Tales of a Vegan Yinzer Weirdo

We Didn't Start The Fire...

2007-04-12T17:11:00.000-07:00

...it was always burning since the worlds been turning...OK, so double purpose title today. First, is the off the shoulder 80's style I'm pushing buttons with at work today. Why not? I gave notice last week (3 weeks notice) and I work so much more efficiently when I'm able to "be myself". The other reason for the fire reference is my daughter's unexplained fear of fire now days. She claims she had a bad dream and doesn't want to talk about. Fire on our gas stove (along with candles and laterns and...) have been freaking her out MAJORLY for several weeks now. Last night, she overcame. Pizza has the power. I'll share my favorite pizza sauce recipe from the New Farm Cookbook!

Pizza Sauce

(improvised slightly due to spices on hand and my own taste)

1 sm onion diced

3 T olive oil

4 oz tomato paste

1 cup water

3/4 t garlic powder

1 t oregano

1 1/2 t chili powder

1 pinch black pepper

1/2 t basil

pinch of cayenne pepper

1/2 t salt

1 t sugar

(I usually 1 and 1/2 this recipe just because I typically buy 6 oz cans of tomato paste and love pizza sauce!) First, saute the onion in oil until translucent. It's not necessary to use 3T of oil - I've used every increment inbetween and have found very little variation in taste. Once the onions are cooked, add the other ingredients, mix well and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Simmer 10 minutes and viola!

Beautiful Little Cupcakes, Great Big Debt!

2007-04-03T15:36:00.000-07:00

Dolt! So, neither of us intended to do this trade fair "for profit". Really, we were hoping to buy some of the supplies we'd need to make cupcakes in large batches and break even. We didn't break even, either. But, I loved the endless compliments about how great they looked and especially the "are they edible"? I soaked that right up! :-) I was even asked if I take "special orders". I guess so! The lady who asked bought a cupcake for her boyfriend/husband - Pat, the drummer from Anti Flag. I'm not the starstruck type and had no idea who he was before Michael told me. They were pretty excited about vegan cupcakes. I wonder if he's vegan. We saw them again last night as we were taking a night walk and they excitedly recognized us and waved! I joke that instead of being a hippie in the woods I'm going to morph into celebrity baker. Boy, I'm dorky. Anyway, the trade fair averaged maybe 200 visitors and we sold about 60 cupcakes. Considering the fact that there was another booth with vegan cupcakes run by the Big Idea (0ur local anarchist bookstore) and yet another table with "traditional" cupcakes, I was impressed with our sales, all in all. We got the word out about our vegan meetup group, as well and passed out quite a few "Why vegan" pamphlets.

I find myself becoming more and more internal and reflective and simplistic. I spend less and less time in front of the computer and have little desire to even surf the net during down time at work. I'm ready to soak up the sun and spend time with my family. I still intend to update this blog so don't assume that long intermissions mean I've given it up! As always, my inspirations come in spurts!

Sweet Home West Virginia?

2007-03-14T07:04:00.000-07:00

The "For Rent" sign went up yesterday! Here is a picture of where we're moving (far left - yes, trees soon to be completed with a tarp, some selected strawbales and a tent)! I'm not certain when this image was taken but since, it's been cultivated and is primarily an organic vegetable garden. Not only organic - "veganic". I'd already heard that many organic fertilizers contain animal blood and bone but decided to really look for myself a couple of weeks ago when wandering around the Home Depot. Wow. It's so insanely difficult to be ethical! I imagine we'll still be relying on others for awhile but do get excited about the prospect of being more self-suffient and self-reliant. I'm looking forward to growing some organic herbs and veggies of our own, as well! Seeds of Change is great and just so happens to be the place were the bulk of the seeds for this garden are purchased! Southern Exposure Seed Exchange interests me, too, but simply because it is an outreach/business of ACORN Intentional Community!

A Marriage, New Shoes and A Cupcake Order!

2007-03-12T08:30:00.000-07:00

No, not me. I'm not the marrying type. Heck, I'm the kind you don't take home to mother...I will never let your spirits down..I'm a superfreak(which reminds me of "Little Miss Sunshine" - anyone see that movie? Satirical and rather funny)...anyway, I guess I'm "the new generation". The ones that say, hey, I have no moral issue with living with the person I love and feel no obligation to have the state/government/church recognize my companionship. I find weddings to be a waste of money and seriously rooted in tradition. I'm all for dispelling tradition and following what is logical. The marriage, I should add before I get too sidetracked, is that of my ex. This should help him obtain the Canadian citizenship he desires. He was quite stressful to live with - I'm hoping things have changed and that they are a better match than we were. I have, afterall, won the lottery in the compatibility department. Unfortunately, I did NOT win the PA lottery this weekend.

Look at these beautiful, all-purpose, all-terrain, summer, hippie shoes! I don't own them yet but I will in two weeks! Does that make you as happy as it makes me?? $85 is a big OUCH. But, look at the description - it's a hiking/water shoe! How appropriate for our summer. Really, I can't imagine needing much more. (The justification is in full-swing!)

And, guess what?! A lady from my work ordered a dozen Tiramisu cupcakes from me! I'm bringing them to her on Wednesday! I wasn't sure about what to charge her so I ended up saying $12/dozen. Is that high? low? Michael had suggested $15 but I wimped out. They are probably worth that - especially given the market rate but I'm not business saavy. I just like to make pretty things. I also have another cupcake venture approaching soon!

We'll be tabling at an "activist" trade fair. We have loads of vegan literature (including hundreds of "Why Vegan") and I'll be selling vegan cupcakes! Plus, the venue is about 3 miles from my house! Given that I'm actually quite shy and socially akward, I'm slightly nervous, but, given that I'm creative and love food activism, I'm excited, too! :-)

First Stop - Hell!

2007-03-10T17:20:00.000-08:00

That's right folks, I visited Hell today and I can't even say "and all I got is this lousy t-shirt" because there is no flipping way I'd ever buy a t-shirt at that place. I literally wanted to scream at everyone in the store "DON'T LOOK AT ME! REALLY, DON'T LOOK AT ME. WE CAN NEVER EVEN NONVERBALLY COMMUNICATE BECAUSE I HATE YOU!" Hmmm. When did I become so hostile, I wonder? I was in tears at this store. Physically shaken. I should have had at least SOME idea of what I was going to see but, nothing can prepare you for reality like...well, like reality. To clarify more - the store is a "hunting, fishing, outdoors, camping" store. It's right off of the highway on the way to Wheeling, WV and we saw some impressive camping supplies online that we wanted to at least see. Ultimately, though, we both want to make most of our supplies - instead of erecting plastic and nylon in a natural and beautiful woodsy setting. Inside of the Cabela's, you will find a hundred dead and stuffed animals - set up almost like a museum exhibit and thoroughly disgusting. We walked out the door, looked at each other and exclaimed that we couldn't every buy anything from that store. Never. bleck. Horrible.

