The Bored Vegetarian

Strawberries with Sour Cream & Brown Sugar

Sometimes the simplest things are the most delicious.  When we were kids, my mom introduced us to this dessert some lazy weekend evening.  Though we were skeptical, the tart sweetness of the berries and caramel flavor of the brown sugar mixed with the sour cream won us over pretty quick.  Strawberry season is hitting early this year, so get picking!  

Strawberries 
Sour Cream
Brown Sugar

Rinse strawberries in a colander and pat dry.  Spoon sour cream and brown sugar into small bowls.  Dip strawberry in sour cream and then dip into brown sugar.  Eat, repeat. 

Stuffed Bell Peppers with Quinoa, Spinach, Goat Cheese and Toasted Pumpkin Seeds

My brother called me out on slacking on the blog, and he’s right.  I’ll admit I’ve been a bit overwhelmed with work and keeping up with social obligations (aka rooftop bbqs), so being in the kitchen has taken a bit of a backseat recently.  I’m working on getting my recipe wheels turning again…

2 Orange Bell Peppers
1 cup Black Quinoa
3 handfuls fresh Spinach (big stems removed)
1 cup Grape Tomatoes
2-3 Tbsp Goat Cheese
1/4 cup Raw Pumpkin Seeds (sans shell, or buy already roasted, also called Pepitas)
2 cloves Garlic, chopped
2 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
A few splashes of Dry White Wine
Salt to taste

Preheat oven to 375 and roast pumpkin seeds until they brown slightly.  Remove from oven, and turn oven up to 425. Bring two cups of water to boil in a sauce pan.  Add in quinoa and a pinch of salt.  Turn heat down to a simmer and cover pan with a lid.  Cook until liquid is completely absorbed, about 15 minutes.  In a saute pan, add olive oil and chopped garlic.  Saute on low/medium heat until soft.  Add spinach and toss with olive oil & garlic.  The leaves will begin to wilt.  Add quinoa to the spinach and toss together, continuing over heat.  Add dry white wine a little at a time and stir until liquid start to evaporate.  Salt to taste.  Cut grape tomatoes in half and toss with quinoa.  Add most of the toasted pumpkin seeds as well.  Remove from heat and set aside.  On a cutting board, cut off the tops of the peppers and remove the seeds and any remaining white edges inside the pepper with your hands.  Stuff each pepper with quinoa mixture.  Place in a shallow pan so peppers stay upright and cover with aluminum foil.  Bake in the oven until the peppers are soft but still have a bit of bite to them.  Remove from heat and top with goat cheese and toasted pumpkin seeds.

This recipe is completely packed with good nutrients (protein! fiber! iron! vitamin c!), which is what I was craving.  I swam laps for the first time in years tonight and donned my dorky, faded swim team suit from 1999 and Dollar $tore rainbow swim cap. The stuffed bell pepper was a nice healthy and filling dinner after the pool/public humiliation. 

Sweet Potato Quesadilla with Mango Salsa and Lime & Cilantro Crema

2 Flour Tortillas
1 1/2 cups Monterey Jack Cheese
1 Sweet Potato
1/3 cup Mexican Crema
1 Lime
Fresh Cilantro
1/3 cup Mango (skin removed, chopped)
1 Roma Tomato (seeds removed, chopped)
1 1/2 Tbsp Red Onion (chopped)
pinch of salt
Cooking oil

Peel sweet potato and chop into small, even pieces.  Add to a saute pan with a little oil and sprinkle with salt.  Saute, stirring occasionally until the pieces are soft. Set aside.  In a bowl, toss together chopped onion, tomato and mango with juice of 1/2 lime.  Set aside.  Chop cilantro leaves and combine with crema and juice from remaining lime in a bowl (you can add zest as well for more lime flavor).  Heat up a griddle or large pan with some cooking oil thinly coating the bottom.  Add a tortilla to the pan.  Sprinkle with 1 cup of cheese, layer in the sweet potato and cover with remaining cheese.  Cover with other tortilla.  Cook for a few minutes until the bottom tortilla becomes brown and crispy.  Flip and cook the other side of the quesadilla.  Once both sides are brown and cheese is melted, remove from pan.  Cut into triangle.  Serve drizzled with the cilantro lime crema and topped with salsa.

