's Daily Message - LET US WRAP

January 29, 2006

's Daily Message

Sunday

January 29, 2006

LET US WRAP

I love wrapped presents, and I love wrapped food! The first wrapped food I

fell in love with was egg rolls. Every Thursday night growing up, we went to

Gin`s Chinese Palace. Well, it didn`t look like a palace, but the food was

fit for an emperor! The first thing Mr. Gin would bring to the table was a

platter of his famous egg rolls stuffed with vegetables and barbecued pork.

He would accompany the egg rolls with a hot mustard and apricot sauce. How

divine!

As a teen, I moved onto wraps from a different country, Mexico. The first

time I saw a burrito, my heart pitter-pattered! Cheese, beans, chicken,

avocado, chopped tomatoes, and salsa all wrapped up like a newborn baby in a

flour tortilla. And baby, I used to be able to eat three in one sittin`!

In Italy, I discovered a sort of wrapped up pizza called a calzone. Sausage,

mozzarella cheese, spinach, mushrooms, and garlic wrapped up in a heavenly

pizza dough and baked.

There are now several chains of restaurants that specialize in wrapped food,

but as you know, some of these wraps can wrap up quite a few calories. On

special occasions, I indulge in these delicacies, but I live on different

kinds of wraps, lettuce wraps, and I plan on making them today!

When I go to the market, I buy a few heads of butter lettuce. I look for the

ones that have a lot of big leaves on them. I peel the leaves off and gently

wash them, lay them flat between pieces of paper towel, and put them in the

fridge. Then I make different kinds of fillings. Today I`ll make two, and

I`ll share them with you.

Tuna Salad – Add water chestnuts, purple onions, celery, a dab of fat free

yogurt, lemon juice, cayenne pepper, and a pinch of salt to a small can of

tuna. Mix and chill.

Chicken Salad – Combine 4 ounces of cooked, cut up chicken breasts with

chopped apples, cucumbers, carrots, and raisins. Again, add a dab of fat

free yogurt, black pepper, and a pinch of tarragon. Mix and chill, too.

Now all you have to do is put a few teaspoons of filling in the middle of

the lettuce leaf. Fold in 2 sides and roll it all up. Hold together with a

toothpick. Arrange them on a plate and serve with fat free dressing as

dipping sauces.

That`s a wrap!

Love,

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