.