Fortunately, our next stop of the day was extremely pleasant - we drove into Wheeling to stop at Jebbia's Market - a wholesale produce market with incredible prices. We left with a box full of produce for $20. We'll be able to live as royalty this summer! That may be a stretch according to society's standards but not for us! We took a short stroll around New Vrindaban today - the rain eventually stopped us. I love Michael! Love him and I love our night hikes, and snow hikes and rain hikes and...

Dead Batteries, Whirlwind Life, Complete Happiness

2007-03-09T05:47:00.000-08:00

Who would have thought that I get paid to actually work?! I was beginning to assume that work was just an acronym for "internet play time". I was wrong! That 40 cent raise I got came with some extra work and LOTS of drama. Drama at work never ceases to amaze me! Our office "thief/snitch/liar" makes life stressful on a daily basis. Her most recent antics (in a effort to avoid personal responsibility) left me swearing up and down and proclaiming my innocence! Fortunately, I wasn't the only party involved and my story was ultimately validated. This is the same girl that STOLE MY IPOD! I couldn't officially PROVE it but, I know. Last Friday I was so upset, I could see myself doing this to her head.

Alright, alright, so maybe not "literally" but bring on the figurative speech cause I for surely wanted to figuratively do this to her! Grr. Mean me. (and yes, that turtle is vegan - and see, he's smiling - he doesn't mind having his head eaten - cruelty-free indulgence!)

As for food, I still cook and eat it everyday. I keep forgetting to buy new batteries for my camera - hence, no pictures. I made some fantastic "tempeh italian soysage" on Wednesday! Oooh. Eye popping. I also made some chocolate chip scones from VwaV, black bean burgers, and spicy fries (sweet potato and potato mix). I made "my" spicy black beans with spinach, tomato and zucchini on Monday and on Tuesday, we focused on more simplistic eating - pressure cooked navy beans, brown rice and steamed carrots. Soon, our meals will all be "one pot"

It's an ackward transition for me right now. I'm well aware of leaving and it's consuming my thoughts and actions. It's near impossible (other than food) for me to purchase anything that isn't "simplistic living" friendly. Still, we'll have things ready VERY soon! We traveled to New Vrindaban just last weekend for a festival. I'm not particularly keen on religion in any form but it's still nice to be surrounded by hundreds of vegetarians and kicking drum beats. The most exciting part of the visit, however, was seeing "potential homesteads". We'll likely be back this weekend to hike around some more (sans little munchkins). Here are pictures of New Vrindaban (just outside of Moundsville, WV) from their website and also a few that I took over the summer.

The picture on the right of Eva and a cow is also from NV. Wow. These images are stunning to me now. They feel completely right. I get anxious at times about living within a religous community - even if not required to participate in religious practices. This reminds me, however, that what I really want is to submerse myself in the aspects of the community that these pictures display!

My Hostess Has the Mostess

2007-02-26T11:30:00.000-08:00

Eva and Malani agree!

I really do eat food that isn't dessert! I swear! I'll have to post more "real food" pictures soon! I made some yummy pizza with follow your heart cheese on Friday night. The crust - ISA CRUST! Yes, I decided that Isa is my leader and her cookbooks are my bibles of sorts. I stopped by Barnes and Noble (Isa, don't frown - I stuck it to the man when I bought the Vegan Cupcakes TOTW cookbook by buying it at our local anarchist bookstore). Why not back to the anarchist bookstore? Well, I have a number of excuses including it's "weird hours", the fact that it's too cold to walk there on lunch, not being sure if they are carrying it/ if it is out...but mainly, I'm impatient and online took too long. I been trying to be responsible. I am, afterall, planning to discard most of my things and begin living "off the grid" this summer. It seemed like a bit of a splurge - everything seems splurgish now - buying any clothes is hard. I'm cutting it down to a couple summery dresses, a couple sweaters a couple shirts, a couple jeans and two pairs of practical shoes. Really! I'm talking 10 items of clothing TOPS and maybe a pair of good winter/hiking boots and a casual pair of all-purpose shoes. I can't wait to build an outdoor kitchen!

Wow. I'm actually kind of disgusted. It took me awhile to find photos of what I envision. I kept find glamorous extensions of kitchens for the wealthy. Shiny grills and well placed, even tiles. Not really what I foresee or even dream about. I dream about self-sufficiency and DIY. I think the pictures I found truly encompass some of my passion for simplistic and yet still extremely rich and rewarding life.

It's Fun to Kiss Butt with Cupcakes!

2007-02-22T11:58:00.000-08:00

It's true and you can't deny it! Here, my crimson velveteen cupcakes prepare for a trip on the bus. I love my new carrier but wouldn't mind one of these too!

Cocktail Cupcakes on Fire...

2007-02-21T06:23:00.000-08:00

OK, so I wanted another song lyric for today and had to google. I didn't want just any old kid song nor did I want some song written by a "normal" cupcake aficionado. I wanted a lyric about cupcakes from a real live "rock star". And that's what I got folks! Beck had an untitled song with the above lyric (is it just me or is Beck one sexy, hippie-ish, weirdo artsy fart freak?! Major crush from way back is surfacing now that I know he sang a song about cupcakes!! ;-) ). It's rather funny, actually, since my favorite cupcakes are almost like cocktails. I love the tiramisu cupcake that is made with kahlua and I love the margarita cupcakes made with tequila. Which came first, I wonder, the love of decadent desserts or the love the liquor?! It had to be the desserts since I didn't even start drinking alcohol until a year ago. The combination is deadly, though!

Bare witness to my newest creations! I redid the toasted coconut cupcakes so that Michael could have one - afterall, it was his influence that made me decide to make those cupcakes for the potluck and he was only able to get the cake part leftover from Malani's cupcake. Boo! Enter me to save the day. A dozen BIG ones.

And here's an adorable picture of Malani from the potluck that I had to post because...well, because any picture of our girls makes my blog that much more cool!

Next cupcakes - tiramisu. I made them once before and cut out the center, replacing the tops after the center was filled with coffee/kahlua and buttercream. They were hard to manage and "floppy". I like my more "authentic" looking versions. I simply dug a hole in the center rather than removing it.

