The Bored Vegetarian

Roasted Cauliflower & Steamed Kale Salad

1 small head of Cauliflower, broken into florets
3 cups raw Kale, large stems removes, leaves chopped small
2 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Juice from half of a Lemon
Salt & Pepper to taste 
Toasted Sesame Seeds (optional) 

Preheat oven to 350.  On a baking sheet, toss florets in olive oil and season with salt and pepper.  Roast in the oven for 15-20 minutes until cauliflower is soft and begins to brown (toss about halfway through to brown on different sides).  Fill a soup pot or large sauce pan with an inch or two of water and place over medium/high heat.  Place a vegetable steamer in the pot and add the kale.  Steam the kale until tender.  Remove cauliflower from oven and let cool until you can handle it.  Chop up cauliflower into very small pieces.  In a bowl, toss with steamed kale and season with salt and pepper.  Add to a serving bowl and squeeze fresh lemon juice over the top. Sprinkle with sesame seeds. Can be served warm or room temperature.  

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Quinoa with Roasted Sweet Potato, Dinosaur Kale, Chickpeas and Green Onion

Serves 3-4

1 cup Quinoa
2 cups Low Sodium Vegetable Stock
3 cups Sweet Potato, peeled and cut into small cubes
2 cups Dinosaur Kale, stems removed, leaves chopped
1 cup Chickpeas (recommend that you use dried and follow cooking directions on the bag)
1/8 cup Green Onion, chopped (white/light green only)
1 1/2 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1/3 tsp Paprika
Salt & Pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spread sweet potatoes on a baking sheet and drizzle with about a tablespoon of olive oil.  Toss to coat.  Season with salt and sprinkle with paprika.  Roast in the oven for about 15-20 minutes, or until potatoes are soft, tossing halfway through.  In a saucepan, bring 2 cups of vegetable stock to a boil.  Add quinoa and stir. Cover and reduce heat to a simmer.  Simmer for about 15 minutes or until the quinoa is cooked through and the liquid has mostly evaporated.  In a saute pan, saute the kale and chickpeas in remaining olive oil.  Add quinoa and sweet potato and toss everything together.  Season with salt and pepper.  Spoon into a serving bowl and top with green onion.  Serve warm. 

Moroccan Cous Cous with Blackened Red Pepper, Olives, Apricot and Toasted Pine Nuts

Last weekend I threw a dinner party at my apartment for six of my lovely friends.  Work has become increasingly busy as we head into wedding & events season (I’ll be helping seven awesome couples get married and four teens get bar/bat mitzvahed over the next three months), so I wanted to get people together for one last hurrah until I have more free time again in July.  I made a giant feast of Mediterranean & Middle Eastern inspired meze.  

On my search for ingredients, I visited Kalustyan’s in Flatiron.  The store is incredible and full of any sort of specialty item you could imagine and I’m in love.  

This cous cous dish is a nice balance of savory and sweet and can be tossed together as a nice side, or served layered like I did.  

2 cups cooked Moroccan Cous Cous (follow instructions on the box or bag. Use olive oil instead of butter if vegan) 
1 large Red Pepper
1/2 cup Dried Apricot
1/8 cup Moroccan Olives 
1/8 cup Pine Nuts
Cilantro (optional)
1 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Salt to taste 

Prepare cous cous as you’re prepping the other ingredients (should take about 10 minutes max.  Preheat oven to 350.  Toast pine nuts on a baking pan until they start to brown.  Remove from oven and set aside.  Remove top and seeds from the red pepper and cut into large pieces.  Toss with olive oil and season with salt.  Grill on a stovetop grill until soft and starting to blacken, grilling both sides of the pepper.  Remove from heat, chop into small pieces and put into a small bowl.  Chop olives (removing pits) and toss with the red pepper.  Chop up dried apricots into small pieces.  If using cilantro, chop into small pieces.  In a bowl toss cous cous with apricots, pine nuts and cilantro.  Season with salt.  Spoon cous cous onto plate or into a bowl and top with red pepper and olives.  You can toss everything together if you’d prefer.  Serve warm.  

Sriracha & Sesame Brussels Sprouts

1 lb Brussels Sprouts, trimmed
3/4 cup Rice Wine Vinegar
2-3 Tbsp Sriracha
2 1/2 Tbsp Brown Sugar
1 1/2 Tbsp Sesame Oil
1 Tbsp Toasted Sesame Seeds (I used bamboo smoked)
1 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Salt to taste

Depending on the size of your Brussels spouts, either cut in half, fourths or leave whole.  In a saute pan, heat olive oil.  Add Brussels sprouts, toss in olive oil and season with salt.  Begin to cook over medium/high heat, turning often to brown evenly.  It’s ok if they get a little crisp.  In a bowl, whisk together vinegar, Sriracha, sesame oil and sugar.  Once Brussels sprout are cooked through, turn down heat to medium/low and pour Sriracha mixture over the sprouts.  Toss to coat and turn up heat towards medium/high.  The sauce will begin to bubble, so be careful not too burn.  Once the sauce starts to reduce and get a little sticky to coat the sprouts, remove from heat.  Move to a serving dish and garnish with toasted sesame seeds.

Indian-Spiced Hummus

Tomorrow I’ll be participating in the hummus cook-off at the 6th Annual Craig Murphey Fellowship Fundraiser.  Proceeds benefit the New York City Coalition Against Hunger and help fund the Craig Murphey Fellowship program.  Learn more about the event, and Craig Murphey here.    

