Yumvelope - January 2014

I really want to continue blogging about what I'm getting in these Yumvelope packages because they all freaking rock! I really regret not taking pictures of the December one because it was truly my favorite, they had Liz Lovely cookies, mint tea, and lots of chocolate- they even put it in a lil gift baggie! 

January didn't disappoint either, I feel like they were maybe trying to have a healthy snack theme (since that's often on alot of people's minds with new years resolutions) 

Something new in this box was something inedible, but still made with food: Savannah Bee honey body wash! I love the idea, and that it's made with real honey- but if I may be quite frank... I make my own beauty and cleaning products so I'm strictly in this for the grub. I'm sure many others loved this addition however. 

Weirdest name ever, but these Garuka bars are heavenly. It's seriously an item I can't believe is that healthy for you. Note, in my world healthy does NOT equal low calorie but instead fresh, whole food ingredients. 

It takes akin to the love child of a Payday and a Quaker's granola bar without all the nasty additives and fillers. 

These. Are. Amazing. I haven't actually had one for breakfast because they just seem too decadent but I have enjoyed one as a mid-morning snack with a cup of tea and wow did it hit the spot. 

Morning Sunshine Breakfast Cookies for the win! 

Next up, a delicious and healthy snack of pistachios- not one but TWO boxes full! The Gilded Nut Snack Co. Original and Mediterranean blend mmm mmm! The original was kind of spicy, but then I'm a wuss- I'm sure 97.5% of the rest of the population won't even notice, my husband sure didn't. 

I get so incredibly excited about these packages and there's absolutely nothing better than getting something yummy, fun, and a SURPRISE in the mail every month! I highly suggest- it's my favorite! 

East End Food Co-op

So there's a beautiful thang about 10-15 minutes from my house. I don't know why I don't go there more often. I used to say it was because of the cost but then I realized I was just lying to myself because it's actually really affordable. 

It's the East End Food Co-op and it's the most amazing place on earth. It's downright magical. I've been there before to pick up veggie items in the past, but I never took my time and actually perused the area. I clearly wasn't aware of what I was missing...

This time, instead of rushing past the bulk bins, I malingered, savored, and explored. 

Man oh man, was I impressed. This place has every type of dried bean known to man, every grain, every rice, every nut, seed, and spice. Lord almighty they even had my wheat berries, every single type!! 

Many, many of these items I was considering buying on Amazon for lack of finding it elsewhere, but after seeing the prices (and also the benefit of reducing my carbon footprint by buying from closer to home) I won't have to! 

This is the part where I got really excited and embarrassing: they have bulk honey, vinegar, oil, and maple syrup!!! And you can FILL your own JARS!

You just weigh your mason jar, write down it's weight, fill 'er up, and write down the product number! Oh and along the top they have bulk pumps of Dr. Bronner's liquid castile soap- AWESOME!




Oh! And they have peanut butter machines so you can make your own fresh, raw peanut buttery goodness! Also, they have lots and lots of bulk options for coffee beans...also known as the elixir of life..

At this point, my arms were too laden with goodies (forget taking a cart in this place, it's too small and packed!) ergo, I was unable to take anymore pictures but I was still in my own personal heaven. They have organic eggs from local, pastured chickens as well as non-homogenized, gently pasteurized milks. They also had tons of organic, free range chickens and grass-fed, pastured beef from farms local to Pittsburgh. I was stoked to see that the whole roasting chickens were on sale, so I scooped two of those up as well as some milk, kombucha, kefir, and eggs. I'm pleasantly surprised to see that all of it wasn't that much more expensive than the prices I'd been paying at Giant Eagle, for much less quality items! 

Needless to say, this is my new grocery store.... Boom. 

Why I'm a Bad Blogger

I have this issue where, I get so incredibly excited about making something or starting a new project that I forget to record the progress. I just simply go forward full throttle, hold my creation of amazingness in the air and think, "Wow.. really should have blogged about that.."

For example, today I made homemade yogurt and refrigerator pickles. No pictures. I blew it.



Yesterday, I baked bread all by myself. Like.. I KNEADED IT.. and sat it in a bowl and let it rise..

One picture. No recipe. I'm sorry. (Ignore the mess and bad photography)





And tonight I randomly realized I was out of hand soap. So what'd I do? I freaking made a soap dispenser out of a mason jar and an old hand pump. And then I MADE hand soap. No... pictures..





I didn't even take a photo with my homemade hand soap in it.

I just don't think to take photos, I have never found the urge to document my crazy crafts I do every day. I probably haven't had my picture taken in a couple years. That's just me- I go through life undocumented.


I promise, I will work on this. Because this is boring otherwise.. recipes and photos will explode from my pages from here forth. I voweth. 

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!!!!!