I Get By With A Little Help From My Friends

2007-02-20T09:49:00.000-08:00

So, I'm keeping up with my song quoted titles. I can't help it. The little geek in me condenses all experiences into songs so...

Sunday was THE potluck. Sure, we've hosted many and all have been great for different reasons. This gathering was HUGE. 36 veg*ns in our townhome! Holy twinkies batman! Our home really doesn't fit that large a crowd well. It was almost a bit overwhelming for socially akward me. I think it went over well, though. The last to leave were the Smart family and Reese. It was nice to chat with them about progressive, vegetarian and stay at home parenting, unschooling, and communal life. These are all things that make me feel grossly isolated by the rest of society and here were 3 other people to chat with Michael and I about these passions. Ron and Rachael are parents of Ellie and James. Our three girls love to play with Ellie and James! We've met them for a rainy picnic in the park, a pizza dinner hosted at their home and a trip to the Carnegie Science Center. Our family now has a yearly membership giving us unlimited access to not only the Science Center but all the Andy Warhol Musuem, Carnegie Museum of Natural History and the Carnegie Museum of Art. I'm sure a trip to the History Museum will be upcoming. They have a "dig" exhibit that the girls loved last year when we visited.

Ah, but I was talking about the potluck. I made toasted coconut cupcakes with a coffee buttercream frosting.

I also made a "sausage" and black lentil stew.

1 t olive oil

1 1/2 cups lentils, rinsed and drained (I used black lentils bought at Trader Joes)

14 oz Tofurky Italian sausage, sliced

8 oz frozen corn

3 ribs of celery chopped

3 carrots, peeled and chopped

1 medium onion, chopped

5 1/2 cups spring water (I subbed half of the water with veggie stock)

1/2 teaspoon salt

black pepper to taste

In a large pot, add a teaspoon of olive oil to very very lightly coat the bottom. Add the sausage and saute until the sausages start to brown. Add the corn, celery, carrots and onion and saute until the veggies begin to become tender. Add the water/broth, salt, black pepper and lentils. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 2 hours - stirring occassionally. Alternately, I pot the soup in a crock pot once the water was boiling and cooked on low heat for about 2 hours. I then left in on the warm setting for about an hour prior to serving.

Michael made vegan corn muffins that were delish! He's such an awesome cook!

I never thought I'd say that anything could be more important than vegan food but lo and behold, I'm preparing to say such a thing right now.

Most importantly, our wonderful vegan friends! :-)

Te Amo Salsa!

2007-02-17T12:38:00.000-08:00

I made my very own batch of homemade cooked salsa today! I totally improvised everything and it seems to be quite yummy! This could be an addiction soon! It might be better than the current cupcake making addiction that I have but given that I'll likely be eating the salsa with loads of tortilla chips and drinking beer. Hmmm.

Here is my recipe:

Approx. 3 1/2 cups tomato, diced

Approx. 1 t cumin

Approx. 2 t salt

Approx. 1 t sugar

1 large onion, diced

6 cloves of garlic, minced

1 T olive oil

2 dried chipotle chiles

Approx. 1 1/2 T tomato paste

juice of 1/2 a lemon

1/2 bunch of cilantro, chopped

Heat the oil in a skillet. Add the onion and garlic - saute for 5 minutes until translucent. Add the cumin and chipotles and saute and additional minute. Add the tomato, salt, sugar, lemon and tomato paste. Bring to a boil, add cilantro and then simmer over low for 30 minutes or until chipotles have seasoned the salsa to your liking. Cool. Store in the refrigerator.

Seitan is Just Alright with Me...

2007-02-16T09:19:00.000-08:00

Nothing like a Doobie Brothers remake to start a post. Is anyone noticing a dorky trend of "song quoted" titles? Ah...heh. heh. Anyway, this post is more about my adventures with seitan this week. Salty fellow. OK, bad pun. It was a bit on the salty side, though, so I'd recommend cutting back on the sodium in the simmering broth. I used Isa's recipe found HERE. Below is my step by step photo collection followed by the dinner I made with seitan - veggie fajitas. The beans you see in the last picture are fat free refried slow cooker beans. Michael says they are the best beans he has ever had and that he is a bean connoisseur. He was nicknamed "burrito boy" so ... I modified THIS RECIPE by omitting the jalapeno and added two dried chipotle chiles and about 1/2 t chili powder. I soaked the beans overnight and reduced the cooking time to 6 hours. It was plenty - the beans were lovely mashable and seasoned. I removed the chiles before mashing - the beans had plenty of smoky heat as is from the slow simmering. A feast for your eyes.

My Weekend - Measured in Food

2007-02-13T11:45:00.000-08:00

Aaah! Such yummy food I had this weekend! Friday, I made Aloo Gobi, Papadums, Brown Rice and Tomato Chutney. We're still in need of a major "stock up" at the grocery store but I managed to grab a few things from the local market and figured I'd find a last minute Indian recipe featuring cauliflower and potatoes. And I did! Hooray!We traveled all day Saturday. Our first stop of the morning was at the East End Food Coop for tofurky, vegenaise, tings and fruit - 4 year old munchkin essentials for her sleepover with her sisters in Washington. We also picked up a few items for ourselves - namely, COFFEE, lara bars and an extra bag of tings. Tings are Incredible! Just like Cheetos but with nutritional yeast! I'm also now a huge fan of the Lemon and Cherry Pie Lara Bars! We mainly snacked all day until we finally settled at our final location - Casa Nueva - a worker owned restaurant and cantina! It was so popular that the wait for dinner was an hour - fortunately, the cantina was large and there was plenty of seating! We indulged our senses with some inexpensive beer - I got a Marietta Brewing Raspberry Wheat and a Rogue Chipotle Ale. Michael got a a 90 Shilling Ale and a Paw Paw Wheat. All were great and only $3 a pint. Plus, all draft selections are locally (Ohio) brewed. The bar menu is quite extensive and we ordered tofu fries and some great salsas. They serve non-GMO chips. We both ended chose Chimichangas. I left the camera in the car. Oops. No problem, though. Because look at the yummy breakfast we caught there the next morning...

Sunday was full of leftovers and some chips with the Roasted Veggie Salsa we purchased to take home! Mmmm. Nothing like having leftovers! I love it! It's like going out all over again!

I was rather uninspired last night but I still managed to make an impromptu dish - Tofu Lettuce Wraps that I served with vegan potstickers. Not too shabby.

Dessert came from the Farm Cookbook - Bread Pudding. Oh how I wish I'd had some ice"bean" to put on it while it was warm! That would have been divine. It was still a bunch of sweet, carby goodness, though!

