Brooklyn's Belly: Is it Ever

You know, it’s kind of ironic that I decided to call this column Brooklyn’s Belly since that’s what I’ve acquired in the past few months. It’s most certainly not helped by the fact that A) I’m over 30, B) I work late and have most dinners after 9 p.m., and C) well, I blog about food. That’ll do it every time. So I’ve been trying to hit the gym more, which hasn’t quite been working out (no pun intended), and I’m wondering if thinking about going to the gym has the same effect. Turns out it doesn’t.

So, in light of my recent awareness of my belly, I’ve been trying to eat lighter. More salads for lunch. Check! Twice as much water. Check! No bread from the breadbasket. Um…. No more desert. Yeah, well… Can I start today? Because last night Bryan made the most delicious sweet treat out of our (finally) ripe pears from the Dumbo/Vinegar Hill CSA two weeks ago.

He combined sliced pears, cinnamon, brown sugar, and star anise in a saucepan and heated it until the pears cooked through. Once done he spooned the deliciousness over a few scoops of grapefruit and campari sorbet – Blue Moon makes this incredible flavor, it’s equal parts tangy, sweet and bright, and you can get it at Foragers. The dessert was refreshing and really satisfying without being too sweet. The only changes I would make would be to peel the skin off the pears (it just gets in the way) and maybe omit the star anise. It sure looks pretty, but it didn’t add any noticeable flavor.

Now, if I can only make that 7:30 gym class in the morning I’ll be off to a good start.


Brooklyn’s Belly, a column about the adventures of a foodie in Dumbo Brooklyn is written by Nicole Cummo Tereza of Mangia Vita. Nicole, a graphic designer, food lover, and food blogger, is a Dumbo resident.

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