Light Up Night!!!

I've had a really authentic Pittsburgh week it seems! Last night Marissa, Christine, Gabe and I went down to the Strip to meet Joan for Light Up Night. What is Light Up Night, you ask? It's the kickoff to the holiday season in Pittsburgh. There are all kinds of holiday events downtown and in Station Square. The 65 ft tree in PPG place is lit up, the ice rink opens, there are carriage rides, face painting, booths set up all over Market Square, a gingerbread house contest, carolers, other performances, etc. Of course it had to be snowing and like 15 degrees...but who needs finger tips, right?

We kicked off the evening by meeting Joan in station square at some sports bar (which, btw, I hated) and Gabe happened upon Kris who then tagged along with us for the festivities.

My bitches at the bar:

Then we took the painfully cold walk down Penn Ave to Market Square...brrrrr!!! We got to check out the gingerbread houses, the big tree, and most of the festivities.

Unfortunately the line for the carriage rides was REALLY long and apparently it only took you around the block so we decided to nix that idea. However, we are going to make our own gingerbread house after tday when we are all back in town and it will far surpass the other houses in awesome-ness. For sure! Ya know what I was thinkinging...there should be a gingerbread beer. Im sure somewhere there's one. They have pumpkin beer...and its pretty tasty. Why not gingerbread? I think my brother should get on that, no?

Well I've gotta go work on some lunch before work...recipe to follow perhaps.

Here's a gratuitous snow picture for my mama:

A Day of Fun

So I had a total blast today! Gabe, Shane and I went on a trip to the Strip District, swiped up Kris and headed over to the noodle truck for some yummy $2 pad thai!! It was a perfect Pittsburgh day...flurries, Steelers gear, and street vendors! Gabe, Shane and I also went to The Mattress Factory which is, in fact, a museum in the North Side. It's all contemporary installation art! Man, there was some really neat stuff there! Check out the web site! I took a lot of pictures today. I'll post some tomorrow but some of them I just have to share today!! If you haven't lived in Pittsburgh you will never fully grasp Steeler-mania. While we were in the Strip, half the street vendors were Steelers gear! Look!





Here's the noodle truck! That guy, Bob, makes some way yummy pad thai. Admitedly, there is some egg so it's not really vegan but its vegetarian and WAY too good to pass up!




Here are some pictures of one of the awesome art installations! Shane was getting really into it!! It was room that was floor to ceiling mirrors AND mirrors on the ceiling. Also, huge orange dots AND mannequins covered in orange dots.





I'll probably post some more pictures tomorrow! I have to go catch up on the Steelers game and the Pens game n'at before practice

Boy, do I love Pittsburgh! One of my favorite things about Pittsburgh is the abundance of artist/hippy types here! And, of course, with that comes AWESOME public radio AND great natural food stores! Unfortunately the co-op was lacking some essential ingredients for my meal today so I had to improvise! But...on the good side....WYEP is doing an all-day thing on the white album Nov. 25 in celebration of its 40th "birthday". How awesome is THAT? Also awesome: I managed to snag a Steelers jersey for FIVE BUCKS at the thrift store! Crazy! I'll be turning it into a mini dress soon. Maybe I'll do that tomorrow....

So onto the recipes!

For my side dish I had Roasted Cauliflower in Indian BBQ Sauce from epicurious.com

Unfortunately, they were out of fresh ginger at the co-op and I came home to find my garlic cloves had molded *yuk* and to top it off, I didn't have cumin! So I had to improvise. I used powdered ginger and garlic and threw in a dash of cloves and chili powder for good measure. I have to say this is one of my favorite recipes ever. I usually roast the cauliflower a little extra to get it crispier! Also...if you try this one, I recommend putting the sauce on it right before you serve it because if you put it on and then have left overs they get soggy. Also reheat them in the oven and they taste better.

Now for my own personal recipe: cruelty-free curry chicken salad

ingredients:
1 1/2 cups TVP (i did 1 cup tvp, 1/2 cup big tvp chunks)
1 1/4 cups veggie broth
1/4 cup apple juice
1/2-1 cup veganaise (I use like 1/2 cup but I dont like my salad too saucy)
2 tablespoons curry powder (or more to taste)
one whole apple, diced
1 cup seedless red grapes, halved
1/4 cup fresh chopped parsley

optional: dried cranberries, raisins, pears, scallions or red onion, spinach

non-vegan option: if you're not vegan, try doing half veganaise and half plain yoghurt! The tangy flavor of the yoghurt is really nice.

Put TVP in a pot and top it with the veggie broth and apple juice and simmer until all the liquid is absorbed. if you're using tvp AND the big tvp chunks, add the chunks first and let them go for a minute or two before adding the other tvp.

Dice the apple and half the grapes (the co-op was out of grapes so I used craisins...yum!), chop your parsley, onions, pears, or whatever else you've added and throw it into a bowl and mix it up. Once the tvp has cooled down, add that into the mix and mix it all up! Now add your veganaise...start small and add more to taste. I really don't think you need a ton of it for this salad because it has so many flavors already happening!

Once everything is coated in veganaise, add the curry powder and salt and pepper to taste. Try adding a dash of cumin or chili powder, or a little bit of apple juice. This makes enough for 4-6 servings. Eat it on a bed of spinach or on pita or naan! Let it sit for a few hours before you serve it and it'll taste better, too.

First Blog!

So I'm going to give this blogging thing another go. I used to do really well at updating back in my live journal days but I guess the past couple years I was just too busy working my crap job and hating life to really have any time/substance to blog. This is going to be my place to share with all of you the things I love. My blog is going to cover my love for Pittsburgh, my cats, vegan recipes, and art projects I'm working on.

Man, am I my mother's daughter or WHAT?!

So lets start with my love of Pittsburgh. I love Pittsburgh. A lot. Fall/Winter really brings out my love for Pittsburgh as football and hockey season are in full swing. The Steelers and the Pens are both doing really well and the city is constantly black and gold. It's literally EVERYWHERE! Look:

In case you can't tell, thats a tube at the PNC teller donning a Steelers sticker!

Another of my favorite things about Pittsburgh is the winter weather. What a bummer winter was in Baltimore last year! It's already off to a great start here! It's been snowing on and off the past three days!! Check out some great pictures from Monday's awesome snow!

Christine is as excited as I am!!

Kris and I were enjoying the view of the Allegheny from his roof!

Look at the mighty Allegheny! There's even a cool little island in the middle of the river!! One of the many reasons I'm at the boys' house so often is their great view!

I'll leave you with one more picture....I'm having trouble figuring out how to format these stupid things!

Cosmo and Chelsea!!! My kitty babies! Aren't they just the cutest? Well that about does it for this first post. I'm off to the East End Food Co-op to get some ingredients for dinner. I'm gonna try out a vegan version of my curry chicken salad....recipe will be posted once I'm done with it!