Daydream Believer but NOT Homecoming Queen

2007-02-12T17:53:00.000-08:00

Not sure where to start with posts today. I have a bunch of food images to upload but I think I'll wait until tomorrow for posting those and recipes. My exciting weekend comes first! Traveling alongside my fabu hippie-freak comrade was a great stress-reliever, even if only temporarily. We traveled first to Lehman's and I felt like I walked into my own personal, overpriced utopia! Glorious and massive dutch ovens, cauldrons and pots! Wood stoves! Composting Toilets! Massive chunks of 100% soywax for candlemaking! I can't even articulate how excited I am about our summer! Every day it gets harder and harder to hide hippie me. Let's play a game
called - where are the hippies in OH? Ready?

Comics and Cuppers

2007-02-08T09:10:00.000-08:00

Animal Cruelty 101 It's time for some serious discussions with our little girlies. The questions have really been flowing from our older two who are attempting to understand the differences between their vegetarian lifestyle and our vegan one. Eva, on the other hand, likes the title of being a vegan but still doesn't full grasp "why". I was glad I was able to locate these comics online. I'm hoping it will help us provide the girls with an age-appropriate, yet still disturbing, view of these industries. Michael also pointed me at some additional resources that we'll look into purchasing soon.

Yesterday was the perfect de-stressing cooking day. I took advantage of my free time and made a loaf of homemade bread, a pot of vegan chili and a batch of vegan cupcakes. While I was excited to have food to actually bring to work for lunch, I was most excited about my "artsy" cupcakes. Michael took them with him to work today. I didn't eat any! Yay me! I'm much more about the decorating anyway! I'll post my chili recipe later this evening - I improvised from my favorite cookbook - The New Farm Vegetarian Cookbook. My kinda peeps.

No TV is a Lovely Thing

2007-02-07T20:34:00.000-08:00

At least when it comes to being completely oblivious that it's Super Bowl Sunday! Michael and I spent the day Sunday out in the boonies. We left in the morning and spent a few hours in Washington, PA and then proceeded on to Morgantown, WV to try to grab a bite to eat at the vegetarian cafe - Mountain Peoples Kitchen only to find out when we arrived that the little cafe had been closed since July. The guy working in the co-op connected informed us that is was "closed to see how it worked out". We enjoyed a laugh about that - um...yeah, it ain't prolly gunna work out good cause yah ain't gunna get any business when yah ain't open. Anyway, it was a delightful ride regardless and we were happy to soak up the sun and be out in the country. We didn't realize it was Super Bowl Sunday until 3:00 in the afternoon - our first inkling was the complete lack of cars ANYWHERE. In honor of game day, Michael and I ate some homemade baked corn chips that I made, along with homemade guacamole and refried black beans. We also played a game of scrabble - which I lost by 2 stinkin points! bleck. Now doesn't that sound like more fun than a bunch of fat guys running around with a ball? Doesn't it? For reals!

I must have still been feeling a bit "country" on Monday because I made BBQ tempeh and sweat potatoes with black beans with a side a brown rice. I had the time to actually prepare something wonderful but instead, I spent the day rearranging the girls rooms, doing laundry, taking naked pictures of myself and praising seitan. All true! Why wasn't I at work, you ask? Of course you'd ask a thing like that. So silly. Why because when it's cold and the Pittsburgh Public Schools are closed, apparently my daughter's daycare center is closed as well. So, two complete cancellations and one two hour delay later and tomorrow looks like daycare should be open at "normal" time. Eva spent time with family on Tuesday (no well in hell I could take another day off work - even with all of my seitan praising).

This brings me to dinner on Tuesday night -Double Wide Grill . Yippee. I felt like I was living a double life - escaping after work to meet my boyfriend for drinks and vegan bar food! We skipped the "main stuff" and both ordered seitan wings - the Cletis' hot and BBQ. DE-Yum! Plus, my Blue Moon and Bell's Two Hearted Ale were tasty! Michael got an interesting brown ale and followed up with a Young's Double Chocolate Stout! We continued our "surreal" evening with a bitter cold walk in the snow to the Joseph Beth Bookstore. There, in the bathroom stall, I was informed that Ron Jeremy would be signing his book there this Friday. Hot damn. (I'll leave you determine whether or not I am being sarcastic).

I had a fun night in the kitchen tonight. Pictures and more rambling tomorrow...

It's February, I'm a Nerd and I ate Veggies Tonight

2007-02-01T15:58:00.000-08:00

It's also cold as hell and Thursday - just for the record. My first matter of attention is the fact that I actually WON a scrabble game. Not only won, but won with lots of points to spare! This comes after a horribly saddening 5 game defeat. I think I had somewhere around 350 points! In one play, I got 71 points! I used a connector, got a double word score AND used all my tiles! Yippee. Look at our beautiful game! We used all the cubes. OK, I know they are called tiles but for some reason my brain always blanks out and I'll make dumb comments like "damn, all my cubes are vowels". And Michael, of course, laughs at me. I spent so much time losing that I decided I needed to come up with some good "excuses" and quick. Here is my list:

1) What do you mean QIS is not in our 1969 Elementary School Dictionary?! Everyone "cool" knows it's a word.

2) I totally would have won if I could have used the word QIS.

3) I'm sick.

4) Repeat any of the above adding on "and I've had too much beer".

Speaking of beer, we've tried a few new ones recently. Sam Adams had a homebrew collection that they put out which was really nice. Michael just brought home a variety case of "Blue Ridge" Beer yesterday. So far I've tried their Golden Ale and their Amber Lager. Nice, decent mellow brews. I'm enjoying this collection so far. It's hard to find a variety pack without an IPA. Neither Michael or I like IPA so it's a totally waste to buy that. At the same time, we don't typically want 24 of the same beer. Overkill. My most recent blunder was my six pack of Winter Storm ale. It's a 7.5% abv beer with quite the bite. Ouch.

And on to healthy stuff. Look at the yummy veggies I steamed tonight. First I sauted the carrots, red onion and red pepper with some nonstick cooking spray. Then I added the green beans, brussels sprouts, and cauliflower. Saute a few minutes and then steamed by adding a 1/4 cup of water to the stock pot! Delicious with some earth balance and salt on top! Finally, Engel's Market was open. One of the things I love best about small businesses is how personal the experience becomes. The owner of Engel's immediately directed me to some of the freshest fruit that she knows we love - mmm - red d'anjou pears! She also informed me that their credit machine was down earlier that day but it wouldn't matter with us - she'd always be willing to start a tab for us. I don't know why - maybe it's the 1950's domesticated housewife in me - but that meant a heck of a lot to me. I feel jaded so often and it's nice to be trusted. We are, afterall, trustworthy folk!

