Washington Square Diner

After our Sweetie Pie dinner, John and I walked over to our favorite diner for a late night cup of coffee and had fun hamming it up in front of the camera.

Which of us is more of a ham than the other? :)

Sweetie Pie

John and I were invited to a tasting the other night at our friends' new restaurant, Sweetie Pie. The decor was a little Marie Antionette-ish, a little fairytale-ish, a little Candyland-ish...totally our style! The food was delicious, too, and the fun part was getting to write our comments and critique for the owners.

Luke, one of the owners, welcomed everyone to the dinner.

Julie, the other owner, waves at us from the other end of the booth.

I loved the mural that wrapped around the dining room. Notice the Star Wars Storm Troopers...very unexpected, but a fun addition to the mural.

This salad was delicious...halved grape tomatoes and bocconcini served in a lettuce boat.

The meatballs were arranged around the plate like the face of a clock.

They were tasty, too!
Mmm...corn!

We ordered the Raspberry and Rose Petal Foole for dessert, not having any idea what a "foole" was. We found out that it is a classic 17th century dessert consisting of berries and decadent whipped cream. Ours had edible rose petals as well, which was a real treat.

We had a lot of fun filling out a comment sheet for the owners, and as you can see in these pictures, we took our task very seriously!

We added the final touch to our comment sheet by filling up every empty space with candy doodles and bits of flair.

Wink If You Want a Cookie

I went to City Girl the other night (my favorite coffee shop in New York) with Georgie for coffee and a ginger cookie. Being the most charming and talented dog in the world, Georgie scored a small piece of cookie by winking at me, instead of the usual old tricks of other dogs like begging or rolling over.

Silhouettes, Sunlight, and Clouds

Zen Dog

One does not need treats, squeaky toys, squirrels, or bacon to practice the Art of Peace. Heaven is right where you are standing.

Pasta e Fagiole

Pasta e Fagiole is a pasta and bean soup that Dean Martin sang about in his song, "That's Amore"...When the stars make you drool just like pasta fazool, that's amore". This soup is the ultimate comfort food!

Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in large soup pot and add 1 diced onion and 4 minced garlic cloves. Saute 3-5 minutes.

Add 6 cups chicken broth, 1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary, 1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano...
...and 1 (28 oz.) can diced tomatoes and 1 (28 oz.) can drained and rinsed cannellini beans. Season with salt and pepper, bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes.

Do something fun while the soup simmers...like work on your blog!

Scoop out all the chunky stuff (the onions, beans, tomatoes) and transfer to a blender.

Blend to a desired consistancy...I like it mostly smooth.

Return the blended mixture to the soup pot and add 3/4 cup Ditalini pasta (tiny tubes). Simmer for about 15 minutes, until the pasta is tender.

Serve with parmesan and crusty bread.