This week’s recipes came together in a snap. Ju’ne cut the scallions, Zoe learned to peel ginger using a spoon, Macie chopped the garlic, A’Laya took the lead in sauteing the vegetables, and Priya was in charge of preparing and cooking the meat (which led to many looks of disgust!).

Unfortunately, the lettuce wraps were not a big hit. We would have had a lot of leftovers were it not for Ju’ne, who loved the flavor, so ate his share and then some – asking for seconds, thirds, and fourths! Priya also liked them, noting that the meat, which had looked so unappealing raw, was much better after it was cooked! We tried to pin down what it was that the others didn’t like about the wraps, and it seemed to boil down to the texture of the ground meat and the soy sauce flavoring.

The vegetable were more roundly well-received and even Macie, who said that she has the gene that makes cilantro taste like soap, enjoyed those by eating around the cilantro. The edamame was new to most of them. Zoe didn’t enjoy either dish, but nevertheless wrote in her blue book that she had fun working with her friends!