Oh gosh, it's been an embarrassingly long time! Anatomy has absolutely taken over my life, resulting in days where I don't see the sun, talk more to cadavers than live people, watch dissection videos before bed, and am in constant fear that something in my body is breaking and presenting as a little patch of pain on my arm. IN OTHER WORDS, I have gone a little crazy but less than 2 weeks until I am finished! Granted, we start biochemistry the day after (which we finish in 9 days as opposed to the 18 weeks I did in undergraduate) but apparently it will get better then!

Still, I wish I was able to post more often! One of the things keeping me sane these last few weeks has been cooking epic meals at night for dinner and lunch the next day. So yes, I am still cooking and YES I AM STILL VEG! I'm going on a couple months now, feel great, and am def proud of myself for actually making a change when I said I would! They say behaviors turn into habits after about 28 days (I believe this is or at least was a standard stay in a rehabilitation facility) so if that's legit I think I'll be sticking to this no meat thing for a while! Pittsburgh isn't known for their variety of winter vegetables though, so we will have to see. All I know is carrying home a pound of potatoes, a cabbage the size of a beach ball, another squash, and 10 beets was not the best decision I made today. That definitely sucked.

In other news, I was elected Class Secretary today which is hella exciting! WOO WOO! I have never had any positions on any boards, ever, so am a little nervous but SO grateful that my class elected me! One of the main responsibilities of secretary at our school is to send out a birthday email each week and during the election I may have said that if elected I would bake 150 cupcakes for a huge celebration so umm that's happening and I CANNOT wait. Baking 150 cupcakes is easy, getting them to scaiffe in the morning? A little tricky. I need to figure out how I find everyone's birthday and fast, but in the meantime let's celebrate another VERY belated birthday: Julia Childs!! HAPPY BELATED 100th BDAY JULIA! :)

(Hahahah ok so I thought it was like last week that I celebrated it, but apparently it was over a month ago. I PROMISE I won't be that awful celebrating my the birthdays of my class!)

I may have been 2 weeks in, but I still showed her some love! Any excuse I can get to watch my fav Julie and Julia I take, so I watched that while making the cutest eggplant pizzas from one of her cookbooks! I have made them again since, and they are so easy and tasty I'll be making them again!

Eggplant
Breadcrumbs
Egg
Tomato Sauce
Any kind of cheese (I've used pepperjack and mozarella at different times)
However you'd like to top it! Ive added kale which was delicious, or just chopped basil from my window. 

Slice the eggplant into about half an inch slices. Dip in the whisked egg then into the bread crumbs. Lay on a baking sheet and bake in the oven at 350 for about 10 minutes or until you can tell the eggplant is cooked. Take it out, spread on the sauce, cheese, whatevs, and stick back in until the cheese melts. ENJOY! :)

My dad and I were on the same page, and that week he dropped off the most amazing Ratatouille (inspired by Julia of course) that I ate for a good couple of days in the library. He tells me he will teach me his tricks the next time I am home (maybe this weekend?!) so I will share the recipe when I get it, but until then let's just say it was amazing.

Plus, anything that reminds me of that cute little mouse is cool by me. God, I love that guy.

More posts to come, I promise!!

It's official! I am a medical student!! Got my little white coat, talked to some patients this week, feeling pretty legit! As amazing as the last 2 weeks have been is probably how awful next week with Anatomy will feel for a while, but I feel incredibly fortunate to be where I am right now!! I have been so caught up with all the new changes in my life that I haven't been the best at updating, but I promise that will get better! Fortunately I have my share each week to keep me level and ensure that I am eating healthy, so I feel really lucky for that.

My past share was definitely eclectic, so I got to relieve some stress by whipping up some goofy meals with goofy things the past couple of days. Its been exciting finding different ways to incorporate the vegetables into usual meals before they go bad, like a race of something!

Well, minus the cantaloupe. But it was such a great mix up from all the vegetables I usually have! I also had a ride to and from the farmer's market, so that was doubly awesome (I didn't this week and had to carry a watermelon home, it was great). What a perfect post-yoga snack :)

I got a whole bunch of collard greens, which I'll admit, I basically let go to waste. I have found some inventive ways to incorporate kale but these guys threw me off a bit! I have been having fun finding ways to mix in some random vegetables with my usual meals though. I added some chopped collard greens to a tuna sandwich a couple times though, just to break up the usual mushy-ness and add in a little freshness, and completely made over tomato basil soup by mixing in some feta, fresh basil, and homemade croutons. I'll admit I was proud of this!

And last but DEFINITELY not least, this was the first week that I was able to make some desert-y dishes with my produce! I guess my farm has had their autumn squash come in a bit early, so I had some acorn squash in my share this past week. I love, LOVE maple syrup so made a glaze to go over my roasted squash and died a little. It probably wasn't the healthiest thing in the whole world, but haay it's got to be better than cake. I also got a couple branches (?) of rhubarb this week, and although I didn't have time to make a pie or anything, I was able to whip up a little crumble.. FROM SCRATCH. Admit it, now you're the impressed one. Mixed the rhubard and frozen blueberries with some sugar and honey, put it in the bottom of the ramekin, and added a combo of flour, brown sugar, and strawberry and cream instant oats (creative, ya?) ontop!

Oh my gosh, how did I almost forget?! I also got the most amazing letter from one of the farmers involved with Clarion Rivers and it was such an adorable touch. I read it almost immediately in my best southern accent of course. I died the entire time!

Dear CSA customers,
My, we're having nice weather here lately. Not quite as warm out but still sunshiny. Had a nice shower a few days ago that we really appreciated- should give gardens and fields a boast.
We're just a small family with a small farm. :) Daniel and I married in April of 2011 and in February we were blessed with a healthy little son. Actually just now he is playing here on the floor. He just learned to sit by himself and yesterday his second tooth pushed through. He's also just getting over a head cold so we're glad to have our happy Benjamin back.
We have 6 acres situated here on Larkin Rd. It's only 1 1/2 miles from Tobie Schmucker's, who are my parents. Daniel's family live in Greentop, Missouris so we dont get to see them very often. Daniel's brother is getting married next Thursday so tomorrow morning we plan to head out for Mo. We wont be back till around the 15th so we decided we'll just write our letter for your boxes a little early.
We have buttercup squash planted, besides okra, cucumbers, ground cherries, celeraic, parsley, a few parsnips, and some fall beets. The beets are just starting to peak through the soil!
With only 6 acres we dont have much of anything and what we have isn't producing the best. Hopefully with time and some fertilizers it'll soon do better. We enjoy produce growing and hope you enjoy our fresh produce.
- Daniel, Arlene, and Benjamin Miller.

