I'm a FARMER!

I completed my first "harvest" this weekend, so I'm pretty sure the word "farmer" applies to me! Let's start with a picture of my "crop"...
I know- it's a miracle, right? I didn't kill a single one of my herbs, and they seem to be flourishing, if I do say so myself! I had time this weekend to sit down and 'put up' my first harvest. I started with the chives:
In retrospect, I realize that the picture of the harvest next to the shorn plant is a little morbid... sorry about that.

After the chives, it was onto the basil. First, I would just like to reiterate how pretty this plant became.
I know- it's a tad weird how proud I am of these three little herbs...

After I snipped the bigger leaves, I took the following ingredients and got to work. Can you guess where I'm going with this?
Before I go on, I just have to mention this. It makes peeling garlic SO simple... just insert the clove, role for a second or two, and out pops your peeled garlic!
But I digress... back to the task at hand- PESTO!
You may notice that I have a dainty little food processor. It's really cute, but it's capacity means that I have to make the original recipe in batches. First, I ground up the basil leaves.
Then I slowly added the olive oil.
Then I added the pine nuts, parmesan, and garlic...
It was almost done!
And there you are... homemade pesto!
I was able to make 4 containers of pesto- 3 for the freezer and one for the fridge.
Here's the recipe, as created by my awesome parents.

HOMEMADE PESTO

Ingredients:
2 C loosely packed Basil leaves
1/3 C Olive Oil
2-3 cloves of garlic
1/2 C Grated Parmesan Cheese
2 T Pine Nuts

Directions:
Chop Basil in food processor until smooth. Slowly add oil and blend. Then add cheese, nuts, and garlic. Blend until smooth.
Keep two weeks in fridge or put into freezer for up to one year.

Pesto is delicious in so many ways- on pasta or sandwiches... but in my family we like it on pizza. It only takes a few simple ingredients to make a tasty dish.
Just spread a container of pesto on a Boboli, add mozzerella, tomatoes, and bake according to the instructions on the package.
Yum, right?
As you can tell, I had a very fun weekend... I hope yours was the same!

Party on Ditmars!

What do you do on a Thursday night in Astoria? Attend the local street fair, of course! A portion of Ditmars Boulevard has been shut down for the weekend to celebrate the Feast of San Antonio Abate. I can't tell you much more about it (there's not even an entry in Wikipedia), but it's a very festive place to hang out, as SFS and I discovered last night. Here is the entrance to the festivities, about 2 blocks from my apartment.
This is set up right behind the raffle drawing booth. I'm not sure if the statue is a part of the raffle, because there are dollar bills tied to ribbons hanging all over it... but I didn't buy a ticket, so I guess I'll never know!
No street fair is complete without rides, right? I guess I was spoiled at Cedar Point, because the idea of getting into this contraption scares me to death! It's not even anchored in the ground, people!
But not everything at the street fair is so scary- take for example, Soak the Bloke. Where else can you dunk a taunting clown in a tub of water? Judging by the crowds, this was a BIG hit! (Ba dum bump!)
Of course, some people would rather take home a prize after throwing some balls... thank goodness Chuck's Critters were there. Depending on how well you did, you could win a hermit crab (with a snazzy painted shell, I might add), or an iguana.
Chuck also had a goldfish truck...
Now, if throwing balls isn't your thing, feast your eyes on these babies... first, crossbow!
Or skee-ball...
Or fishing...
Or even water gun shooting.
No matter your preference, there were plenty of ways to win some plush little friends. (I'm sorry, but it was cracking me up that all these poor Kermits needed new buttons on their overalls!)
How about a little dancing? There was a band tent, along with an empty street corner reserved for those who decided to bust a move.
And if you were in a more artistic mood, there was a booth for making sand art.
Check out that crazy bottles- plus, the colored sand even had GLITTER in it.
How's THIS for crazy? You could have your picture taken in the BIG chair. There were plenty of BIG props to go along with it, including fake ice cream cones and booze bottles. The photo alone was $8, but for an extra $2 there were some decorative frames to choose from. Wouldn't that make for an interesting Christmas card?
But what's a street fair without some yummy treats? There was a Pina Colada truck that offered free refills with the purchase of the glass.
I loved the color combination the Lucy's truck had going on... and SFS was mesmerized by their roasted hot peppers.
Mmmm... meat!
I don't really like sausage, but this smelled SO good!
As did the different kinds of kabobs.
I loved all the portable gyro meat spinners... quite a few tents had one of these!
There was a candy tent, complete with candy apples...
And candy covered marshmallow kabobs!
And here is something I was first introduced to at the Texas State Fair... fried oreos! This poor guy's job was to mix the batter...
And this guy was working hard to keep the oreos coming... there was quite a line!
As the sun started to set, we decided it was time to go home.
But don't worry, I wasn't too sad to be leaving... because I'll be walking through it all again tonight! Yep- I actually HAVE to walk through the street fair to get home- just one of the many quirks of living in NYC!

Rain, rain... go away!

This is what the city looks like after weeks of rain...
Everything is gray and drab. (Though, truth be told, I would live in this building no matter WHAT the weather... isn't it fab?)
There seems to be a constant mist, that makes the view from my office window a little dreary...
I mean, I can barely make out the water towers that I love so much!
Plus it means that when I walk along the sidewalk, I have to dodge the umbrellas while at the same time trying to make sure that I don't poke out an eye with my own!
But I should find consolation in the fact that I don't have to drive in the icky weather, right?

Normally, I would agree in an instant... the subway is the BEST... except for when it acts up on me... and last night was a perfect example.(I will be referencing the subway system in a moment... if you would like a visual aid, please click here for the MTA Subway map- it may help!)

When it's time to go home, I enter the N/R/W subway line at 8th Street. But last night, after I had swiped my Metrocard and walked down to the platform, I heard an announcement that service was suspended between Canal Street and Herald Square... which affected the very station where I was waiting. Luckily, all trains were supposed to be going express from Canal to Times Square, which would avoid the problem areas. Canal is only 2 stops farther south from the 8th Street station, so I quickly ran up to street level, and re-entered on the downtown rail side. After a little discussion with the station attendant (since I had just swiped my Metrocard I wasn't supposed to be able to use it again), he let me through the turnstile and I jumped on the first southbound train. Once at Canal Street, I scurried through the passage way under the tracks to the northbound platform, only to find this:
Yep- an R train, which won't take me home. So, I did what any normal person would do- I stopped to take some pictures. (Note: Canal Street is in the heart of Chinatown, hence the figures next to the station name in the mosaic below.)And before I knew it, a W train came along... which meant that I was on my way home! Oh- and please let me explain the picture quality. It's kind of dark in certain subway stations, and you're not supposed to use a flash when a train is entering the station- it really bothers the train conductors. So, sorry about the blurriness!
Here is my beloved train, rushing by!
Here it is, slowing down... don't these new subway cars look lovely? So smooth and shiny, with hardly a trace of graffiti.
So, I boarded this lovely train... and do you know what happened? The track was fixed, and this train was the first to make local stops all evening! How's that for bad luck? I didn't mind TOO much, as I had a good book and a seat on the train, the perfect recipe for making ANY commute a breeze!

It looks like things will be a little sunnier today- I'd better take a long lunch to enjoy it! I hope you have a great Thursday!!