grape tomato, kale pesto and goat cheese pizza

The sweet tomatoes blend nicely with this spin on a traditional pesto and the creamy goat cheese mounds. A perfect way to welcome spring.

Being called to jury duty was never so complicated. I thought I was smart postponing it until my son's Easter break, but then what if I am on a ury that lasts more than a week? Who will take him to school then?

Being allowed to postpone a second time didn't make things any easier. Between school, a planned visit form the in-laws and going up to our country house, never mind working in year end inventory at my job, it has become problematic.

And I generally like jury duty.

So, I will see how it pans out in June, when I am now scheduled to serve. At least I wont have to worry about ferrying my son around before I go.

Here is a way to lighten your dinner in expectation of warmer weather - it will be here eventually, right?

The pizza dough recipe has never failed me. Not once. It is the best thing around and after reading this article, about how pizza is so easy, no one should be buying it out, especially at Roberta's, where a 12 inch pie can set you back $17, plus tip and tax.

Grape Tomato, Kale Pesto and Goat Cheese Pizza
Makes one 10 inch thin crust pizza pie, dough recipe from Smitten Kitchen

Dough Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups flour (can replace up to half of this with whole wheat flour)
• 1 teaspoon table salt
• 3/4 teaspoon active dry yeast
• 1/2 cup lukewarm water (may need up to 1 or 2 tablespoons more)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil

Kale Pesto Ingredients

• 8 fresh kale leave, torn to small bits
• 2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
• 1/4 cup chopped walnuts
• 1/4 - 1/2 cup olive oil
• Salt, to taste

Pesto Instructions

1. Combine all ingredients in a food processor until well blended. Taste frequently and add more of what is needed.

 Dough Instructions

1. Stir dry ingredients, including yeast, in a large bowl. Add water and olive oil, stirring mixture into as close to a ball as you can. Knead everything into a homogeneous ball, incorporating all bits in the bowl.
2. Knead it for just a minute or two, inside the bowl. Lightly oil the bowl, turn the dough over so all sides are coated, cover bowl in plastic wrap and an opaque towel and leave it undisturbed for an hour or two, until it has doubled in size.
3. Dump it on a lightly floured counter and gently press the air out of the dough with the palm of your hands, beginning in the center and working your way out to the edge. Fold the piece into an approximate ball shape, and let it sit under the same plastic wrap for 20 more minutes.
4. Sprinkle a pizza stone or baking sheet with cornmeal and preheat your oven to its top temperature. Roll out the pizza, toss on whatever topping and seasonings you like. I like my pizza cheesy so I tend to go heavy on the cheese. This can make the dough more soggy, so be careful about putting too much stuff on top.
5. Bake it for about 10 minutes until it’s lightly blistered.

my birthday

So, my birthday was last weekend.

My husband and I took a couple's night out and went to Dear Bushwick, a fairly new restaurant featuring locally sourced, mostly organic fare.

I ordered the whole sea bass stuffed with beetroot green, in a vinaigrette sauce. It was very nice and once I was done, with all my fish's bones, skin and head set to the side, the waitress said that they offer to deep fry the remains and serve them with a spicy mayonnaise. 

It is very popular in Japan. You can eat everything, including the head.

Have I mentioned I like to work for my meal? Crunching on the vertebra snapped off the spine, covered in crunchy fried batter and dipped in a wonderful spicy mayonnaise sauce that included mint (!), was so good and such a unique experience I will never forget the meal. You must check this place out.

So, yeah, my birthday. I am an unimaginable amount of years old. I can't wrap my head around it. Mostly because I feel the same as I did 10, 20, 30 (yes that many) years ago.

But it is sooooooooooo much better now. For me, age has added bravery. A who-cares-what-people-think attitude has slowly crept into my psyche.

And, I learned some lessons (or hope I did) at this ripe old age (just this past weekend, actually):

Phones will fall into toilets. It is not the end of the world. They may even work again afterward. A Birthday Miracle

When you are thinking about yelling at your significant other about the fact that he has a perfectly fine laptop and that you need one in order to continue blogging through your planned month long vacation in the country cabin in July and therefore he should not be concerned about the small screen size of your dinky little Thinkpad that doesn't work at all and is too small to see anything on... make sure to check out the size and weigh of the present he plans to give you for your birthday, which is only days in the future...

Yes, he did. I am the owner of a brand new laptop.

So hooray for age. I'll take it over the alternative.

pizza making 101

The nice people over at Vimbly offered eight food bloggers the opportunity to take a free pizza making class. I was one of them. Amazing! I never win anything.