So, that has it for Thursday.

Dinner!

2007-01-30T18:31:00.000-08:00

So, I had to make some changes and simplify my recipe a bit. I used the quick pizza dough recipe I mentioned yesterday and added some Mrs. Dash and garlic salt. I also ended up having to add an extra 1/2 cup of flour in order to roll out the dough - it was quite sticky! I made the pizza sauce from scratch from The New Farm Cookbook! Delicious as always. I topped the pizza with artichoke hearts and carmelized onions and poured the melty nutritional yeast sauce on top. I was bummed that I had a difficult time working with this dough and didn't get the "perfect circle" that I so craved but, it's still pretty! Can you tell from looking that it's vegan??

It's Pizza Night!

2007-01-30T08:30:00.000-08:00

And I finally found a recipe for Super Quick Pizza Dough! Now that we have our pizza stone, we've created some AMAZING pizzas - and Michael and I, well, we know pizza. We love it and I'm, personally, a bit obsessed with it. I'm including some pictures of pizza made prior to owning our pizza stone. Our best pizzas thus far have been with the stone, though. And with the help of this more Authentic Pizza Dough! It's definitely worth the effort and time. Tonight, I'm thinking toppings of artichoke hearts, carmelized onions, roasted red peppers, and roasted garlic. Maybe even some tofu or some Tempeh Soysauge Crumbles (PPK)? I definitely think this pizza needs to be topped with Melty Nutritional Yeast "Chreese"! I follow the pizza variation and, honestly, I think it's better than Follow Your Heart. Follow Your Heart is the best for melty "realish" chreese and certainly has it's place in the world of vegan pizza but I love knowing that I have all the ingredients I need to make pizza from scratch without an expensive trip to Whole Foods or
The East End Food Coop. Pictures of tonight's pizza to follow later. For now - check these pizzas from our vegan pizza/beer potluck...

Oooh, and check out the cupcakes I made last Friday! I made the sexy low-fat vanilla cakes and topped them with fluffy chocolate buttercream. I wasn't sure I'd be too crazy about them since I'm really more a fruity cupcake girl but they were pretty incredible - especially at only 125-150 calories per cake! Yum!

I Am The Anti-Everything

2007-01-28T14:09:00.000-08:00

One Reason I Hate the World

This week has been a week of major unrest for me. I've missed Michael and our girls more than ever at work. I'm feeling hostile towards omnis and now I'm beginning to feel isolated again from most of society. I don't want to buy in any longer. At the same time, I realize it's not my buying into the system that is the root of the problem...

What do Ethiopians Eat? I Thought They Were Starved?!

2007-01-27T16:52:00.000-08:00

I stole my title from Michael's dad. I thought it was clever. I love Ethiopian Food! It's probably my favorite food of all time! I usually make Mesir Wat and Vegetable Aletcha but today, I made Isa's Spicy Ethiopian Lentil Stew from The Post Punk Kitchen. Unfortunately, the site has been down today so I am unable to link you directly to the recipe, but, it's not hard to find. I feel that my recipe below is more "authentic" but, Isa's rendition is quite good, too. Even sick, I'm most at home in the kitchen. (Perhaps that's why I made a dozen cupcakes on Friday even though I was feverish and took off work?!?)

Misir Wat (Ethiopian Red Lentil Puree)
Servings: 4-6
2 Onions chopped
2 cloves Garlic crushed
2 t Gingerroot, peeled, minced
¼ c Oil, butter or niter kibbeh
1 t Turmeric
2 T Paprika
½ to 2 t Cayenne Pepper
1 lb Red Lentils
4 c Water or Stock Salt & Pepper to taste
*Puree onion, garlic, and ginger in a food processor or blender.
*Heat oil, butter or niter kibbeh in a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan. Add turmeric, paprika and cayenne pepper and stir rapidly to color oil and cook spices through, about 30 seconds. Add onion puree and sauté on medium heat until excess moisture evaporates and onion loses its raw aroma, about 5-10 minutes. Do not burn.
*Add lentils and water. Bring to a boil and simmer till lentils are cooked through and fall apart, about 30-40 minutes. Add water if necessary to keep from drying out.
*Stir in salt and pepper to taste and serve.

Injera (Ethiopian Flat Bread)
3 cups self-rising flour
½ cup whole wheat flour
½ cup cornmeal
1 T active dry yeast (equiv. of one package)
3 ½ cups water
*Mix all ingredients in a large bowl.
*Cover and let set an hour or longer until batter rises and becomes stretchy.
*The batter can sit for as long as 3-6 hours if you need it to. (3 hrs is what I prefer)
*When you are ready, stir batter if liquid has settled on the bottom.
*In blender, whip 2 c. of batter at a time, thinning it with 1/2-3/4 c. water. Batter will be quite thin.
*Heat a 10-inch or 12-inch non-stick frying pan over medium to medium-high heat.
*Pour batter into heated pan (1/2 c. if using a 12-inch pan; 1/3 c. if using a 10-inch pan) and quickly swirl pan to spread batter as thin as possible. Batter should be no thicker than 1/8 inch.
*Do NOT turn. Injera is cooked through when bubbles appear all over the top.
*Lay each Injera on a towel for a minute or two then stack in a covered dish to keep warm. (VERY important to rest on towel before stacking!)

Food, Glorious Food...

2007-01-25T06:46:00.000-08:00

Now don't worry, I'm not going to break out in musical (Oliver!) themed songs. This is really all about my adventures in food so far this week! Here, witness my newest cupcake creation! Jelly Donut Cupcakes! Mmm. I used the low fat cupcake recipe from the VCTOTW cookbook and then inserted the jelly with a pastry bag and dusted the tops with powdered sugar. This much is obvious, no? They are a reasonable indulgence as well - at around 125 calories a cupcake (2.5pts)

On to the Sushi! Hip Hip Hooray, Hip Hip Hooray! Up until last week, it'd be over a year since I made sushi! There is something innately wrong with that! So, last week I made my regular small rolls using half a sheet of nori and filling the inside with rice and avocado. Well, I watched the very first episode of the PPK this weeekend where they make sushi with the "rice on the outside". Intrigue! Michael then happened to come home with 3 beautiful avocados from Engel's Market and I just knew, KNEW I TELL YOU, that it was going to be another sushi week this week! I modeled my sushi after the "tofu dragon" - with fried tofu on the inside and sliced avocado wrapped around the rice on the outside.