SERIOUSLY how cute it that?!?! It really instills a connection between the buyer and the grower, which is something you definitely, definitely don't get in Giant Eagle or Whole Foods for that matter. There was another adorable letter in my bag this week, but I'll keep that until later to make sure you come back for more :)

Oh my godddddd.

So I may have relapsed this weekend. And it was glorious.

Let me clear things up before you think I am off the wagon for good though. Not only did I plan to eat meat a week in advance, but I chose the most AMAZING place to do it! Backstory: I had a friend visit from SF for a couple days this past weekend and felt pretty bad asking a dude to eat vegetables alongside me all weekend so was hoping to find a place with both veg and meat options that we could both enjoy. A couple days before his arrival, I am at a Farm to Table happy hour (who am I?) and a woman tells me about this new restaurant called Cure that recently opened in Lawrenceville. Now I am a Lawrenceville lover and would have been interested regardless, but then she filled me in on the mission, lets say, of this place. The chef, Justin Severino, has created a restaurant based off exactly the values that I hope to support. Not only does he buy his livestock from local farms (along with all his vegetables and herbs), but believes in the importance of ethical and sustainable farming AND cures his own meat. There is such a connect between the farming I wish to support and what he is accomplishing at his restaurant that I was immediately excited. I have been having some pretty intense leg cramps/swelling lately possibly a result of poor vitamin consumption, so had (what I pre-determined to be ok) meat on the mind already and BYOB just sealed the deal!

So I had a fun couple of days in Pittsburgh with my friend before our night out, eating hotcakes at Pamela's, exploring the nationality rooms in the Cathedral, taking the incline up to Mt. Washington, eating an amazing meal in Southside, getting wasted at Hofbrauhaus, breakfasting in Lawrenceville, shopping at the Strip, picnicing at Frick Park, kayaking, and seeing Batman in the Omnimax. All these things set up a pretty epic weekend by itself, but Cure on Saturday night really made it.

(BTW I believe Cure is basically reservation only. You can just submit your request online and they send you a confirmation email so for a phone-phobe like me it's ideal!)

Anyways after seeing Batman and walking along the Ohio River, we journeyed out to Upper Lawrenceville and were almost transformed to a whole different city as we entered the modest corner door into a one large dining room with cuttingboard tables, warm lights, chalk boards listing which local farms each ingredient is from, and the open kitchen up above.

The adorable menu. Not quite the length of the Cheesecake factory's and that is a great thing!

Immediately our wine was uncorked and we began with a smoked lardo wrapped peach dish with sweet corn, black garlic, "green goddess"- a wonderful blend of all their herbs in the kitchen, etc. and were blown away when the most colorful dish was set infront of us. I was kind of expecting creamy corn and syrupy peaches but what we got was the most flavorful thing I have had in a REALLY LONG TIME! We both died, literally died, and regretted after scraping the plate clean that we didn't take a picture. Next our main courses were brought out and god, if it was possible for something to taste better than the appetizer this was it! I had a plate of peckin duck breast, which was bouncy and pink but not one bit raw or bloody or weird, 2 links of the most epic sausage I have ever eaten (they get their whole hogs from my Clarion River Organics, an idea which made it even more delicious!), and a little cube of pork belly. I was just blown away. No vegetables can taste that good, I know it and I am sorry but it is unfortunately true. My friend got a short rib dish with potatoes, shiittakes, so much more that I can't remember right now, and a lobster beignet. The portion size was perfect, the flavors intense yet balanced. As though I wasn't already in food heaven, we got a chocolate souffle cake with pistacchio butter and funnel marshmellow, which was the perfect ending to the perfect meal. I can honestly say that it was probably one of the top 3 meals I have ever had, and the fact that we both took time to enjoy each and every bite (especially the last!) really took it to the next level.

SO really, you have to go, end of story! Shoot, make a reservation right now, you NEED TO! If it wasn't for paying my first rent check in the last week (a traumatizing experience) and having to pay for medical school next week (=death) I would be there right now. I am just looking for a reason to go back, REALLY! I have never been so excited about a place, ever.

Woo! Another week meat free and I am feeeeling good! Since it has been crazyyy hot lately, I have been mostly eating green beans, cauliflower, and zucchini steamed, roasted, sauteed, you name it! Those aren't very exciting things to talk about so I unfortunately haven't had much to post. There has been some tasty aspects to my week that I'd like to share though!

Ya that hot..

First is that it's officially corn season, which is awesome. Corn is a staple in my family during the summer months, and if you ever come over for dinner you'll find the way we all eat it quite unusual. After a combination of one of those full arm L-shaped casts (pink, of course) and 3 kids with braces, my family has a particular knife that we use to almost shave the kernels off the cob before eating it. It makes it a lot less fun, i'll admit, and sometimes when you put the butter on before it becomes a slippery mess, but it's all worth it! We get our corn around the corner at Kern Farms which is such a great, convenient way to get fresh vegs without going to the grocery store. Plus, they have a pretty loose concept of a dozen :) But yes, my mom brought some corn to my apartment this week and it was the first time I ever made some by myself. I have an abundance of zucchini and cucumbers from the farmer's market and my share last week, so I combined the fresh corn with them, added some chopped jalapeno for a kick, and sprinkled my fav feta on top! A perfect post-run dinner and easy leftover to take to the park the next day. YUM!

Aside from that lil treat, I also made chocolate zucchini bread this week, which was AMAZING! Sometimes I get so boggled down sauteing the zucchini every night that I forget that I can use my excess as an excuse for baking. Fortunately this realization occurred the same night as the bachelorette finale! Somehow they stretched 10 minutes into 3 hours, so I had ample time to get my bake on during the show. By the end of the night I found myself alone, sobbing on my couch, with literal handfuls of chocolate cake. I'd say it was a pretty epic ending to my day and obviously an appropriate celebration of Emily and Jef's love (Ary was just too sensitive, I think I would offend him within seconds of meeting him). Anyways! I adapted the recipe from these two blogs (sliceoffiest, oneordinaryday) and even put my version of the recipe below, because it was really that amazing. I baked mine in 3 little loaf pans, shared with friends, and got more enjoyment from my "secret ingredient" than I did making the cakes themselves. Really though, make these now. I just might myself!