1 can Garbanzo Beans, drained
1 Tbsp Tahini Sauce
1 clove Garlic
1/2 tsp Fresh Ginger
Juice from 1 1/2 Lemons
1/2 Tbsp Tumeric
1/2 Tbsp Mustard Seeds
2 tsp Anise Seeds
1/2 Tbsp Cumin
2 tsp Cinnamon
1 tsp Coriander
1/2 tsp Cardamom 
Salt to taste
1 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil 

Naan Bread for dipping 

In a food processor, blend together garbanzo beans, lemon juice, tahini and olive oil until very smooth.  Using a microplane, grate ginger and garlic into the hummus and continue to blend.  In a small saute pan, toast anise and mustard seeds.  Mix all spices in a small bowl.  Add to hummus and continue to blend.  Salt to taste.  Add more spices, lemon juice etc. if needed.Warm naan in the oven and cut into wedges.  Serve hummus in a bowl, garnished with toasted anise seeds.

Last weekend’s Gala Gala, Hey! went amazing.  We had a great turn out (both new and familiar faces) and sold completely out of pie AND cider.  We drank, we ate, we played Corn Hole, we bobbed for apples and we square-danced.  Thanks to everyone who came out, and to Kate Lebo who made every single one of those delicious pies!  I think we’re going to have to do it all again next year…

And of course, the apple costume

 

Blistered Shishito Peppers with Sea Salt Flakes and Lemon

Shishitos are typically mild peppers, though you may come across an insanely spicy one here or there.  I picked mine up at the McGolrick Park Farmer’s Market on Sunday and they were gone in about 2 minutes of me finishing grilling them.  The flavor is so mild, it’s almost like a tiny roasted poblano in taste and texture.  

Fresh Shishito Peppers
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Flaked Sea Salt
Fresh Lemon Juice

Toss peppers in a bit of olive oil to coat.  Either skewer the peppers or poke a hole or two to keep them from exploding as you cook them.  Grill the peppers (I used my stovetop grill, but you can use a skillet or an outdoor grill), turning as the skins begin to blister.  Once the peppers have been grilled fairly evenly on each side, remove from heat.  Sprinkle with sea salt to taste and squeeze fresh lemon juice over the top.  Server immediately.  

Sweet Corn & Sun Gold Tomato Quinoa Salad

This salad has a natural sweetness from the corn and sun golds and would be a perfect side for a end-of-summer BBQ or even brunch.   

2 ears fresh Sweet Corn
1 container Sun Gold Grape Tomatoes
1/2 cup Quinoa (uncooked)
3 Tbls Shallot (chopped)
Handful of fresh Basil (chopped)
Handful of fresh Italian Parsley (chopped)
Sea Salt to taste

Bring 1 cup water to a boil with a pinch or two of salt.  Add quinoa and bring down to a simmer, cover with a lid.  Cook until water evaporates and quinoa is cooked (I like a little bite to mine).  Remove husks and threads from corn.  Using a knife, cut off kernels and break apart in a bowl.  Slice grape tomatoes in halves and toss with corn.  Add shallots, parsley, basil and quinoa and toss together.  Salt to taste and serve at room temperature.  

Spicy Ginger & Garlic Green Beans

1/2 lb fresh Green Beans
2 1/2 Tbsp White Wine Vinegar
1 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 Tsp Fresh Ginger, minced
1 clove Garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon Red Pepper Flakes
Dry Roasted Peanuts, crushed (for garnish)

Remove the dry vine-end of the green beens.  Prepare an ice bath. Bring a medium-sized sauce pan of water to boil with a pinch or two of salt.  Add in green beans and boil for about 2 minutes.  Drain beans and put into ice bath to cool.  In a bowl, whisk together rice wine vinegar, olive oil, garlic, ginger and red pepper flake.  Allow to sit for about 10 minutes.  Toss green beans in rice wine mixture.  When ready to serve, top with crushed peanuts.  

Headed out to Riverhead, Long Island in the morning to visit the Garden of Eve Organic Farm, taste some wine and hopefully relax a bit from this busy week.  Camera battery is charging!  

Wasabi & Soybean Vinaigrette 

This has a nice richness to it that would work nicely as vegetable dip or spread for sandwiches if you add less water, or as a dressing if you make it a bit thinner. 

1 1/2 cup cooked Soybeans (extra soft)
1/2 cup Rice Wine Vinegar
1/2 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 Tbsp Sugar
1 1/2 Tbsp Wasabi, or to taste (I used wasabi paste, mixed with water) 
Water

In a blender, blend together soybeans, rice wine vinegar & olive oil, scraping down the sides of the blender as need be.  Add a bit of water until you get a nice consistency.  Add in sugar and wasabi.  Continue to blend until liquified. 

I blanched some asparagus and drizzled the vinaigrette over the top.

Spent some quality time with my neighborhood this weekend, as well as some time trying not to hurl on the East River Ferry to and from Governor’s Island.  I grew up taking the ferry to Seattle and it still did not prepare me for those waves.  Or as others like to spell it, those wavves.

Coconut Wild Rice with Cilantro and Toasted Almonds

1/2 cup Wild Rice
3/4 cup Coconut Milk
2 Tbsp Slivered Almonds
1 Tbsp Shredded Coconut
Fresh Cilantro

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In a pan, toast almonds until light brown.  Remove from oven and toast shredded coconut until light brown.  Remove from oven and set aside.  In a sauce pan, bring 1/2 cup of rice to a boil with about 2 cups of water.  Reduce heat, cover and simmer until rice is al dente.  Remove any excess liquid.  Pour coconut milk over the rice, stir and continue to simmer until coconut milk reduces to the consistency you like.  Remove from heat.  Chop cilantro (as much or as little as you’d like) and toss into rice.  Toss in most of the almonds.  Garnish with toasted coconut, remaining almonds and cilantro.  Serve hot.  

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