09/30/09 12:14am

It’s one thing to be trapped in the office all day, it’s another thing entirely to read a tweet from Hide @DumboNYC that the Rickshaw Dumpling Truck will be visiting Dumbo and I’ll be in Midtown, seemingly miles away from my favorite snack. So I picked up the phone and called Bryan who was stationed at home, You have GOT to go check out these dumplings today. PLEASE? And call me immediately, I want a full report.

An hour or so later I got that phone call. Turns out my dearest, darling husband had to wait in line for quite a while just to get to the goods. He even overheard a guy complaining loudly about the cost ($6 for 6 dumplings), and got in line anyway. I guess dumplings are a universal weak spot!

Bryan picked up an order of the Peking Duck dumplings and the edamame filled Vegan ones as well. This is how you know you are loved, by the way: He waited until I got home to eat them. He cooked up some Brown Rice Medley from Trader Joe’s (we really love this for it’s chunky texture and nutty, sweet flavor), a big green salad from the bits and bobs left from last weeks Dumbo/Vinegar Hill CSA, and pan fried up all those luscious, gorgeous dumplings.

The dumplings were great – not at all greasy and they kept their shape beautifully. The Peking Duck dumpling was savory and chewy, a perfect bite; but the Vegan was my favorite. The wrapper was whole wheat and not at all dry, while the inside was just like a chunky edamame puree. Kind of a genius idea, don’t you think? Next time I must try the pork dumpling, because honestly, the original is always the best.

P.S. Turns out the Rickshaw Dumpling truck is in Dumbo every Monday…so get while the gettin’s good!


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.

09/21/09 9:11am

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.

09/09/09 12:38pm

Am I the only one who thinks they should rename Labor Day to Leisure Day? I mean really, what is this weekend about if not soaking in the last rays of summer, relaxing with friends, or laying at the beach? Believe me, I’m pretty sure no one is working – that is if they can help it.

So, in honor of Leisure Day Bryan and I made sure we had no plans, no obligations, no one calling our names this weekend. We spend Sunday morning at the dog run with Carmella and a couple of iced-coffees, and with no other agenda but to feed ourselves we headed over to Siggy’s in Brooklyn Heights for some brunch. One of the best things about a holiday weekend spend in New York is that everyone else leaves. We arrived there, and within minutes we got a table outside – something that would have taken at least 20 minutes on any given Sunday.

Starving we both immediately ordered smoothies. I got the Berry Buzz which arrived a gorgeous deep red, thick, creamy, and a perfect balance of sweet and tart. Bryan made his own smoothie of dates, strawberries, bananas, and almond milk. I tasted his and it was milky and mild, with a really nice honey taste from the dates. Knowing the smoothies would be filling I decided to order light, two eggs over medium which came with toast, salad and potatoes. Bryan however, did not have the same thought, and ordered the breakfast burrito, which turned out to be as big as his head. It, however, proved to be the winning dish. It was savory and fresh – the avocado and tomatoes were bursting with flavor. After I inhaled my breakfast, I reached over and helped him with his.

Looking to work off some of our meal we headed over to the Brooklyn Flea for a look around. We spotted a new stand called Goober Peas, which we learned are boiled peanuts. Something of a favorite snack food to Southerners I couldn’t help but reach in to try one. I grabbed a peanut and followed the (very cute) instructions on the board. Crack and slurp, eat the peanut, discard the shell. It was, well, an experience. As someone who loves fresh crab, I can see why people love these things. They’re fun to eat – it gives you something to do other than just stuffing your face.


 [+] Click for larger image

For me, I just couldn’t get into the texture – something about a boiled, soft, peanut just isn’t what I look for in a snack food. I wanted to like them, I really did. But I’m going to stick to the good old crunchy kind – I guess it’s just what I’m used to. However, if you’re a transplanted southerner, or just looking to try something new, be sure you check them out.


Brooklyn’s Belly is a column written by Nicole Cummo Tereza, a graphic designer, food lover, food blogger, and a Dumbo resident. Read more about her food adventures on her blog, Mangia Vita.

09/03/09 12:00am

Brooklyn’s Belly, a new column about the adventures of a foodie in Dumbo Brooklyn is written by the writer of Mangia Vita, Nicole. Her prior column was posted last week.


Is it possible to be jet lagged over a trip that only has a three hour time difference? We got back from a trip to Portland, Oregon on Monday and I swear it’s like we returned from Australia. Just. Cannot. Get. It. Together. So, what is one to do when all creativity has gone out the window? When your only desire is to be fed, and then go promptly to bed? My advice? Stick to what you know… and for me, that’s always pasta.