1 3/4 c shredded zucchini
1/2 c whole wheat flour
1/2 c white flour
1/2 c unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
heaping 1/2 tsp of apple pie spice (cinnamon, nutmeg, etc., more cinnamon than nutmeg if you're making your own!)
1/2 c veg oil
1/2 c white sugar
1/2 brown sugar
2 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
As many choco chips as you can part with!
Preheat oven to 350 and grease whatever pan pleases you. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, salt, apple pie spice (or your own combination).
In a separate bowl, beat the oil, sugars, eggs, and vanilla extract until well blended. Lightly blend in the zucchini. Add the flour mixture and carefully beat until combined. Then dump in your chocolate chips! Since I used such little pans it really only took 40ish minutes to cook, but I would definitely set your alarm for 35 minutes and use your judgement at 5 minute increments after that! 

Crazy color beets!

So those were my top 2 creations this week! I picked up my share again yesterday and was totally excited over more beets, green tomatoes, potatoes, peppers, and yellow beans (so much better than the green, really!). Buying into this CSA was probably one of the best decisions I made all year and has really made it easy to call it quits with the meat. Wednesday mornings I get an email from the organization listing all the things that may be in my bag and ways of preparing the new vegetables, and my excitement just builds until I pick it up! It might not be christmas morning, but to me it's pretty damn close. I'm heading home to the suburbs this weekend with my vegetables in hand, so hopefully I will have more exciting recipes to post from my trip home. I got my mom to read Eating Animals and am SO proud that she went veg for over a week, so I definitely want to show her some tricks when I am there ! :)

My stash for the week!

Oh and one last thing, get these crackers. A box for you, a box for me. THANKS

Beet week!

Not too many amazing recipes to be posting this week! Lots of friends are back at Pitt so I have been grabbing lunch instead of fixing up some vegs in my apartment! I can tell you that Oakland has some pretty amazing vegetarian options. Veggie burger at Red Oak Cafe, gigantic salad at Hello Bistro (GO!), all the best things at Pamela's, my go to drunk food, the vegetarian quesadilla at Fuel and Fuddle, have made this last week pretty easy for me! The biggest challenge was not getting a corn dog at Kennywood, but after hitting 5 intense rides immediately after I wasn't regretting my decision :)

The new recipes that I did try this week all involved beets from my share this week! BEETS! Who would ever go to the grocery store to "just pick up a few beets"? Not me, or at least not me before last week! At first they intimidated me. I hate radishes and they look quite similar, so I was def nervous. I have had beets one in France and some macedonian salad before, so I knew I wouldn't die if I ate them (a radich, I would) so clicked on my trusty food gawker for some inspiration. What I put together was the most amazing dish I have made in my baby kitchen in the longest time! I couldn't stop talking about it for days and even sent the recipe to my CSA so they can share it on their website! Seriously, it's that amazing! Just cutting up the beets was an exciting experience, so many rich colors that these just have to be good for you. I ate this before doing a power hour for my friend's birthday, and had to warn everyone that I ate beets beforehand to avoid this hilarious situation.

One large beet or two smaller ones
Olive oil
Salt and Pepper
Chicken Broth (this amount I am really unsure of)
Garlic scapes or the green spring onions (from 2 weeks ago)
Chopped beet greens
Chopped kale leaves
Whole grain pasta
Feta cheese
Put beets and olive oil in large skillet. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and cook over moderate heat, stirring, until tender. Add the choppped garlic scapes or spring onion and cook for another minute. Add broth and simmer until beets are very tender. Add the greens except pasta. Boil pasta, top with beet mixture and serve with tons of the feta cheese.

At the time I just used some of Trader's feta, but after cruising down to the Strip this weekend and picking up a gigantic block of fresh feta from Pennsylvania Macaroni Company, I am never going to buy it from anywhere else ever again. I also got eggplant, cherry tomatoes, kiwis, asparagus, and thyme all for under a dollar a piece. Just the experience of going to the Strip is enough, but the prices really are incredible. I also bought some more loose tea at a little hole in the wall called Prestogeorge where you can get an entire box worth of tea for 2 dollars. Its all loose, which means you get to smell dozens of different containers and pick which ones you want, and making your own teabags is hella fun. Last night I made organic chamomile before bed and it was such a peaceful end to my day :)

Drinking flowers!

Anyways, I had to pay 50 dollars to get my immunizations up to date today making not only my arm hurt but my wallet too. I don't think there's a huge trip to Traders in the next week, so I stocked up on 1.99 Lucky Charms at CVS. I don't think anyone will be needing a recipe for that :) Picking up my share tomorrow, so can't wait to see what I have to experiment with for the next week!

So, hypothetically, let's say....

SO! One of my favorite questions for people I am getting to know is what they would have for their last meal if they were on death row and were to die tomorrow. Hopefully this is solely a hypothetical questions, so it has no rules. Your meal could be compiled of things you've eaten all over the world! Some people know the answer immediately, some really need to think, but I think it gives awesome insight into a person. Since I have asked it SO MANY times, I know my meal right off the bat!

My appetizer would be a plate of fried calamari from a cafe in Zagreb, Croatia. I visited the city twice during my backpacking trip, and each time it couldn't be more perfect. The first time, we were coming off a solid month of city hopping. We were really booked for a while, seeing 3 cities in a week, so although we tried to enjoy the local cuisine we did spend a lot of time heating up pounds (no joke) of spaghetti in our hostel or eating crackers and cheese on overnight trains. Once we got to Croatia where we had 2 weeks (and a legit currency exchange for the first time!) we slowed down a bit, ordered a nice lunch, and enjoyed it while gazing out across a small square. It was so magical that when we stopped in Zagreb for a day on our return trip, we got it once again. I want this one more time :)

Beautiful square in Zagreb, Croatia where you can find the most delicious calamari EVER

Now my dinner is pretty complicated, or usually sounds so when people tell me their one item they would have. You could have sides in this game, you know!? My dinner would be based off the dinners my family has on our back porch in the summer. This meal usually consisted of steak as a centerpiece and I am not sure if I would still be attempting vegetarianism in prison, but if I was, I would just substitute my dad's steak (NO ONE ELSE'S) with some salmon. My sides would be garlic bread, a tomato with basil and olive oil, potatoes, onion from the garden with a side of salt, and a garden salad of just lettuce and oil and vinegar dressing. You would also have to stack your bites, which is something I thought everyone did but apparently not? Anyways, with this, I would have some "fresh squeezed lemonade" that they sell at  the Art's Festival. I never seem to have enough, so it would obviously be bottomless. YUM!