And, lastly, our Indian-themed dinner:

Skinny is Sooo Passe!

2007-01-24T06:32:00.000-08:00

Clothing is the root of all evil! Really! I think the reason so many of us are delusional about our bodies is because we hide them. We assume that everyone else looks better than us and have no real grasp on what "average/normal" people look like - little stretch marks or fat dimples or tiny breasts or body hair! Still, radical reform isn't likely overnight so check out this progressive, reasonable proposition!

"The 12-point package of measures, or beauty "charter" -- drawn up with the health ministry -- includes a stipulation that shop windows display sizes of 38 minimum (size 10 in Britain, eight in the United States)..."

And check this out Julie:

"In a joint statement the couturiers said they intended to harmonise sizes in a bid to reduce the possibility of "consumer error" with sizes currently not in sync from one firm to the next."

I Say Tomato, You Say Tomato...

2007-01-23T06:38:00.000-08:00

Tomato Chutney, that is! Mmmmm!

Here's my recipe from "The Best of Lord Krishna's Cuisine". It's the best!

2 T ghee/vegetable oil/shortening
1-2 dried chiles
1 t cumin seed
1 in piece cinnamon stick
1 1/2 lbs tomato (I usually double the recipe and only end up using maybe 2 1/2 pounds - it's fine)
3 T date sugar/maple sugar (I use regular ole evaporated cane juice)
1/2 t salt

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium/high heat. Add the chiles, cumin seed and cinnamon and cook over medium until the cumin seeds are nice and brown. That's right - we don't want any mean cumin seeds. Once the seeds are browned, carefully add the tomatoes, sugar and salt. Cook for about 20 - 25 minutes, stirring regularly. The key to making chutney is to cook everything down until it's almost a paste. There really shouldn't be many distinguishable tomato chunks (I, myself, had to be schooled!).

I'm making Gota and Vegetable Biryani tonight to eat with my chutney! Yes, that is how I do things. My main food is whatever I'm dipping into - salsas, chutneys, hummus, soups....the rest is just filler.

1 Sick Kid, 2 New Shoes and 3 Boxes of Breadsticks

2007-01-22T17:43:00.001-08:00

Yep, that about sums up my weekend. All in all, not an awful weekend but, not what I was intending either. Michael and I initially had plans to go see B-Nimble and the Boys down at PD's pub. We're their own personal fan club and we've seen them play at PD's twice and own the CD. A funky little band, you should check them out! B-Nimble and The Boys (Woo Hoo, I'm learning HTML).

So, we were pretty much house ridden on Friday and Saturday. Ok, forget the "pretty much" - we were house-ridden. I did get out to play the powerball, though. I'd never played the lottery before in my life! We didn't win but I do know how to play now - which could come in handy.

Sunday was a little more eventful. I drove in the snow. I'm terrifed of driving in the snow but, lo and behold, I live in Pittsburgh. We visited with all our girlies in Washington, PA and ordered three boxes of breadsticks from Papa Johns. Oooh La La! Garlic sauce! Fat girl me squeals in delight! A trip to the Washington Mall left me poorer than expected but since I finally found a pair of funky, vegan shoes I like. (I got the ones in black)Rocket Dog stuff is clearly labeled "cow friendly". I appreciate that, though I'd appreciate it more if ALL of their shoes were "cow friendly". It's almost like Whole Foods and their "animal compassionate" labeling.

Spent a bit at Whole Foods last night after we returned to town. As sad as it is that we stocked on lots of convenience foods, it's important that we have them - otherwise, we spend much more eating out. I'm trying hard to "plan ahead" the night before. Michael and I ate beer brats sauteed with onions and green peppers. Ooooh! I'm also making a chutney tonight for our Gotas/Vegetable Briyani dinner tomorrow. I may even be motivated enough to chop some of the veggies tonight. Then again, probably not...

Adventures in Sprouting

2007-01-18T18:54:00.000-08:00

There is nothing quite like seeing something grow. Too bad sprouted hummus tastes like dog poo. Wait. I don't know what dog poo tastes like so, no offense doggies...this stuff was pretty darn gross! Still, it's an awesome visual - I intend to try a few more things before giving up on being a healthy vegan.

Speaking of which, I just bought Michael the cookbook "Vice Cream" - I had to special order it from Barnes and Noble because I was too cheap to pay shipping from Amazon. Don't laugh, I've already discussed how important it is to save money for eating out and beer...Anyway, imagine our surprise to find that these vegan soy cream recipes are actually "healthy"! What the devil? I mean, if I want dates mashed with nuts and maple syrup...what am I talking about...I sure as hell don't want dates mashed with nuts and maple syrup. I want two tons of sugar mixed with vegan caramel and vegan brownie bits in frozen soymilk. AND, I want a recipe so that I can make it at home. Now, I wouldn't mind if the above wasn't horribly fattening but, it would still need to include all of the ingredients I mentioned. Perhaps we'll give it a whirl anyway...

In other news, my scrabble game has been improving. I only lost by 3 measly points last night and I won the last time we played. I've been thinking that I might start taking photographs of the boards after each game. I think it'd be beyond nerd-tacular. Plus, we've had some games that were unintentionally "themed". Worth a picture. There have to be some major geeks out there that would be as amused as me by this..

Exactly What Am I Thinking?

2007-01-17T14:58:00.000-08:00

So, I applied for two new jobs today. A secretary position here in Sq. Hill and ...here's the semi-crazy one. A part time counter help position at Dozen cupcakes making just over $7 an hour. Spontaneous irrationality or burning desire? Both? They were hiring other positions not long ago - one for a baker. I was very conflicted about that. I'm not really cool with making nonvegan cupcakes. Now, only counter help. I have some crazy dream of convincing them to make more vegan cupcakes. Maybe I could work part time at the produce market, too?! Whew. Who knows if I'll even hear from Dozen Cupcakes - guess I gots some thinkin to do, huh?

EDIT: They emailed me - no more jobs there. boo hoo! (maybe a good thing- how the hell could I afford to live on a part time $7/hr job?!)

I've got such an incredible yearning to leave my 8-5 behind. I just need to figure out how to afford it - anyone want to finance me leaving my dumb job? Anyone? Hello? Some people have gotten all kinds of donations simply by asking people to give them money online. If I got enough donations, I'd start my own VEGAN cupcake/coffee/soft serve business with big fluffy couches, an anarchist library, and free internet with computers on site. Wow. That'd be great. I love the internet.

I'm a size 20, wha??!!