Somehow we had managed a food shopping trip to Fairway late on Monday afternoon – it took us about twice as long as it normally does but I’m grateful because we got to stock up on stuff we were in sore need of. I took a package of handmade spinach fettucini out of the fridge and set it on the counter next to a head of garlic, and the basil and tomatoes from Tuesday’s CSA and promptly got to work.

In a medium sauce pan I drizzled in good olive oil and 3 chopped cloves of garlic. I like a lot of garlic, so use at your discretion. I turned the burner on and once it heated up nicely I tossed in a helping of red pepper flakes. It’s best to do this when the oilve oil is hot because it releases all the natural oils from the flakes. Once all the tomatoes were roughly chopped (trimming off any yucky parts) and the garlic was sauteed I added them to the pot. In minutes tomatoes started to cook down. You’ll notice a lot of water being released when you make fresh sauce this way, you can drain it off as you go but I prefer to let it cook down itself so I don’t loose any of that yummy tomato juice. Just keep the lid off as it boils and it’ll take care of itself.

As this cooked I added a pinch of sugar (to cut the natural acidity in the tomatoes), a grind of the pepper shaker, some garlic powder and a little dried oregano. That’s it. I then started the pasta in a seperate pot, and because it was fresh it only took minutes to cook to al dente. My sauce was close to done so I turned the heat off and gave it a few pulses with my hand blender. I really don’t like a chunky sauce because it doesn’t distribute evenly over the pasta, so I found this to be a really easy solution.

The pasta was done by this time so I drained it in a colander, tossed it with my sauce, added some fresh chopped basil and a healthy grating of parmesan and asiago cheese we;ve had leftover, and viola! Dinner is served. Now… what to do with these gorgeous (but strange) chinese long beans??


Nicole Cummo Tereza, a graphic designer, food lover, and food blogger, is a Dumbo resident. Read more about her food adventures on her blog, Mangia Vita.

08/26/09 2:15pm

We love eating and anything related to good food. If we weren’t posting about Dumbo related items, we’d be food blogging. We occasionally write about restaurants, Dumbo’s farmers market, or the Dumbo CSA, but don’t dedicate the time to write more about it (DumboNYC food posts). We did a few CSA food/cooking posts (here and here), but when we heard about Mangia Vita, a new-ish food blogger was blogging from Dumbo, we were excited. We’re honored to introduce a new column, Brooklyn’s Belly, by Nicole, and hope to hear adventures of a foodie in Dumbo Brooklyn. Please welcome Nicole.


I rushed home from of all things, a food photo shoot to find the largest CSA share I think we’ve ever had. The variety was really exciting this week, and as I traveled down the line collecting my goods I was astounded to hear two pounds tomatoes, two pounds cherry tomatoes, two pounds potatoes, two pounds squash, two pounds two pounds two pounds…. My bag was soon heavier than a toddler, and as I shuffled back home I tried to imagine what to make for dinner. All I had going so far was a steak that was defrosting in the fridge – which is, in my opinion, always a really good start.

I unloaded the treats and decided I was going to tackle the squash this evening. I had glanced at a recipe on my shoot today that seemed easy enough, so I thought I’d try and make it my own. I sliced three squash (two yellow and one green one we had leftover from this weekend’s Chelsea Market excursion) lengthwise and then chunked them into one inch pieces. Drizzled some olive oil in the largest frying pan I could find and while that heated up I seasoned the squash with fresh ground salt and pepper.

On another burner I got a smaller pan going with a splash of oil. As soon as that pan was nice and hot in went the steak, seasoned with garlic salt and fresh pepper. Simple. My other pan was finally heated so I placed the squash cut side down, leaving enough room so every piece could get brown. In a small bowl I combined one chopped piece of garlic, lemon zest, red pepper flakes, chopped fresh parsley and cilantro (thank you, CSA) and a few good shakes of some plain breadcrumbs.

Once the steak was nice and seared I flipped it over and seasoned that side. The squash was getting golden and soft and after a few good tosses in the pan (give or take 8 minutes cooking time) they were done and ready to be tossed with the bread crumb mixture.

The steak was cooked to perfection on the stove but I decided to give it a quick run under the broiler just to crisp up the edges. I tossed up a simple salad in the meantime of fresh greens, celery, and cherry tomatoes with a little red wine vinegar and oil. I don’t even try to attempt making my husband’s dressing because I can guarantee I’ll fail. One of these day’s he’ll have to cough up that recipe – I promise I’ll share it. It’s that good.

A few minutes of resting the steak and dinner was done! The squash was citrusy and light, and really flavorful. And the steak, well, are there words? We both completely over ate, but in times like these I don’t feel guilty at all.


Nicole Cummo Tereza, a graphic designer, food lover, and food blogger, is a Dumbo resident. Read more about her food adventures on her blog, Mangia Vita.