It was captivating, and perfectly located to view from the comfort of the bed that early in the morning. Once it was spotted, neither of us could turn away from it.
The flashes of light changed colors, a trick that was truly intriguing and also hypnotic. Eventually, our trance was broken and we wanted more information. Why was this star - Spica - cycling through different colors?
We needed to know more. Yet when we entered our search terms about Spica into the search engine, we couldn't find anything about its flashing colors of light.
We were so confused. Were we at some special angle that only we could see this? Maybe it was really an airplane, stuck in the air. Or perhaps some other man made object. Or maybe, this pair of extremely amateur backyard astronomy enthusiasts just discovered something new, without even needing to leave the bed!
It was eventually revealed to us, that no, we did not indeed happen upon a new discovery. We were just completely and utterly wrong about the name of the star. We were looking at Sirius, not Spica. And oh wow, there was lots of information about this. Needless to say, no astronomical accolades would be garnered by us.
I may lack the ability to correctly identify celestial objects. But I am not wrong about the pleasures to be had in the eating of lettuce wraps.
The placing of the lettuce leaf on your plate. Spooning in some delicious meat, in this case fragrant with garlic and ginger and shallots, then lightly coated with a creamy sauce of Greek yogurt, pomegranate juice, orange juice, and orange zest. Then piling on the toppings - the extras that give each bite its own personality, its unique combination of crunchy jicama, of sweetness from the carrots, of refreshing and cooling mint, of spicy jalapeno. A drizzle of fresh orange juice perks everything up. The bright fresh lettuce and toppings makes a delicious and beautiful contrast with the pork. A meal that is captivating as Sirius.
Ingredients
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 pound ground pork
4 garlic cloves
2 shallots
1 tablespoon minced ginger
1 tablespoon minced jalapeno, or to taste
2 tablespoons Greek yogurt
4 teaspoons pomegranate juice
1 teaspoon orange zest
1 teaspoon orange juice
1 tablespoon thick soy sauce
butter lettuce leaves
Toppings:
mint leaves
chopped scallions
jicama, julienned
carrots, julienned
jalapeno slices
Ingredients
In a small bowl, stir together yogurt, pomegranate juice, orange zest, orange juice, and thick soy sauce. Set aside. Heat canola oil on high heat in saute pan. Add pork. Sprinkle with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. Once pork is cooked, lower heat and add shallots and jalapeno. Once those have become soft, add the garlic and ginger. Saute for a minute. Stir the yogurt mixture into the pork.
To assemble wrap, spoon pork into the lettuce and then add toppings. Drizzle with fresh orange juice