And since I won't need to be worrying about caloric intake ever again in this situation,  I would not pass up dessert. In Macedonia, I had what they called a "hot and cold" numerous, numerous times. It's basically one of those chocolate lava cakes with a side of vanilla icecream, and yeah you can get them at like Fridays, but the one at this restaurant surpasses them all. I think I'd top it off with a cappuccino from Big Dog in Southside since concerns about sleeping would also be unnecessary :)

Can't believe I found a picture!

There you have it! My last meal :) Just writing about everything makes me so hungry, but I do get (hypothetically) nervous that despite the meal being a combination of some of my best dining experiences, it wouldn't come close to eating each of the dishes in the context, with the company, where I had them. Without surviving off of pasta for a month, without the company of my family, without the numerous stories that come along with each dish, maybe the meal would lack any significance at all.

Besides the substitution of steak with salmon, I know this post doesn't really touch upon much, but I think it is important nonetheless. Ironically, a week ago, I got a text from my little brother asking what I would have for my last meal. His point of asking was not to gain insight into my soul (hopefully he has that already) but to bring up an amazing point. What would you eat if you knew it was going to be your last meal? Now, go eat it. Except in extreme circumstances, we don't know when our last meal is going to be nor do we have the choice to decide what it should be. So think about it, and plan a day this week to eat it (or something similar if it's anything like mine!). Enjoy the food, but more importantly enjoy the company and relish the experiences you have had with the meal. I did this weekend :)

EGGPLANT FAIL

What it was supposed to look like:

What it actually looked like:

NAILED IT!

It's official. I AM STRUGGLING! The weekends have been absolutely awful with temptation, but I am back on a Monday and hopefully in safe territory. Let's recap the horrors:

Last weekend I went to my family reunion at my grandparents and this was awaiting me (Not the adorable cousin, the pile of pig). My mouth legit watered but I settled for bread in bbq sauce instead. NOT THE SAME. I even had to lie to my grandpa and tell him I had a rib when he wasn't looking. I just wasn't feeling strong enough to tell the truth?

Before I launch into this past weekend, let me just say that my parents are completely supportive of this little "phase" of mine! My mom is reluctantly reading my vegetarian bible, and my dad is more than happy to steal the pepperoni off my salad. My little brother on the other hand, ya you'll see.

ANYWAYS, this past Thursday I eventually made it back to the suburbs after a bit of a rough start. (On my way into the city, I legit had to get off one bus I was so sick (4th of July FTW), only to catch a bus that took me to Southside without me realizing. With no other options, I decided to walk across Birmingham Bridge - not pedestrian friendly- to wait for a bus in the Hill district. On top of that, I had an hour long trolley ride followed by a 30 minute drive to my grandparents where I was forced to pull it together. Thank you God for my brother who bought me a gigantic Gatorade when I told him I had to bounce off a bus, and my grandparents for their potato pancake recipe!) Despite the rough start, Thursday wasn't killer and I got to make my zucchini pasta for my parents! I also carried a heirloom tomato from my share on my journey home, so we got to all share an epic first tomato of the season!

Friday, I spent about 10 hours shadowing in a Suboxone clinic. Not really vegetarian/green so not a blog topic, but absolutely magical and a medical revolution, I tell ya! My dad and I plan on writing an article for the paper, so if and when that happens I'll def post a link!

Saturday, on the other hand, was THE WORST! My little brother (who is not so little) left this weekend for a 6 month food and beverage internship at the Ritz Carlton in Doha, Qatar, so he got to choose all his meals for his last day. With a smirk on his face, he announced for breakfast that he just wanted an entire pack of bacon, fried with onions. Yea this might have been legit as he will be pressed to find any pork in that part of the world, but really NOTHING SMELLS THAT GOOD EVER! There we sat watching an ANTM marathon (perhaps that's why he was so cruel) as the smell of bacon and fried onions wafted in from the kitchen. That was the closest I have come to caving yet!

To get me out of the house (at this point I think I may have been cranky), my mom and I go to Giant Eagle, where OF COURSE they are having their annual burger bash! What other day would they possibly have it?!?! The old lady at the front door proudly listed off all the samples of burgers they were handing out as I snuck by with no eye contact. The only burger I was able to eat was some old man's creation of gelato inbetween two nilla wafers thereby appearing like a burger, with a side of potato straws and strawberry jam. I give him an A+ for imagination, or maybe a C for not telling me that the potatoes and jam were just for looks, but it regardless it didn't cut it.

I'll save my complete dinner for another post, but it would not be spoiling the ending to say that, of course, my brother chose steak for dinner. My mom, feeling sympathetic, bought me salmon which was just as delicious I'm sure!

Sad salmon.

Awful, just awful. I thought that the Sunday departure of my meat-eating brother would have eased the tension a little bit, but what do you do after dropping someone off at the airport but cruise some IKEA?! IKEA is basically the coolest place ever, and a great place to bring a boyfriend as it brings out everyone's true colors. Stay on the path or go directly to what you're looking for? This is apparently a deal breaker. Anyways, I love IKEA even though they discontinued french presses, but what I love even more are their Swedish Meatballs! INCREDIBLE!!! Obvs at this point you should know that my family doesn't change their ways on my behalf, and I had to sit across from my mother as she devoured her plate full. I got a taste of her gravy, mashed potatoes, and ligonberries, but still a slap in the face ending to a rough weekend! I am happy to be back in Oakland and am anxiously awaiting my share on Wednesday :) It's officially the highlight of my week!!

PS: I feel like I complained a lot, so here is a cute picture of my evil brother and adorable cousin to put that smile back on all our faces!

Ain't no thang.

Happy Sunday!!

Ah I love Sunday mornings! Usually I wake up decently early and drink coffee out of my favorite mug as I check different blogs (like postsecret, every week!) and send an email to my bestest friend. This morning I was home, and although the routine there is to watch Sunday morning on CBS with my parents, I wanted to mix it up and made my mom and dad these absolutely amazing brown butter and buttermilk biscuits. This was my second time making them and oh god did it go easier than the first. Let me tell you about that, ok?

