When I was in East Hampton, I was obsessing over a box of baby heirloom tomatoes at Round Swamp Farm.  They were so unbelievably colorful and mini, with their funky shapes and sizes.  But what would I do with them?  Put them in a salad?  How could I really showcase them in a dish?  I left East Hampton without purchasing them, and pretty much forgot about those little guys.

Until yesterday, when I was lucky enough to be in Union Square at 9:30 AM, believing that I would have a chance to go to Trader Joe’s without having to wait in that god-awful line that is second only to Shake Shack.  We were having a friend over for dinner and since it was SO UNBELIEVABLY HOT for the past few days, we decided that salad was the way to go.  Since plain salad is pretty insubstantial, I decided that panzanella would be filling and interesting while also being a light meal that’s bearable in our very lightly air-conditioned apartment.

Then I saw them: a 16 oz. box of lovely baby heirloom tomatoes.  Bingo.  These would be sweet and hold their texture, whereas regular tomatoes are soggy, grainy, and, frankly, just not as gorgeous as these little jewels.  I think these tomatoes are at Trader Joe’s for a limited time, so GO GET THEM!  Even if it’s just to pop in your mouth as a refreshing snack, these tomatoes are so sweet and just so fun.  Go now.  No, don’t even finish reading this post.

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So Ruthie and I were just hanging out this afternoon, procrastinating various International Politics and Anthropology assignments, and we came up with a BRILLIANT idea: What if we took every delicious thing in the world and put it on a pizza?

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When I was in Italy in March, all I did was eat.  If I wasn’t eating, I was thinking about the next meal.  If I wasn’t thinking about the next meal, I was eating gelato.  When we were over in my family’s homeland of Tuscany, we learned a new term: mangiafagioli.   A derogatory term used by other Italians to describe Tuscans, it literally means bean eater.  No wonder.  In every meal we had in Florence, white “cannellini” beans made an appearance.  They were in soups, spread on bread, eaten with sausage, with tomatoes, or just by themselves.  Their nutritional value must have made them a staple in the Florentine diet.

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Everyone was in Washington Square Park yesterday enjoying the sun and the cool breeze, and of course, noshing on some goodies.

Washington Square Park is open for its first spring since 2007, and everyone is taking advantage.  People were sporting dresses, shorts and tanktops, couples were sporting PDA, and the park was sporting some of its finest flowers.  Spring is officially in full bloom with consistent weather in the 60s-70s, and you know what that means:

Ice cream

…ice cream

and MORE ICE CREAM

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I cooked the Roman pasta dish Cacio e Pepe for some of my friends, Chelsea and Natalie, for lunch today.  Being cheese lovers, they thoroughly enjoyed themselves. Recipe follows.

In my opinion, there are three edible gods: cheese, chocolate, and wine.  Any given one of these three divine comestibles can put almost any woman in a moment of flavor bliss.  Together, they tickle every sense on the tongue and are the key to any good dinner party.  But, for now, I’ll just focus on cheese worship.

*Above: Pecorino Romano from the East Village Cheese Shop, 40 3rd Avenue, New York, NY 10003.  Phone: (212) 477-2601‎‎

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