Black Radish Salad with Fresh Ginger & Toasted Sesame Seeds

The market where I’ve been going for produce lately had black radishes available this week.  I did a little research and a taste test when I got home and found them to be earthy and extremely peppery.  I decided to slice the radish thin and tone down the spiciness with some acidity and sweetness.  

1 Black Radish
3 Tbsp Rice Wine Vinegar
1 1/2 Tbsp White Sugar
1/2 tsp Fresh Ginger
1/2 tsp Toasted Sesame Seeds
1 tsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Fresh Kale (for garnish)

Scrub the outside of the radish and slice thin.  Run the slices under water for a minute or so and pat dry.  In a bowl, whisk together vinegar and sugar.  Using a microplane, grate fresh ginger into bowl and stir.  In a bowl, layer slices of radish and pour vinegar mixture over the top.  Allow to marinate for 5 minutes or so.  Pile kale in the middle and drizzle salad with olive oil.  Sprinkle toasted sesame seeds over the top.  

Whole Wheat Gnocchi with Roasted Brussels Sprouts and Lemon Garlic Brown Butter

Brussels Sprouts season is pretty much over, so I thought I’d have one last hurrah.  Speaking of seasonal eating, I downloaded a free app called Locavore that tells you what’s in season, what’s coming up and where to shop for local produce.Now if only I could remember to go to the farmer’s market on Saturdays. Am I the only person who thinks Sunday is the best grocery shopping day?  Greenpoint is trying to get a Sunday market going in McGlorick Park. Crossing my fingers…

16 oz Whole Wheat Gnocchi
1 1/2  lbs Brussels Sprouts
4 Tbsp Butter
6 cloves Garlic with individual papers wrapping on
1 1/2 tsp Lemon zest
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
3 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Salt & Pepper to taste 

Fill a sauce pan with water and bring to a boil.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Chop brussels sprouts into fourths and toss with 1-2 Tbsp of olive oil until coated.  Spread onto a baking pan, one layer thick.  Sprinkle with salt and roast on bottom rack of the oven, stirring occasionally.  Cut the tops of the garlic cloves off.  Make a container out of aluminum foil, add garlic and drizzle with olive oil. Roast in the oven with the sprouts until soft.  Add gnocchi to boiling water and cook for a few minutes until they float to the top.  While they’re cooking, melt butter in a saute pan over medium heat, careful not to burn.  Remove roasted garlic cloves paper wrapper and stir into butter.  Drain gnocchi in a colander.  Once butter begins to brown, remove from heat and toss the gnocchi in the brown butter.  Add lemon zest and toss well.  Add roasted brussels sprouts and toss again.  Salt & Pepper to taste.  Serve immediately topped with fresh parmesan. 

Lemon-Scented Blueberry Sour Cream Pancakes (adapted from The Pioneer Woman Cooks)

These are the lightest, most spongey pancakes ever. Don’t be surprised if you can eat an entire stack in one sitting.  

7 Tbsp Flour
1 cup Sour Cream
2 Tbsp Sugar
1 Tsp Baking Soda
1/2 tsp Salt
2 large Eggs
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
1 tsp Lemon zest
1 cup fresh Blueberries
 2-3 Tbsp Butter
Syrup

In a bowl add sour cream.  Sift in all dry ingredients and mix together well.  In a separate bowl, whisk eggs and vanilla extract for 1-2 minutes.  Pour egg mixture into the pancake batter and stir together until incorporated.  Add lemon zest and mix in.  Heat griddle over medium heat for a few minutes until hot.  Grease with butter.  Using a ladle, pour batter onto griddle and sprinkle pancakes with fresh blueberries.  Cook each side of the pancake for 1-2 minutes or until golden brown.  Remove from griddle and serve immediately with butter and syrup.  