So a couple weeks ago, I have plans to go over a friend's house for lunch and get the strongest craving for biscuits EVER! I follow this amazing blog where I saw a recipe not too long ago and definitely wanted to cruise that. Unfortunately it calls for buttermilk, which apparently isn't something North Oakland keeps stocked at the gas station. After running around in the crazy heat I came up with the bright idea of just mixing butter in milk and calling it a day and came back home to get me some biscuits! (Note: you can make ghetto buttermilk by just adding 1 tbsp white vinegar to a cup of milk, ta da! Now you know). I was so incredibly overheated from running around that when I did finish my biscuits and threw them in the oven, I took advantage of the 15 minute cook time and jumped in the shower. There I am, 5 minutes later, shaving my legs when my fire alarm goes off! My first thought was "BACON'S READY!" from experience, and once I remembered I was in the shower and there was no bacon, the second thought was not an appropriate word as I ran out of my shower. I crossed my bedroom into my living room, realized I was completely blind without my glasses, and slid across the wood flooring back into the bathroom. I am basically in full panic mode when my fire alarm turns off? Alright. Relieved, I figured it was no big deal, and decide to check on my biscuits. Within seconds of opening my oven door, my apartment refills of smoke, setting off that damn alarm once again. At this point, any decency is out the door along with my attempts to cover up with a towel, and with one oven mitt and nothing else I am climbing on chairs to turn off the incredibly loud beeping as the rando Asian dude outside is taking a break from his daily Tai Chi to check out what the noise is. Fire alarm down, biscuits billowing smoke on the table, it turns out it wasn't my cooking but the parchment paper that decided to catch fire, of course! Pausing only to smile at how awesome the real biscuits were turning out, my hair dripped all over the tray and left a great hectic path through my apartment as I had to cut the down charred paper away from my baked goods. Moral of this story is to not leave your parchment paper long because it looks cute, and to be thankful for times when there's no one around to laugh at you. Whatevs, they turned out amazing!

Here's how they looked the first time I made them! Wasn't able to take any pictures today since my dad was patiently waiting next to the baking sheet, but I promise they were gorgeous. Follow this easy recipe and treat yourself to a glorious start to a morning!

YUM!

Woo-eeeee is it hot outside!? And it's not even July yet! I don't know if this is an indication of global warming or what, but I remember thinking 83 degrees was almost too hot for a pool day when I was a kid. Maybe that was how hot our summers were 10 years ago, or maybe I was a sissy (very likely), but either way this is just crazy. I have literally started dreaming of rain and have been waking up disappointed when I open my bedroom doors to the bright sun. My disappointment, however, is NO WHERE CLOSE to the emotions that stir up after one of my meat eating dreams! I have had SO MANY! Maybe once a night, I wake up panicking after I dream of eating a cheeseburger or something. I don't know if this is my body craving meat or some deep fear that I will get drunk, eat some, and start back at square one, but I am always pretty excited when I realize it's a dream. Yep, my subconscious clearly fears cheap ground beef.

Regardless, I am still holding strong!! I went to MadMex with my brother yesterday and just sat there like a good little girl DYING as he ate 14 wings in front of me. I won't lie, they smelled absolutely amazing. No vegetables smell like that, ever. I think my brother could legit feel my tension as I leaned over, snatched his celery, and ferociously rubbed it through the sauce and blue cheese. Not the same, won't ever be the same, but whatevs.

It's worth the mention though that MadMex has hella vegetarian options! Anything on their menu with a little baby cactus next to it means fair game for people like me, and they even do vegan substitutions if you want to take it that far. Wednesday (yes, I cruised MadMex twice this week, SUMMER BABY!) I had some of the happy hippy quesadilla and it was delicious, spicy but delicious. It just gave me an excuse to suck down my big ass marg a little faster :) Now that I am aware of it, I think it's awesome how many restaurants not only have vegetarian options, but numerous ones that are clearly indicated too! As a condition to going back for my second Bikram class (ended up going 3 times during our introductory week, so pretty proud!), I wanted to go to Coca Cafe in Lawrenceville for breakfast, and I LOVED all the options there! I immediately knew that I was going to get the goat cheese and fresh berry french toast which was absolutely amazing and, with the amount of maple syrup I put on it, probably evened out the 800+ calories burned in Bikram the night before. I was too busy dying over my food and drinking way to much coffee to snap a picture but I promise it looked exactly like this. I tried their soy sausage which I will admit is no where close to the real thing, but it was cool that it was available none the less.

http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/wjLgM9Ybe5shoUPRrGMmsQ?select=ZFEY7SGVln4mmEX_jEdeGA#VPl1KiY2onQHhJlIYy1Jag

WAIT on the topic of breakfast meats, I feel like I need to make a disclosure here. In my first post, I raved about my love for bacon. Really, it's the best thing ever and I will never debate that with anyone. I guess I gushed a little too much because I gave people the impression that I am a bacon-eating vegetarian (I now have a pack of bacon in my fridge, it is testin me). This isn't so bad, to be honest I was a bacon eating vegetarian for a couple weeks months ago and it was great, but nah no bacon for me anymore! Unless it's local of course, which the farm I support does sell at its booth on Wednesdays, but unfortunately for 8 dollars a pound. Perhaps I should get a job before splurgin on something like that.

I may have walked away from their booth without their bacon, but I did pick up my farm share this week! So many different things than last week so I get to try out more recipes! In my bag this week were the craziest looking summer squashes, zucchini, red cabbage (meeeeeeh I have still have half of the white cabbage from last week, even after whippin up some Pittsburgh Haluski), broccoli, and the biggest bushel of basil I have ever seen! Lucky for me, this completed the list of ingredients I needed to make this pasta dish I have been wanting to try forever! I found the recipe in Plenty: Vibrant Vegetable Recipes From London's Ottolenghi, which is the neatest cookbook (with absolutely stunning pictures) that I found on Anthropologie's website! Huge trick to saving money and finding neat reads: Go to their website, House and Home, Books, and request all the books they are selling from the library! Just not all at once, I did that out of excitement and ended up carrying 11 books home one afternoon. But ya, anyways this book and especially this pasta were delicious! After watching my brother devour his 7-chickens-worth dinner, we hiked back and prepared this beauty.