2007-01-15T18:22:00.000-08:00

I hate pattern sizing! Everyone already knows that I'm "not normal" but really! I almost have to buy PLUS SIZE patterns! My waist is too large (33 inches) for what is considered a size 20! My chest size is a "pattern size" 18 and my hip size is a "pattern size 14"...What the devil? I freaking wear a size 7/8 when I buy clothes at the store (which is infrequent but still consistent!). Oh well, I found a nice $2 pattern at JoAnn Fabrics today which included a size 20 so I'm repressing the whole number thing and focusing on the fact that I'm making my first creation! I even photographed the fabric - also a steal- clearanced at .89 a yard! A $5 homemade dress! Weee!
Eva helped me in picking out a dress pattern for her and Malani but we didn't choose a fabric. She spent the entire 45 minutes in the store giggling about "poop". Mind you, poop is a very interesting thing. As an adult, however, I lose interest after, oh, I don't know, maybe 20 minutes. Which brings me to something else. It's difficult as a weirdo trying to raise a weirdling. I don't want her to have repress her own sense of humor (even if it is about poop). I'm don't want her to think that it's devasting to talk about "silly" or "crude" things. I think society needs to lighten up.

Now, if anyone is interested in telling that I need not freak about being a size 20, they can feel free to comment me. I fixed the comment feature - apparently, I had something clicked that wouldn't allow non blog members to post. I'm totally equal opportunity. Which brings me to - Happy MLK, Jr. Day. I'm on a roll...

Avoiding Sleep...

2007-01-14T20:18:00.000-08:00

Such a common occurance nowadays. It's late - midnight- and I refuse to sleep. I feel as if I could run around outside, sing and dance in the living room and play another game of Scrabble. It's a sure fire sign that my job is completely unsatisfactory. I'm miserable there and I'm finding every way to squeeze out each minute of time away from my personal little hell (known to others as a cubicle). A hippie-freak, I could just run away. It's scary and dreamy all at the same time. It's also extremely unrealistic. I have two fantastic little monkeys that are homebased in "da burgh" for some time unforeseen.

All this work stress is affecting my eating, too. Never good for me. It causes me to panic and yet I still can't stop. I've always received a real pleasure derived from food - preparing, tasting, savoring and eating it. The more the merrier. I offer a picture as proof that I was, in fact, 250 lbs at one point in time. I'm so used to the "point system" now, that days that are unplanned or uncalculated are quite stressful. Eeek!

Sleepiness is setting in...I guess I'll drink some beer and go look at naked people online. Sounds reasonable, right?

Hummus, Fruit and Hummus...

2007-01-14T13:38:00.000-08:00

I love Hummus. I eat it with a spoon. I'd find a way to eat it if I lived on the moon. I'd even risk death and fight a baboon. Oh, Hummus. Our fruit and hummus and bread lunch was certainly worth mentioning! Yum!

How Have I Become So Apathetic?!

2007-01-13T09:32:00.000-08:00

Aaah! It's awful! When did I lose my hypersensitivity? I'm aware of injustice and animal cruelty. I follow my routine. But, I've lost my "spark". I read Mike Elliot's post on the pgh vegan meetup board ( http://vegan.meetup.com/399/boards/view/viewthread?thread=2594171) and had to pause. I used to be aware, alert, passionate...but now...

I used to be so overwhelmed by society's general apathy and cruelty that I couldn't bear to remain firey. It hurt too much. To deal, I tried to fit in. A little bit, anyway. I repressed my outrage and tugged along a bad relationship because at least here was a person who "understood my unrest". I started a little alternative family -created my own little vegan/progressive reality. That relationship, in turn, sucked every last bit of life from me. Over this past year, I'd been so consumed with moving and tragedy that it was unrealistic for me to attempt to channel my little activist. I'm so fortunate to have found Michael. We're both too "hippie" for the "punks" and too "punk" for the "yuppies" and too "yuppie" for the "vegan freaks" and too "freakish" for the "rest of society". And we've found a nice vegan niche that we honestly "feel".

Still, I need to be reminded of the cruelty. I want to be alert and have passion. I was in tears last night when I saw that picture - and I know where that picture was taken - a place for so-called cow protection! Who the hell are we as humans to think that we have any right to molest a cow? What other fucking mammals steal another's milk? And then, to tie the legs together to prevent the cow from utilizing it's natural defenses? It infuriates me.

"I Thought My Vegan Baby Sofia Was Coming to the Party"

2007-01-12T10:34:00.000-08:00

I'm mad at the world today. Rather, I'm wallowing in self-pity. I shouldn't. I have plenty of wonderful things to be happy about - a kick-ass mad mex dinner last night with awesome company, a shared lunch at work with 2 of the 4 most important people in world, a three day weekend beginning in just an hour, it's payday and still, I'm feeling grumpy. I don't want to work another minute and I want my baby back.

I continually mourn. Not only Sofia but also the unknown. Or rather, the known. I'm coming to the realization that Eva is IT. That it would be contradictory to my goals to try to "start over" again. That neither Michael or I entered into our relationship with an intention or desire to have more children. Part of my brain glamourizes the idea of having a baby with Michael. He's the most incredible person ever. But, for the most part, logic dictates that it's probably not what I "really" want. And it's confusing and it's frustrating and it's a final and it's huge to me. Most people would probably tell me to just "chill" - that I don't need to make any rash decisions and that stressing about this isn't productive. I have to acknowledge that as all my girls get older, it becomes more an more of a lifestyle disruption and that it's very much "the end" of babies. But FUCK, it shouldn't be the end of babies for me - I should still fucking have my little baby (2 year old) and it makes me - for lack of a better word - sad. Really really really...sad.

It's A Good Thing I Don't Love Cupcakes...

2007-01-10T20:43:00.000-08:00

Honestly, gimme chips and salsa anyday. I just make cupcakes because I want to decorate them. Not the most frgual things to do, I know, but it's fun and I don't have to worry about getting fat because I eat all of them - I can pass them up pretty easy. This edition consists of a plain vegan chocolate cake with a peanutbutter buttercream swirl and a chocolate chip on top.

Size 21 decorator tip - I love you!

I'll Stitch You, My Pretty, and Your Little Dog, Too!

2007-01-10T11:50:00.000-08:00

My weapon! What a beautiful tool of mass destruction and reconstruction!

My new present arrived last week. I'm anxiously awaiting Friday (PAY DAY) so that I can splurge on some fabric and patterns. My first project is going to be kid-oriented. It would just tickle them silly to have a new dress made for them. Hmmm. Maybe we can all go and pick out fabric...Aaah. The domesticated yinzer shines through yet once again. I'm complex, I tell you.