Grilled Artichoke with Honey Dijon Vinaigrette

1 Artichoke 
1 Lemon
1 tsp Sea Salt
3/4 cup Red Wine Vinegar
2 Tbsp Honey
3 Tbsp Dijon Mustard
1 Tbsp Whole Grain Mustard
2 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil

In a large sauce pan, bring about 2 inches of water to a boil.  Add salt and juice of the lemon.  Trim artichoke, cutting the pointy tops of the leaves and shortening the stem.  Cut in half, add to boiling pot of water and cover.  Steam for 30-40 minutes or until the artichoke is soft enough to poke with a knife.  Drain artichokes and scrape out the fuzzy insides of the choke.  In a bowl whisk together vinegar, oil, mustards and honey until incorporated.  Generously drizzle artichoke on all sides with vinaigrette.  Heat up grill (I used a stovetop grill) and grill artichoke, flipping to grill and heat all sides.  You can drizzle with remaining vinaigrette.  Remove from heat and serve immediately.

Vegetarian Wontons

I’d been trying to plan a dinner party with my friends Whitney & David for a few months now and we finally got it together over the weekend.  We decided on a dim sum theme (David wanted to do a “seance” theme, but we’re holding off until we know exactly what he means by that) which happened to fit with the Chinese New Year.  I made these wontons and some disastrous semi-congee.  They made everything else - and my lord it was delicious.  Thanks to Loryn, Laura, Jodi & Eric for joining in the festivities. A lot of sake was consumed.  A lot of 90’s music was played.  

1 package Extra Firm Tofu
2  medium Carrots, peeled and shredded
1 can Water Chestnuts, drained and finely chopped
1 1/2 cups fresh Bok Choy, finely chopped
1 Tbsp Toasted Sesame Oil
2 Tbsp Soy Sauce
1 clove Garlic, minced
1/4 cup Scallion, thinly chopped
Salt to taste

1 package square Wonton wrappers (typically contains 50-60 wrappers) 

Drain tofu. Slice 1 inch thick and layer between paper towels on a plate.  Place weight (canned goods perhaps?) on top and allow to drain moisture for around 20 minutes.  Chop into cubes and add to a medium-sized bowl.  Add carrot, boy choy, garlic, sesame oil, soy sauce and scallion. Mix well.  Salt to taste.

To roll the wonton (I found this video very helpful), lay wonton wrapped on a flat surface.  Spoon a small amount of tofu mixture into the middle of the wrapper.  Wet the edges of the wrapper with water.  Fold up lengthwise (again, the video!) and seal the edges - they should stick together.  Wet the bottom two edges and fold upward to meet each other, sealing again.  It will look like a little nurse’s cap!  Continue with remaining tofu mixture & wontons.  It’s back breaking work!

Bring a pot of water to a boil.  Poach wontons a few at a time for 2-3 minutes.  Drain and serve hot with soy sauce.   

The rest of the spread (apologize for rushed photos.. I was ready to eat!)

Roasted Acorn Squash with Mascarpone, Toasted Squash Seeds, Brown Butter & Black Pepper (inspired by Betto)

Last night Mardi from Sprout & Pea and I had a menu brainstorming session over dinner at Betto for our upcoming Kitchensurfing dinner party.  Not only did we sample half of Betto’s menu, but we also came up with some delicious recipe ideas.

1 Acorn Squash
2 heaping Tbsp Mascarpone Cheese (room temp)
2 Tbsp unsalted Butter
Fresh Black Pepper
Salt
3-4 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Scoop out the seeds and innards and set aside.  Cut the squash in half and peel the outside skin with a vegetable peeler and/or knife (those crevices are tricky!) Cut the squash into 1 1/2 inch rings and then cut rings into thirds.  Toss squash in olive oil and sprinkle with salt.  Spread one layer thick on a baking pan and roast on the bottom rack until golden brown (flip occasionally).

In a colander, wash squash seeds clean.  Toss in olive oil and sprinkle with salt.  Roast in the oven on a baking pan until brown.  They will start to pop once when they get too hot, so remove from oven, stir to cool down and put back in the oven until they’re the color you want.

In a pan, melt butter on low medium/heat.  Milk solids will begin to brown.  Remove from heat.

Assemble roasted squash on a platter and top with mascarpone.  Drizzle with brown butter, sprinkle with toasted seeds and freshly ground black pepper.  Serve hot.