Pasta and Fried Zucchini Pasta

2/3 c sunflower oil
3 medium zucchinis

1 1/2 tbsp red wine vinegar
3/4 c frozen edamame
2 c shredded basil leaves
1/4 c shredded parsley
1/3 c olive oil
salt and pepper
PASTA
lemon zest approx 1 lemon
1 1/2 tbsp capers
7 oz torn mozzarella

Heat sunflower/ olive oil whatever you got over medium high heat in medium saucepan. Fry zucchini slices in small batches, being careful not to overcrowd. Cook 3 minutes or until golden brown, just flipping once. Once cooked, place into bowl and pour the vinegar on top. Stir around

Cook your edamame however yours cooks!

Combine half of the basil, all of the parsley, and the olive oil in a food processor, adding some salt and pepper. Blitz to a smooth sauce.

Cook your pasta to al dente, you shouldn't need directions on that!

Pour zucchini over pasta (including the juices), add the edamame, basil sauce, lemon zest, capers, and moz. Stir together, sprinkle some salt and pepper and add in the rest of the shredded basil!

So easy, so delicious!

But yes, despite this heat, I have been having an AMAZING week! I went to the movies in the park, kayaking on the river (15 dollars an hour with kayakpittsburgh, unless you are a VO member or can persuade the dude who's working that you are :) ), hiked through Schenley Park at dusk where apparently all the lightening bugs hang out, and basically spent as much time as I could enjoying my city. I have a family reunion Saturday at my grandparent's so will be heading home for the weekend. With my parents, and especially seeing my grandparents, this will be the biggest challenge for me yet! Honestly, Look at what my grandma had waiting for me last time I stopped by. Can you tell an italian grandmother that you have stopped eating meat? We will see!!

Last meal at Grandma's, oh lord

Beautiful Pittsburgh Weekend!

Hey guys! Hopefully you all have had an amazing weekend, whether it was in Pittsburgh enjoying the finally tolerable weather,  at home visiting family, in some other chic city, or if you are like some of my amazing friends, overseas!

Speaking of other countries, surprisingly one of my favorite meals in Paris was not a French dish from a chic bistro, but was cooked up by my yaya Megan for a picnic we had in Trocodero, overlooking the Eiffle Tower and the beautiful Seine (hard life, right?). The company and views would have been enough to have the most memorable night, but the sandwiches Megan made (and transported on the dirty metro on one of Madam's fancy plates) really tied it all together! Since the big WYEP Summer Music Festival was Friday night, I thought this would be the perfect occasion to try my hand at the sandwiches myself. They are called Caponata Picnic Sandwiches and may very well be the best vegetarian sandwich EVER! The ingredients were super simple, mostly found in my cabinets or fridge, or pretty cheap at Trader Joe's (except raisins, which were quite expensive and in bulk, so I traded them in for some Puffins, which if you haven't tried will surely change your life). By the time my brother and mom showed up at my apartment, the vegetables were all cooked, and ready to go! With my brother's help doing an AMAZINGG job toasting the bread (my broiler reminds me of a modern depiction of hell, so I stay clear when I can) while taking the pictures below, we hobbled down with picnic baskets and coolers in hand and spent a beautiful night in Shenley Plaza enjoying the good weather and free music.My dad mentioned how, if I was still going to medical school in Philadelphia, this would have been one of my last summer nights in Oakland, and looking around after I was SO glad that wasn't the case! Despite living here my whole life, Pittsburgh continues to entertain and surprise me.

Nothing beats fresh vegetables, garlic bread, and mozzarella cheese.

Maybe I should have given him my other camera sooner!

Like today! Although I am sure in larger cities there are constantly things to do, I am definitely impressed with all the free things little ol' Pittsburgh was offering on a Sunday! This morning I cruised some hot yoga at Moonglow Studio in the Strip District, which holds free, but still challenging, classes on Sundays this summer! Not only was it a legit session in a beautiful studio, but the instructor also mentioned how there was a festival happening on the streets below. The Strip is definitely an area of Pittsburgh I want to use more of!

After showering off at home, I met up with my mom and went to the Yart Sale at Mellon Park, where artists, schools, and vendors gather and sell ceramics, paintings, and all sorts of creations SUPER CHEAP! Usually my mom and I hit up the CCAC tent, but this time lucked out at the Pittsburgh Center for the Arts tent where we got free buttons, lemonaide, and 3 for 5$ deal on all sorts of ceramics that people made and never came back to retrieve! We rescued many orphan bowls, one of which livens up my kitchen table and the other will hopefully brighten a friend's day :)

You'd think two free things in one day would be enough (cantstopwontstop), but after energizing up on some vegetable stir fry, I am about to head out to one of the free movies on Flagstaff Hill in Schenley Park. Tonight's Puss in Boots, so we will likely be surrounded by little kids up past their bedtimes, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't excited :)

UGH! Over 24 hours later and I am STILL recovering from my first (and please god, last)  Bikram yoga class ! My fabulous, competitive poker playing friend James is flying down to Vegas in a couple days to win some bucks at the World Series of Poker (if he gets around to making his blog before he goes, I'll def post it here!) and wanted to try out some yoga that he could do to break up the hours of sitting at the tables. We went to some hot yoga at Amazing Yoga in Shadyside earlier this week despite it being equally, if not hotter, outside and it felt great for the both of us so we decided to amp it up a bit! We should have known to run when the instructor, after asking us if this was our first time doing Bikram, told us that our main goal of the next 90 minutes was to just stay in the room. Once she started class she reiterated the importance of staying  (we COULD physically/legally leave if we wanted to, but basically it would fuck everything up if we did) and told us that the feeling of wanting to vomit, pass out, or freak out were all normal. So here we are, in a 110 degree room, surrounded by essentially naked sweaty people, attempting to just keep living. 10 minutes in, I look over and James is attempting not to faint on the floor, and probably 5 minutes later I join in, and as we laid on the floor of this burning hot room I cannot help but curse the yogi who decided 2000 years ago that this was a good idea. Neither of us could muster the strength to stand back up, so were relieved that not only did the poses switch to the floor but that every single other person in the class was also fighting the primitive urges to pass the hell out. The best part of class was when it was over, and covered in an insanely unhealthy amount of sweat, we bolted out of the studio into the most refreshing rain ever. We chatted with this super friendly dude who shared some tips of how to drop to the floor gracefully and efficiently, but essentially told us that even after practicing for 7 years, yeahh it's not going to get any better any time soon. With 9 more days of unlimited classes, I will probably only go back if forced (and promised some peanut butter and chocolate covered Trader Joe pretzels, YUM).

