Kaya: Restaurant of the Gods

So again, my husband and I went to our absolute favorite restaurant in Pittsburgh. It's called Kaya and it's owned by the Big Burrito Restaurant Group. What I dig about this restaurant group is how creative they get with their different restaurants and I know for sure that at Kaya they try to purchase as locally as they can. Being located in the strip district, that doesn't make that too hard to get great produce and I'm glad they make that extra effort! I have seriously never went to this restaurant and left disappointed, ever.

To start off, our beverages: 

I got a Dark & Stormy which has: Gosling’ Black Seal Rum, Fever Tree 

ginger beer, lime

He got a Brooklyn winter ale 

I absolutely loved my drink. I love, love ginger and this really hit the spot, it was crisp and refreshing in flavor and not too sweet which is how I like it. 

For the appetizer: Jamaican jerk wings with cilantro cream sauce

First off, if you are sensitive to spicy food - these may not be for you. My mouth was numb for 10 minutes after eating these and I think the waiter refilled my water glass twice. My husband, who could probably drink a vat of acid and be alright, said he felt a slight "tingle". As for flavor, WOW. Amazing, just what I wanted. Jamaican jerk is a completely different animal than Caribbean jerk: it's citrusy and not full of sugar like you typically think of jerk rubs. As for the cilantro cream sauce, I would love to bathe in that sauce. It's life altering. 

And for entrees: 

I got Kaya Burger with pickles, avocado, bacon, tomato, 

Chihuahua cheese, a sunny-side-up egg, &       

Kaya sauce. 

I swapped my chips for a field greens salad with: lime cilantro vinaigrette and pepitas

He got their famous fish tacos with avocado, spicy crème fraîche, 

cabbage slaw, cilantro, and Reyna’s tortillas

This was, unarguably, the best burger I've ever ordered. The burger was cooked to a perfect medium, very juicy and fresh. The bacon was so.. freaking... good. It was crispy and melt in your mouth. This was also the first time I've had a burger with an egg ontop and now I can see why there's a crazy about it. Holy crap. Also- I have to say. I don't know what the dressing is exactly, (cilantro and lime obviously) but it is of the gods. I seriously want to blackmail them for the recipe. 

I didn't get to try the husband's meal this time, but I've had it before and those fish tacos are famous for a reason.. Well seasoned, lightly breaded and fried fish with a cool, crispy slaw. Mmm mm good. I'll be getting that next time. 

So ANYWAYS that's what we did on Saturday to get out of the house. It was worth every single calorie. Amen. 

So... Incredibly...Cold...

I cannot get over how COLD it is outside! It seriously takes your breath away, it's incredible. Just checked the temperature and it's currently -3 degrees out with a wind chill of -35.

What...

The heck...

This is the kind of weather that makes you tell fashion to go lay an egg and you put on whatever long johns, tights, leggings, bibs,or overalls you ever owned!

I'll be spending the next couple evenings bundled up on the couch with some hot tea... watching terrible movies I saw playing on HBO. Or reading the book I just ordered: "Nourishing Traditions: The Cookbook that Challenges Politically Correct Nutrition and the Diet Dictocrats" by Sally Fallon and Mary Enig.  This is either going to be a laugh or eye opening - I'll keep you posted.

Stay warm out there kiddos!!! It's a rough one!

I think I'll finally try making that London Fog recipe from my absolute most favorite book on the planet... From Scratch by Shaye Elliott 

Pittsburgh Public Market

Well my friends..... after an incredibly long and draining week at work, I think my husband knew I needed a pick-me-up because he suggested that we take a trip to quite possibly my most favorite place on earth....

The Pittsburgh Public Market!!! 

If you're any type of foodie, if you love homemade, natural, organic, fresh, DELICIOUS, creative, inspiring, unique and just plain amazing food, if you would love to have personalized service with some of the friendliest people you'll ever meet, if you'd like to purchase everything you'd need in one spot....

Alright you get it, just go there. It's amazing.. It really, really is. If I could shop there all the time, I absolutely would- if only it were closer to my house! 

Since the turn into 2014, I've been headstrong and adamant about switching our food over to more sustainable, wholesome, and natural options. Thus, when going to the public market, I was on a mission. 

While there, we purchased: 

• 1 lb of 80/20 ground beef, ~2 lbs chuck delmonico steaks, and ~2 lbs flat iron steaks from Clarion Farms 
• A 5-6# roasting chicken from Clarion River Organics 
• I also got a half gallon of unhomogenized, pasteurized whole milk from Clarion River Organics, it was from Pasture Maid Creamery
• 2 bundles of lemon pepper fettuccine, 2 bundles of chipotle linguine, and some shredded parmesean-esque cheese from Ohio City Pasta  
• 2 growlers of a-mah-zing beer from East End Brewing Company 

The man who was selling the beef at Clarion Farms was so incredibly helpful and nice! He helped me pick out some nice cuts of delmonico and flat iron steaks. 

