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.

It’s The Bored Vegetarian’s 2 year anniversary! My friend Emma sent me a blog birthday card. Aw. Thanks for reading! I think I should make a cake this weekend…

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.  

Chickpea Burger with Danish blue cheese and caramelized onions from DuMont Burger in Brooklyn.

I finally went to Calyer in Greenpoint tonight.  It was delicious and a perfect end to a busy week.  I’ll be dreaming of the parsnips tonight.

Butternut Squash Flan
boy choy, rosemary honey, toasted almonds

Broccoli Rabe 
roasted baby potatoes, celery, spicy aioli, peanuts

Parsnips
smoked yogurt, savory granola, vanilla 

*logo from Thimali Kodikara  

Fresh Beet, Kale & Lime Juice

My credit card points were never going to amount to a free flight to anywhere, so I used them towards a juicer instead.  I’m usually in too much of a hurry to make breakfast in the morning, so hopefully 2 minutes with the juicer will help me avoid eating too many breakfast sandwiches from Court Street Grocers. 

This made enough for about 6oz of juice.  It’s sweet & tangy with a little earthy undertone. 

1 medium-sized Beet
3 cups fresh Kale
1 lime

Pulverize in a juicer.  Stir a little. Drink.

This weekend was a bit of a blur with no time spent in the kitchen.  

A few of my favorite neighborhood things instead…

Spicy Rice Cakes from Mrs. Kims

House Made Ricotta at Five Leaves

A simple cup of coffee from Cafe Grumpy

Every donut at Peter Pan Bakery

A cocktail in the cozy Oak & Iron

Soyrizo Tacos & a Tecate at Papacitos

Pizza from Paulie Gee’s

The view of Manhattan from the end of Java Street.