The severe dehydration I felt during and after class probably wasn't helped by the 7 drinks I had the night before, but WHAT AN AMAZING NIGHT I HAD! My best friend Emily, 2 of the chefs at the restaurant, a birthday girl, and I went to a Farm Fresh menu tasting at SOBA Lounge in Shadyside. A 4 course meal that you can compliment with a glass of wine with each (we all did, obvs), each course incorporated fresh produce, greens, and meats from local farms of Western Pennsylvania (they listed the farms on the menu). This is exactly the kind of dining experience that I want to support, so didn't hesitate to make the night of one my meat eating occasions. Yea, I have been making some amazing vegetarian dishes (more on this crazy tasty sandwich I made last night later), but I'll admit nothing compares to the richness of pork, and knowing that it was a special occasion made it even more delicious. Plus, I'm sure the iron and other nutrients I consumed helped the next morning! Since I was surrounded by such great company, tasty food, and cold wine I forgot to take any pictures, but trust me IT WAS AMAZING! My little brother is leaving for the middle east in a few days for a Food and Beverage internship at the Ritz Carlton at Doha, Qatar and I really wish the menu lasted a few more days so I could take him here to celebrate. The next farm menu is August 13-18th and I am telling you, skip a few nights at the bar and treat yourself to something amazing. You will not regret it!

Alright, have to run and cater a wedding this evening, but will be posting about a delicious vegetarian dish when I get home! I made Kale Chips the other day, and they turned out horribly. I think the kale has to be really fresh and solid before you make it, so if I get some in my share this week I'll give it another try.

First farm share of the season!

Hey guys! Thank you all so much for your support and kind words about my first post yesterday! It is going to be really special sharing this experience with you, and just makes me really, really excited!

So, last week, I was talking to my older brother about my decision to remove meat. As a medical student himself, he is a bit of a hypochondriac but I'll admit that it is entertaining to hear the worst case scenario of any situation. So when I told him what I wanted to do, I was bracing myself for some declaration of that I would be at risk for sudden death or eye explosion, when he drops the biggest bomb on me. "You know, your hair is going to fall out". Uh... WHAT?! Despite being runner-up for the Marsha Brady award in high school (I lost to a brunette..which I don't know...just doesn't seem fair..) my hair is kind of my thing. So yesterday I searched online for vitamins I need to take to keep any hair loss at bay. Low and behold, a couple posts mention Vitamin B12, which was ironically perfect because some chic handed me a 5 hour energy literally moments before!! If there is such thing as a Vitamin B12 jackpot, I just hit it! 8,000 percent of your daily value? Shoot, I wouldn't have to worry about my hair for 80 days! Despite her warning to drink only when I was tired (which I wasn't) and that it was already 5pm, I did have this legit concern and a competitive game of Mancala to win. 5 hours of energy and fulfillment of 4 months of vitamin requirements have never been so easy (as was kicking some Mancala ass).

Worst idea ever. Come midnight I had as much energy as Shoshanna from Girls after she accidentally smokes crack. I went cray.. From sophomore year experience, I know it is probably a good idea for me to remove my phone battery after drinking an energy drink, since my hyped up tendency is to break up with people I am not dating. Such precautions aren't as accessible with the iPhone so I put it out of reach as I sped read chapter after chapter of the third book of the Song of Ice and Fire series. If you know anything about these, which you probably do just from the TV series, you should get that this isn't exactly the best thing to read before bed. When I did dream, there was a dragon eating a direwolf that was eating me, all in fast forward. AH! I woke up today with the worst migraine I have had in years so I legit believe that after one night I got addicted to and am now withdrawing from my 5 hour. Bottom line of this story? Take a multi-vitamin instead.

Good news is that I picked up my first farm share of the season yesterday! As I mentioned, I signed up through Clarion River Organics, which is a co-op of 8-9 different farms and just so happened to have the cutest stand at the Phipps Farmer's Market. After checking out their website, I knew that they were the organization I wanted to support this season! In addition to their full shares, they also do a small share for single girls like me, which is just a smaller bag of goods that I still pick up each week. A huge pro for a college student, they also allow for you to pay your fee in 2 installments, once now and once in August, so it hasn't hurt my bank account too much! Oh, and although this doesn't apply to myself, they also give a 50% discount to anyone using the SNAP food stamps program, which I think is an awesome way for people of lower SES to have access to fresh, organic foods. Plus, they even have events throughout the year where you can visit their farms, so this is a win all around! Love them already!

My first share consisted of a huge bag of snow peas (my mom used to grow these when I was a kid, so tons of memories associated with these guys), a bag of mixed lettuce, a cabbage literally larger than my head, a bundle of kale, and some garlic scapes. Aside from basic lettuce, these are all things I would never think of picking up at the grocery store, but I have already found SO many options for cooking them!

Last night, for example, I made this amazing Kale and Egg Bake. Now, I am not a chef by any means (most of my skills, if  I have any, are in baking), so I don't even want to pretend that this is a cooking blog, or that I invented this idea myself. Instead, I place my trust in the hands of strangers with cute blog names, lots of comments, and a chic background. Head over to Runningtothekitchen's blog for the recipe! Instead of garlic I threw in some of the scapes but pretty much followed the recipe from there. (I picked up some Amish cage-free certified humane eggs last week from Oh Yeah! Icecream on S. Highland, the difference between them and the "large white eggs" from GE is def noticeable! Plus I need an excuse to go back there every week, the place is amazing.)  I had all the ingredients already, it took under 30 minutes to cook, and I got to experiment with my new goods. Not to mention, IT IS THE MOST DELICIOUS THING EVER! I can't wait to make it  for any of my friends who are willing to try!

May not look exactly like her's but still INCREDIBLE!

So, after such a positive first experience, I cannot wait to try out more things! I am at a bit of a loss with what to do with all my cabbage though, to be honest. The only experience I really have with cabbage is eating Macedonia Sarma and simple, yet deliciously refreshing, shredded cabbage salads prepared by my favorite Macedonia in her kitchen. If anyone has any ideas, please share them!