I have big plaaaaans for this clucker! Roasted chicken and saving the bones for homemade broth mmmmm...

The top is the lemon pepper, bottom is chipotle. Lord this pasta is good, good, good...

Two growlers of delicious, locally brewed beer. To the left is a brew called Monkey Boy, and the right is Snow Melt which is one of their seasonal winter ales. And of course, beside the brews is the bottle of my delicious whole milk.

After we got back from the public market, we were pretty famished, so I decided to make some of the fresh pasta that we'd gotten that day. I also had some broccoli and mushrooms that I needed to use up so that's exactly what I did. That's what I love about pasta, you can throw just about anything with it and it will still taste fantastic- have a high quality pasta and it's even better..

So I steamed the broccoli.. 

Sauteed the mushrooms in olive oil with some onions and garlic... 

And I boiled up the two bundles of lemon pepper pasta..

Added some lemon juice and tossed it all together, topped with some of that shredded cheese I got. 

And I have to say, it was quite delicious if I do say so myself.... 

Peace, Love, and Doggie Boots

I always think that when I start blogging again, I'll have something incredibly enthralling or poignant to talk about, as if I've returned from some inspiring sabbatical. The truth is, that's what I feel that I'm truly lacking in life however, inspiration.


I spend so much of my time just simply going through the motions; wake up, go to work, come home, play on the computer, sleep. Rinse and repeat. I don't mind my job on most days, but I definitely would say that I work to live, not live to work.. at least not that kind of work. If I you asked me what I did in 2013, I unfortunately would have to say that I didn't do a whole lot. I remember going on vacation but other than that, I think I just worked alot- pretty pathetic huh?


I want to revert to a life of simplicity, detoxify my world and my surroundings, and take pride in creating things with my own hands instead of just lazily buying it. Who needs all those toxic, chemical-laden products when you can make it from scratch with natural ingredients? I've recently taken an interest in homesteading and have dabbled in some easier projects- and I have to say, I'm in love. I find it incredibly rewarding and I rejoice in the fruits of my labor, even better, it's helped me reconnect.


There's something incredibly soothing and peaceful about standing in a warm, quiet kitchen, up to your elbows in flour as you knead a loaf of bread dough. There's also something therapeutic and spiritual in walking around your back yard, watering thriving plants that you lovingly planted with your own two hands. It gives you a moment of quiet in an otherwise crazy and hectic world, a moment to be alone in your thoughts, meditate, or just "be". I'm hoping to have many, many more of those moments. I have to be realistic though, my yard is NOT conducive for having a gigantic garden and we get alot of shade. I also have zero room for something as grandiose as raising my own chickens or having a dairy cow, but maybe someday.. In the mean time, I can at least clean up my diet and choose the most natural, healthy options for meat, dairy, and eggs (plus LOTS of veggies!!).


My goals for 2014 include the following:

1) Successfully plant and raise all of my own herbs this summer
2) Join a CSA and buy our produce locally
3) Switch to pasture-raised, humanely raised, organic meats from local farms
4) Switch all household products from store-bought to homemade (ex. laundry detergent, face soap, shampoo)
5) Make all of our baked goods from scratch
6) Make most of our dairy products from scratch
7) Make a quilt

That sounds like a good place to start!


Oh.. and I almost forgot....

DOGGIE BOOTS!!!!! 

New Veg Cookbooks!!

So... a very good friend of mine and I have had this running joke that she's going to just deliver me this gigantic box of goodies one day because she's been holding onto not only my Christmas present, but my birthday present as well. She's unfortunately never having the opportunity to actually give me said gifts. This is 100% my fault because during the winter months I become this secluded, unsocial hermit where I just lay around my house in squalor and hibernate all day but, I digress.



Well she finally found the golden, opportunistic moment to bequeath me with my much appreciated loot and WOW does the woman KNOW ME!!

Check this out- vegan/vegetarian cookbooks! The way to this gal's heart for sure.

Now, I am a major dunce at times and thought that the cookbook meant spirited by "Yay! Feisty Vegetarian!" but NO!

NO.... NO... NO...

It's spirited because every recipe has BOOZE IN IT!! BOOZE! I am so jazzed because I'm a firm believer that things are automatically made fancier simply by sploshing a bit of wine into it.

Upon realizing this, I immediately scoured the recipes looking for something that I had all the ingredients for and boom.

It was go time.

 I cannot tell you how many times I've been bummed about vegan/vegetarian cooking simply because it makes some of my beloved kitchen utensils obsolete. Like my gigantic Le Creuset stew pot. When will I utilize such a thing that clearly calls for large stew-making endeavors?  And what stew would I make that would take that long? Or what about braising? I know that there's tons of veggie recipes that call for that but guess what- I didn't have a cookbook to tell me how. 

Until now <3

So...Freaking...Good....

With a yummy side salad 

Happy B-day to me!