Vimbly is a new website that brings NYC classes and activities to one place, allowing you to search for the perfect way to pass your time and hone your skills. My experience in booking this class was very easy.

Nicole Garguilo

I had a fabulous time. The other bloggers were really fun. The host was 180 Hester Street, and the class taught by the lovely Nicole Garguilo. She taught us how to make traditional Neapolitan pizza, done the right way. This includes using double zero flour, San Marzano tomatoes, very hot temperatures (900 degrees - don't try this at home), and very little time (once the dough has risen) since it cooks in 90 seconds.

We were plied with unlimited wine and ended our day with not one but two pizza pies. Delicious. I took my second ball of pizza dough home and made one for my family. Unfortunately I was not sure how long to cook it in my NYC oven, which only goes up to 500 degrees, and under cooked it. I definitely need some more practice with this dish, but I think the work will be well worth the work, in the end. Homemade fresh pizza is amazing.

This was my first Food Bloggers in NYC meetup and I can't wait to join another, I had a blast.

Disclaimer: I was offered this class for free, but all of the opinions in this post are my own.

water park on pier 51

This weekend we checked out a new water park on the Hudson River Park called Pier 51 Play Area. This park is much nicer than the Chelsea Waterside Play Area, which is much more crowded with less shade. This park has a river of water running through it and a large sand area for building castles. In addition there are tones of things to climb on and run through. Because it is on the Pier, it feels really open and you can see the river while sitting in the shaded play area. It was well worth the trip.

central park zoo

A funny thing happened on the way to the zoo...

We almost didn't make it there. My son made a friend at the local playground and had an hour of fun running back and forth. I was sure he was too worn out for the long train ride into Manhattan, but when the boy went home he was ready for more.

It has been at least a year, if not two, since I've been to the Central Park Zoo. The highlight was going to be the snow leopard but she was hiding in her den the whole time and has been for a while. Perhaps she is pregnant, perhaps not, but the keepers are keeping their distance in case she is since snow leopards get extra aggressive when expecting.

We had fun looking at all the other animals, the bats were pretty cool, and were able to see everything on offer in about 2 hours, including the petting zoo. I think the Bronx Zoo is more my son's level right now since he wants to see the bigger animals, so we'll be going there next.

bryant park

source

We have had a string of good luck with my son's doctor visits. If you talked to me about four months ago, I would have given a bleak projection; his three year appointment didn't go well. At All. And his last two dentist appointments were disasters. So I am relieved that his recent dentist and eye exams were perfect. He cooperated, was in a good mood and even had fun!

What was the trick, you ask.

Toys. Lots of toys.

But that is not what I want to talk about. While waiting for his eye exam, we had an hour to kill, and ventured over to Bryant Park. I remember this park from when I worked in the stacks of the NY Public Library - a million years ago. At that time it was a nest for derelicts. No one I knew hung out there.

But now! Wow! It has had a major facelift. And it has taken me this long to check it out.

I was blown away by all the activities it offers. My family was lured into a Kubb match against another family, we tried out the carrousel, and ate our fruit snack in the pretty garden. All within one hour. Even with the down pour we experienced and the short visit, it was one of the best times I've had in a public park in recent memory.I see from the Bryant Park website that they offer free ping pong, petanque, summer movies, and numerous other games and events. Pretty cool.

at the aquarium

My son's been asking to visit the shark museum for about a month so as soon as we heard that the New York Aquarium had reopened we took a trip to check it out. Unfortunately, the sharks are not ready for viewing yet. They are building a new tank, slated to open 2016. We bought a shark six pack which was almost as good. Even without the sharks, he is at the perfect age for the place and was excited to see everything.

After we went to the beach and had loads of fun eating corn dogs while ordering our sharks and naming them and tossing sand about.

the cloisters

One of my old haunts, The Cloisters museum still enchants me. Something about the spaces and old stone and hush surrounding those interior gardens really appeals.

We had planned to visit the New York Aquarium on Tuesday, since Simon has been asking to go to the shark museum, but alas it had not opened yet, still cleaning up from hurricane Sandy.

Hard pressed for where else to go on such a beautiful day it came to me in a flash. Of course. It is where I spent many a beautiful day while living in Inwood many moons ago.

The museum was nice but the real attraction was the environment surrounding it. It sits within Fort Tryon Park, which is wonderfully wild with huge rock outcroppings all beckoning an avid climber to take a try. My son couldn't resist.