Thank you again for reading! I am planning on making Kale Chips, which are apparently in right now, sometime later today or tmw, and will hopefully be checking out a farm fresh tasting menu at SOBA in Shadyside tonight, so there are more posts to come! XX

Oh hey hey!

Hey guys, I'm Caroline! Just in case you have somehow landed here by accident and don't know who I am, let me introduce myself! I recently graduated from the University of Pittsburgh with a double major in Biological Sciences and Psychology (and a minor in Chemistry, woo woo!), and am hanging out in my hometown of Pittsburgh for a couple months before starting the next adventure in my life as a medical student at University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. That's all the serious stuff I would immediately respond with if asked to tell you about myself in an interview, and although those are accomplishments I am proud of, they def are not who I am! So, because I hope to be chronicling my new eating habits, adventures, and personal choices on a hopefully daily basis, let's get more intimate, eh? My name is Caroline, every morning I make coffee in my french press, I love pink, Elle Woods is my fictional hero, I like indie music, I am reading more than two books at any given time, I use too many exclamation points, I have a happiness journal, I'm learning how to whistle, I have a cactus and zen garden, I speak fluent french only when I am dreaming, (I use the oxford comma)...

... and I recently became a vegetarian! Well alright, maybe not a complete vegetarian, but the closest to it I have ever been. Now, if you know me, you are probably laughing, which is fine really because I laugh at myself quite often (unless you are Matt Baker, in which case you are probably pissed). For all who are not on the inside of this apparent joke, let me explain. I have always, and I mean ALWAYS, loved meat. Growing up, I used to go to the gym with my dad, work out, and come home and eat steak along side him (why I had a gym membership at the age of 8, I will never know). If I was on death row and got to plan my last meal (which is a serious concern of mine and something I will probably ask you within a week of hanging out, get ready new friends!), it would have always involved the summer meals with my father's steak eaten out on the back porch. This love created as a child had carried on throughout college, where I panicked when faced with the Tuesday decision of all-you-can-eat bacon and all-you-can-eat rib night (last time I chose the ribs, only because I cruised the bacon the week before). If anything, my craving for steak turned into one for daily bacon. I LOVE bacon (note: still present tense)! I don't think there is anything better than a BLT which I can eat daily for weeks on end, I baked bacon into cookies, I shamefully dipped bacon in peanut butter, I got giddy when a cute dude gave me chocolate covered bacon. Really, it is an intense love.

However, for the past couple months, things just felt a little off. I saw a couple documentaries, I really took time to taste my food, I started thinking about what I was putting into my body,  and I started to pay attention to how my body felt afterwards. This led me to a few declarations that I would no longer eat red meat, based off the way my body felt after eating it and my belief that since pigs and cows had bigger brains than chicken and turkey, this was a good moral decision. This wasn't too life changing, since I somehow convinced myself that my favorite food, bacon, wasn't included in this exclusion.

But then something happened. I have had a lot of free time, some would argue too much, and have read tons of books. I have fallen in love with anything written by Jonathan Safer Foer, and compulsively requested a book of his, Eating Animals, out of the library without even thinking of the title. Ten pages in, I truly had a feeling that it would change my life. An entertaining book written by a best selling artist, the book is about Jonathan's quest for information regarding the meat industry so he could make informed decisions about what to feed his newborn son. I do not want to be one of those annoying, righteous vegetarians that preach their purpose to everyone in listening distance, but there was so much in the book that opened my eyes, enraged me, brought me to tears, disgusted me. Please, I am not forcing but asking you to read it. Based off the facts documented in his book and the recount of his experiences, I realized that he was talking about a subject that I was passionate about. Now, if there is one characteristic I cannot stand, it would be when someone is passionate about a cause, talks about it to no end, but doesn't do anything about it! It's incredibly frustrating! So I decided to make some changes for real this time.

The first change was signing up for a CSA, which apparently stands for Community Supported Agriculture (thanks, googs). I talked to this informative guy at a farming convention a couple months ago who originally sparked my interest, so enrolled in his program Clarion River Organics. More information on the CSA and this organization in my next post I promise! Now, that was the easy part. My other change has been the conscious elimination of any meat (cow, pig, chicken, turkey) from my diet. Now this is the part where people will understandably want to argue when I refer to myself as a vegetarian: I am not against eating meat and at this point, do not think I will eliminate it from my diet entirely. Instead what I am against is factory farming, which is the method through which Americans get 99% of their meat. The full out warfare that we have created against animals, the genetic modification that has resulted in animals that cannot either live to the age of reproduction or are not capable if that age is reached, the corporate influence of these factory farm empires, the ecological damage that results, the associated health risks, the treatment of animals in these facilities, now THAT is what I am against. If this is something you are interested in knowing more, or perhaps arguing against (please no), then let's talk! I'd love to! But like I said, I hate confrontational or highly opinionated people, so will leave that serious talk for another time.

So here is my game plan. I am going to seriously attempt to remove meat from my diet. I will hold exceptions for occasions where rejecting meat would be considered impossible, culturally insulting, or unrealistically rude. After a good talk with my older brother,  I recognize that there are some nutrients in meat that us as humans need to consume, and since I am on a pretty rigorous workout routine, I know my body needs them. So,  I have decided that I will only eat meat if it is from a local farm or if I know exactly where it is coming from. Yeah, this will be difficult and quite expensive, but the CSA I signed up with sells meat, some restaurants include on their menu where they obtain their meat, and it will be an excuse to eat high quality bacon some time in the future :) So yea, there it is. If you pass me during one of the rare occasions when I am cruising some animal, this will hopefully be one of the circumstances listed above. (If you see me in McDonald's on Forbes on a weekend night after 2 am, please gently remind me of these goals).

So there it is! The main reason for the creation of this blog. Over the next couple days, weeks, months I hope to share with you all my adventures in vegetarian land: the failures, the successes, the great finds, the disappointments, etc. etc. I hope to be able to show everyone that eliminating what we believe to be such a crucial element of our diet is possible, that you can afford decent produce on a college budget, that Pittsburgh (an infamous industrial city) has farmers markets and restaurants that focus on the local aspect of dining, that what you put into your body is important, and that you can have fun and laugh throughout it all!

If you have made it throughout those rambling paragraphs, I love you and thank you for reading. I promise future posts will e shorter with more pictures (another excuse to use my big camera), and more entertaining for us all! Let's begin this adventure together, shall we?