Imagine my surprise and delight when I checked my inbox a few days ago and found a totally cool and delicious poem written just for me!
It was from Father Goose himself, the one and only Charles Ghigna — award-winning poet, children’s author, nationally-syndicated writer, speaker, and of course, Poetry Friday regular.
Well, his poem got my toes a tappin’ and my spirits risin’ and my crazy thoughts all wrapped up in heads of crisp, garden fresh lettuce.
Who needs Ice Cube when you’ve got iceberg, Cee-Lo Green when you’ve got the Bibb?
Move over, Jay-Z, The Big FG is here!
LETTUCE WRAP, LET US RAP
by Charles Ghigna
for Jama Kim Rattigan
A little leaf of lettuce
A little slice of cheese
A pickle and tomato
A little mayo please
Let us rap
Lettuce wrap
Let us sing
Let us tap
A little salt and pepper
Onions if you dare
Olives on the side
And it’s time to share
Let us sing
Let us tap
Let us eat
Lettuce wrap!
Copyright © 2012 Charles Ghigna. All rights reserved.
***
Bet you couldn’t sit still while reading that poem. I’m definitely hungry now!
Lettuce wraps are perfect for warm summer days, a light fusion food with endless possibilities that’s especially good if you’re into low-carb or gluten-free. It’s all about blending a cool refreshing shell with a savory/spicy filling. If you can eat it, you can wrap it.
Go Mexican with your favorite taco fillings (beans, ground beef/chicken, peppers, tomatoes, avocados, cheese),
Asian, with spicy mock duck,
or Korean kalbi.
Most of the best lettuce wrap recipes are Asian-inspired, like this one from Steamy Kitchen (which substitutes diced apple for the traditional water chestnuts),
or any of these posted at Tasty Kitchen.
Of course, you can go all vegetarian if you like:
The Pioneer Woman substitutes scrambled tofu for the meat in her recipe:
We love to go to our favorite local Korean restaurant and order the Bulgogi. There’s nothing like the aroma of paper-thin marinated beef slices and onions cooking on a tabletop grill. We’re always given a basket of the freshest, greenest, largest, most beautiful lettuce leaves, which we take in hand, fill with steamed rice, beef, onions, mushrooms and kimchi, and then top with a generous dab of ssamjang (fermented red chili and soybean paste). Yum num num, or as they say in Hawai’i, “ono-licious!”
Enough to get you drooling and craving and tapping and rapping? Get thee some lettuce pronto, and thanks Big FG, for getting down with your wrapturous rap!
***
The always lovely Amy LV is hosting today’s roundup at The Poem Farm. Put on a Bibb and wrap yourself around a good poem or two or twenty. Don’t forget the hot sauce.
♥ Feast on more of Charles Ghigna’s fabulous poetry at his official website, Father Goose blog, and Bald Ego blog.
—————————————
Copyright © 2012 Jama Rattigan of Jama’s Alphabet Soup. All rights reserved.
Jama's Alphabet Soup 
What a fun poem and a crispy-cool post! We are sharing our garden lettuce with the resident rabbit. As if we had a choice. And, um, is it just me or does Mr. Cornelius look a little nervous in that photo? (He looks happier next to the “Official Alphabet Soup Cookies,” don’t you think?…)
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Cornelius? Nervous? Now that you mentioned it . . .
I’m jealous you have a rabbit in your garden. Munch munch nibble nibble twitch.
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Just now, we almost didn’t. I took my little dogs outside and one quickly discovered the bunny was in the (fenced) back yard. Somehow the little thing escaped – whew! :0! Do bunnies have nine lives? (And suddenly stressed doggie-chasing children’s poets?!)
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Close call with that bunny. Good job, Bunny Patrol Lady. We’re counting on you . . . you deserve a cookie for your quick reflexes today.
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What a wonderful surprise to find in your mailbox! Father Goose is such a nice guy. I’ve never made a lettuce wrap, but your photos definitely make me want to give it a try.
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I hope you try them! They’re pretty easy. FG is the best, isn’t he?
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Love the lettuce wrap rap! How wonderfu.. And yes, you’v emade me hungry. We like to eat the lettuce wraps at P.f. Chang’s. Yummmm… and now I will think of you and Chuck when I eat them!
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Yay! P.F. Chang’s kind of jump-started the whole lettuce wrap thing awhile ago. There are several recipes for their signature chicken lettuce wraps online.
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A delicious poem! And what an honor to have it dedicated to you. 🙂 I love the idea of the lettuce wrap since I’m trying to get off bread – especially the Mexican wrap. Thanks, Jama — putting on my Bibb now…
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You look so fetching in your Bibb, Renee. I think I’m going to substitute lettuce for bread in my lunches this summer. I’m trying to cut back on carbs too.
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This is the kind of wordy inspiration everyone needs for a good (also healthy) laugh and a healthy diet, right? What fun, Jama and Charles, to read out loud, beat, beat, beat. Very fun to find a poem in your inbox!
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Yes, very fun indeed! Lettuce will never be the same ever again.
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Jama,
I love the poem Charles wrote for you. What fun to read!
One of my favorite Chinese dishes that we used to get at a restaurant that is now closed was chicken and lettuce wraps. So yummy!
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Mmmmm, love those chicken lettuce wraps! Especially with cashews and/or water chestnuts :).
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What fun! I like having larb at my local Thai restaurant. Lettuce wrap sounds so much fun, but I like that clunky larb word, too.
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Larb? Don’t think I’ve ever had it.
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Oh yummy yummy! I am going to pin this whole post so that I have the recipes and the poem too! I love that Charles sent you a food poem, will now always think of these words when I start the new food tradition of wrapping yums in lettuce. Many thanks once again, Jama.
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Love your new tradition. Hope you have many wraps this summer! 🙂
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So much good eating here and so healthy too! Would you believe, I’ve never had a lettuce wrap? I’m definitely going to change that. Love the Father Goose poem too. Yummy post!
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Yes, you must try some lettuce wraps — so easy and versatile. Pretty much anything goes!
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Lettuce wrap. Hilarious.
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😀 Leave it to Charles!
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Yum yummy yum yummy yum yum yum! This one could have several more stanzas, or recipes, and it’s coming to a Kindergarten classroom near you very soon! Why have I been thinking that PF Chang’s is the only place to eat a lettuce wrap let us rap? Thanks Charles and Jama!
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Yay! Glad you’re going to share the poem with your munchkins. 🙂
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Terrific poem, makes me want to get up and move and groove! I love the Lettuce rap and the lettuce wraps 🙂
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Dancing around your kitchen! Have fun wrapping!
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Lettuce pray that I get my hands on some of these tasty treats soon because I am now SOOOO hungry!
Jama and Renee, send your unused breads my way. I’ll never be able to shake my affection for the carby stuff!
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Cutting back on bread is SO hard; I’m hoping lettuce will carry me through . . .
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Oh my goodness I am STARVING! Love wraps and raps and poems! 🙂
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Thanks, Julie. Sounds like you need to stock up on lettuce right away :).
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Jama, how nice to get a surprise from Father Goose himself in your inbox. And such a fun poem. The pace and rhythm make you want to get up and dance while you make some very tasty lettuce wraps. And if I hadn’t just finished my lunch, I think I might just be tempted to do that!
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There’s always lunch tomorrow and the next day and the next . . . :D!
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We just had lovely Mexican dinner tonight at Ricardo’s with chimichanga, enchilada and endless tacos. This post made me burp (oopsie, sorry). 🙂
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Wow, you’re really feasting to the nines this summer. Yum!
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