This is How You Do It

My brother is a professional photographer, and these are some pictures he took during his trip to NYC.

Yep. He's good.

It's Not Too Late!

With about 2 weeks to go before the unofficial end of summer, there's still time for this delicious pasta salad.

Pasta, Pesto, and Peas
(courtesy Ina Garten a/k/a The Barefoot Contessa)

Ingredients
3/4 pound fusilli pasta
3/4 pound bow-tie pasta
1/4 cup olive oil
1 1/2 cups homemade (yeah, right) pesto*
1 10-oz package frozen spinach, defrosted & squeezed dry
3 tbsp lemon juice (freshly squeezed if you've got it)

1 1/4 cup mayonnaise

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 1/2 cups frozen peas, defrosted

1/3 cup pignolis, toasted (optional - but really good!)

3/4 tsp kosher salt

3/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Directions
Cook the fusilli and bow ties separately in a large pot of boiling salted water for 10 to 12 minutes, until each pasta is al dente (or, do as I do and just cook 1 1/2 pounds of whatever pasta you have in the house in one big pot).

Drain and toss in a bowl with the olive oil.

Cool to room temperature.

In a food processor, puree the pesto, spinach, and lemon juice.

Add the mayonnaise and continue to puree.

Add the pesto mixture to the cooled pasta, then add the Parmesan cheese, peas, pignolis, salt, and pepper.

Mix well, season to taste, and serve at room temperature.

* I must confess... I buy pesto that's already been made. (It's just so much easier!)

The Cooks Take Manhattan

My brother and niece came to visit last weekend!

It's hard to believe it was their first time in New York City! (inside joke)

Thursday, night, we took the subway...

to Times Square, saw Rock of Ages, then walked through Midtown.

Rockefeller Center

Friday, we shopped...

in SoHo,

walked through Washington Square Park,

had dinner at Pete's Tavern, then wandered through The Strand.

Saturday...

We ate grilled cheese sandwiches from the Milk Truck at the Brooklyn Flea,

and shopped for "Louis Vuitton" purses on Canal Street.

We walked through Chinatown,

and City Hall Park,

then went to a New York Red Bulls match.

We had Sunday brunch at Penelope.

It rained.

We didn't mind (much).

Eventually, we took refuge at McSorley's, for some light & dark and a cheese plate.

(another inside joke)

Monday, they were on their own, and went to the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, and Century 21, before meeting up with me again for dinner at Cowgirl in the West Village.

The next day, it was time to go...

I think everyone (including me!) had a great time!

What I Did On My Summer Vacation

The bank I work for has a policy requiring all employees to take off 10 consecutive days.

The past two years, I've waited until November to take my time off. It was nice having something to look forward to.

But this year, I decided to take off the last two weeks in July instead.

August and September are particularly busy months in my department, so I was hoping to "detox" and have a better attitude this year.

I have my doubts, but either way, I had a great "summer vacation"...

• Saw the Old 97's at The Bell House in Brooklyn
• Went to Charleston
• Finished one book
• Started another
• Cleaned out a closet
• Had a root canal (that wasn't great)
• Refinanced my mortgage
• Went to Iowa
• Painted the bathroom

And then today I went back to work.

And reality.