Surrounded by Hispanic co-workers, I grasp a little bit of Spanglish and cultural insights here and there. Along with the different ways to say “pancakes” in Spain versus the Dominican Republic versus Puerto Rico, I learn about the integral ingredient in all savory food: limón. I have come to covet this fruta verde, incorporating it into more and more of my dishes.

With spring afoot, I have been eyeing the fresh Vidalia onions at the market with lime in hand. Onions roasted are divine, but seared with lime juice is the next step up. The blackened root imparts a tangy taste that I love, especially atop savory tacos.

To accentuate the flavor in the onions, I tried two methods of cooking: pan-searing and roasting in the oven. The latter takes a good half hour – and I couldn’t wait that long. Long before that batch was done cooking at 400°F, I was nibbling on strips from the cast-iron.

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This weekend we spent a wonderful time in…our own backyard. Early Saturday morning, my boyfriend and I had a hankering for adventure. (Or as adventurous as we old souls get – his family affectionately calls us “abuelito y abuelita.”) So we hiked up the Q train to Astoria, and found ourselves smack-dab in the middle of Greece. Little did we know that this warm neighborhood of Queens is invested with generations of Greek families, shown in part by their wealth of delicious Greek restaurants.

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And on to Vitamin A!

This is one of my favorite vitamins to try to incorporate into more meals, for it calls for simple roots and vegetables that pair well with almost any dish.

World’s Healthiest Foods provides a wealth of information on this vitamin. For instance, there are many nutrients, all which fall under the group called “Vitamin A”. Here I’ll be sharing recipes for one sect, carotenoids, which are found in plant foods. These babies provide antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and immune-enhancing activity.

Beautiful “green leafy…or brightly orange- or red-colored” vegetables carry heavy doses of Vitamin A: spinach (in season spring-autumn); collard greens (autumn); sweet potato, kale, turnip greens, winter squash (autumn-winter); mustard greens (winter-spring); and carrots (accessible year-round). Take your pick and dive in!

So here’s one of my favorite new recipes, to kick off the Vitamin A batch.

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One of the qualities I love most about this lustrous island of a city is the wide variety of cultural experiences, especially for the culinary-inclined. Any night you can taste a longitudinally-far country’s fare, or meet your favorite cook in a tiny room of excited peers.

Last week’s fun leaned more toward the latter, where some friends and I joined smiles with Chloe Coscarelli at the Natural Gourmet Institute. We tasted vegan desserts and listened while she told us her recipe-creating process. Chloe is a great cook – I’m impressed by her penchant for using vegetables in everyday cooking. (Case in point – try her Avocado Pesto Pasta here, I tested it with great success!) Meeting her in person makes her twice as adorable, because she has the sweetest demeanor of any food celebrity I’ve met. Which, alright, isn’t many, but I think she’s the nicest regardless.

After the event we ladies headed over to Cafe Blossom for some tasty vegan fare. The laughs were loud and conversation was long, all in a warm, cozy atmosphere. The food was dynamic too – my favorite dish was the Carrot Ginger soup. The lighting was very dim, so please forgive the photo injustice.

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