In food news, a new very vegan friendly spot opened on the Southside - the Double Wide Grill. Vegan Pot Pie with Mashed Potatoes, Seitan Wings, and loads of beer. Mmmmm. Beer! When Michael and I walked by several weeks ago, we saw the draft selection - very extensive. Can't wait to try it out! Does this officially make me a yinzer yuppie? The grill is owned by the same people who own the Beehive, Lava Lounge and Tiki Lounge - hipness in 'da burgh. Who knew?

In scrabble news, my ass was kicked once again last night. That makes me 2:4. Rough night. Hard to make words when you have 6 vowels out of 7 letters consistently for over half of the game. Plus, our stupid kerosene heater stopped working. (shush, I'll make whatever excuses I want, damn it, it's my fucking blog!)

As for the heater, though, what's up wit dat? Two of the first coldest days this winter and it stops working? How the heck am I supposed to be able to affordably walk around the house naked if the heater isn't working? Priorities, hello?! Forget turning up the thermostat. That's an expense we're not willing to consider - why pay for heat when you can pay for beer or eating out?

Gotta love Lagunita's Brown Shugga. Michael picked it when we spent my gift certificate at D's so there was only one. Boo hoo. The taste I got, though, blew me away - I really liked it! I hadn't been impressed with the last few cases of beer we bought - the brooklyn and southern tier variety packs were just "so-so". Makes you appreciate the good stuff.

Naked Vegan Folk and More

2007-01-09T10:43:00.000-08:00

Ya know you're intrigued...

So, Steve from the Pgh Vegan Meetup Group linked me to a new vegan forum. www.veganfreak.com

Hot diggity! I'm so glad to finally have a forum where sexuality is totally embraced. In two days of perusing the site, I've seen a handful of boobies, butts and penis'. So refreshing. Uptight vegans need to kiss my vegan butt. Yes, that is my vegan butt. I don't mind porn. In fact, I enjoy "good" porn. Abbywinters.com rocks! I'm looking to create a suicidegirls set, too. I passed the prelim. but I'm having a hard time "creating" what I envision. Suicidegirls is more of a creative/artistic pursuit for me. I want a really unique set.

www.suicidegirls.com

I'm extremely interested in what makes humans tick. So much of our society is dictated by religious ideals. Would we mate for life if not for the societal pressures? Are we all hard wired to be homosexual or heterosexual? I like that our culture is becoming "looser". I think that it's a sign of progress -moving beyond outdated and rigid ideas about relationships and sexuality. I'm far from being a feminist. I don't believe that women flaunting their bodies is an insult to women or strictly for the benefit of men. I think it's a huge step back for women to insult other women for blatant sexuality. If women ever want solidarity, they have to stop isolating other women in the process. What? You can't be a stay at home mom living under traditional gender roles and still be a progressive? You can't be promiscuous and still be accepted? That's a whole 'nuther rant.

Sex is good. Why can't we all talk about it? It's so secretive. It just seems so normal to me. I'm bisexual. I don't care who knows and yet many people are still so "hush-hush" about those things. Oh well.

Good Ole Country Cookin from a City Girl

2007-01-05T06:28:00.000-08:00

http://www.veganbodybuilding.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=587

You should totally check out the Post Punk Kitchen for the tempeh soysauge recipe! Gimme Lean is tasty but there's something super special about making everything from scratch - besides, Isa is hot AND the girl can cook! ! http://www.theppk.com/

Porn A Day Keeps the Doctor Away...

2007-01-03T17:04:00.000-08:00

http://www.veganbodybuilding.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=697

The DIY Yinzer

2007-01-03T09:05:00.000-08:00

My newest favorite book, Generation T: 108 Ways to Transform a T-shirt, has inspired me to chop up every T-shirt I own. I've made little purses for the girls, a "talk nerdy to me" skirt, a black "ruffled" tank top, a pale blue skirt with a pittsburgh skyline stitched on (putting a picture of 'da burgh on your clothing is probably a pretty yinzerish thing to do - then again, it's cool when new yorkers do that stuff)...

Recently, I also revamped my vegan bodybuilding and fitness t-shirt into a kickin' halter. Mind you, if you have boobs bigger than average, the measurements in the book don't exactly work (hence the white ties). Still, it's funky and original and I wanted to share.

I'm making a Hare Krishna skirt today with a picture of Lord Jagannath. I'm quite amused by Hindu ritual and lords. Here is a picture of "the lord" himself. His eyes are wide because he was so overwhelmed by the praises of the gopis that his hair stood on end, arms retracted, and his eyes grew larger and larger as he smiled in esctasy.

Hey, look, I don't make up the stories, OK, I just relay them...

Almost As Good As "Real" Porn

2007-01-02T12:09:00.000-08:00

My Food Porn. Sexy little cupcakes! Mmmm. Yummy!

Welcome to the Wonderful World of Me.

2007-01-02T09:34:00.000-08:00

Hi! I'm Tiffaney. I moved back to the Steel City a year ago and consider myself worthy of yinzer status at this point. It's a given - if you stay here of your own accord for over 6 months, you just might be a yinzer. I've decided that I refuse to fill the "fat yinzer" stereotype but that I can still be honorarily fat because I'm fat at heart and I love food. I'm still attempting to understand the yinzer obsession with Primanti Bros. Gross. I've found a great selection of vegan friendly spots and will likely rave about them in time. www.eatitandloveit.com is a GREAT site for local restaurant reviews and it's run by my two vegan friends Julie and Nate. Now, I don't buy into the whole "football frenzy". Nor do I care for Iron City beer (unless we're talking $2 pitchers and live music in which case I should mention that I've been swayed in imbibe).

So, after 7 years of living outside of the greater Pittsburgh metro/suburb area, I found myself back in da 'burgh dreaming of a large urban vegan intentional community and a mellow little vegan coffee/sweets shop. I lived in Phoenix for about 6 years and in Santa Cruz for 1 year. Loved the diversity. Stop. Please. Don't tell me that Pgh is diverse. Sure, (especially in my area) there are plenty of foreign European nooks and cranies. But honestly, we lack integrated diversity. Everyone is so damn segregated! But, maybe that's good. I really don't want the big-haired, heavy makeup wearing, mall shopping suburbanites coming into my urban community and telling the boys to cut their hair, lobbying for more chain restaurants, and running over pedestrians and bikers with their huge SUVs. Maybe there is room for everyone here in yinzer-central?