So last week was my birthday, I have finally hit that age where I'm no longer excited and spouting the number out like some willy nilly P.Y.T. That's alright though, with age comes wisdom and I'm happy to say I'm finally growing confident and comfortable with who I am as a person- and I dig it.

I celebrated my b-day by going home to visit the family and taking a long overdue trip to Columbus, OH.

Now, some of you are probably thinking that Ohio is just this vast land of cows, Amish people, and factories with NOTHING to do unless you enjoy cow tipping, porch sitting, and pie? (I don't even know what others think of Ohio, I'm sorry that was lame) But you are WRONG people! Dead wrong! Columbus is an amazing, trendy place to be- there's something for everybody. There are tons of fantastic restaurants, awesome shopping centers, college football, we have the arena district, German village, short north (artsy cultural area), a wide variety of club scenes, etc. And most importantly for me, there are plenty of vegetarian/vegan foodies who with them bring along their amazing foodie products into the stores.

They just re-opened the Whole Foods on Lane Ave. and wow is it big and awesome. I was rather indulgent while I was there and I got an entire pound of their vegan general tso's 'chicken', a whole grain baguette  truffle butter, a brick of Italian flavored tofu, 2 chunks of Kerrygold cheddar cheese, some vegan mozzarella teese, and a wedge of Daiya's new(er) chedder style cheese.....

Have you had this? It's awesome! I feel like a few years ago it wasn't even a thing to dare to dream of, a palatable cheese substitute. I eat this crap on everything! Crackers, fruit, sammies, whatever! Now it does say that it melts but... I prefer the shreds for melting purposes, this is great just cold. It's super, super potent in taste though so a little bit goes a long way- same with real cheddar cheese actually. 

After Whole Foods, we attempted to go to the Cabela's store that just opened up, but it was so utterly packed I couldn't handle it. Afterwards we went to dinner and then back to my brother and sister-in-law's to chill and have drinks.

I think it's safe to say that I have this all consuming addiction to cookbooks. I just have to look at them, read through them, and OWN them. It's a sick, sick obsession and I just can't stop. Luckily, my sister-in-law let me borrow one of her vegan cookbooks that she had, otherwise I would have bought it on Amazon by now. 

I let this cookbook fall open in my lap and I was immediately hooked. The recipes are so simple and incredibly cute. The author is a stay at home mom and it's clear that she really loves her kids. I think the book has such a good vibe, she's really devoted to only giving her little girls clean and healthy food, it's refreshing to see parents so interested in their kids nutrition and health. 

Also, there's a recipe in there for something called a crack wrap. Yup. I wanted to try it just because of the name alone. 

It's basically a tortilla smeared with hummus, sprinkled with vegan cheese, and melted into ooey gooey perfection. I can definitely see why she named it as such, it is addicting. Also only 6 WW points! Woo woo! Next time I eat it, I'll take a photo- I was just too dang excited to eat it the first time. Oops. 

Dinner tonight: Chana Masala, an oldie but a goodie in my meat-free recipe bank. 

I'm convinced that no Indian food really is that photogenic, it's just a saucy mess of awesome. Oh well, I apologize for that. 

If you would like to get your chana's on, here's the recipe.

I sub the lemon juice with a can of lite coconut milk to really give it that full, rich curry flavor I so desperately love. Oh, I also let the said coconut milk reduce for 10-15 minutes on high.

If you split that recipe into 4 servings, it's 7 WW points incidentally. 

That's also lunch tomorrow- yay for not having to strain myself packing! 

Creeping Back to the Surface

I would seriously like a count on how many people (well, moreso women) update their blogs, no matter how outdated they might be, merely because they re-watched Julie and Julia.

I clearly, would be included in this bunch. I'm pathetic. I also have it on DVR so this is a frequent occurrence.

I just dig food and cooking for that matter. Not just merely to eat it, but because it's such a central item to human nature, it's a part of tradition, culture, identity, it nourishes body and soul, also it lends perspective, experience, and helps people to relate to one another. Why else would someone read another person's blog about food? They can relate to that person on some level.

I love writing about food and I don't think that will ever change, but I always give myself these challenges or stipulations for my blogs and they inevitably cause me to shoot myself in the foot. Healthifying Ina Garten recipes, vegan/vegetarian eating, organic holistic eating. What the heck am I doing? You know what really happens, I start that blog, I do it for a few weeks, and then I cheat. I cheat because I'm flaky and I have no follow through. Then, I don't blog, because I have this unnecessary guilt following my cheat fest and I'm too shame-faced to even blog about it, I'm a fake, a farce I tell you!

So I've decided, I'm just going to redo this as a catch all blog, write about whatever's on my mind and not give myself any restrictions. I'll just cook what I want, when I want, and talk about what I want- then I have no reason to be ashamed and hide from my own blog.

I mean, my husband is already aware that I obnoxiously do what I want, my blog might as well join the club too.

This was therapeutic, I'm glad we had this talk Mr. Blog.