Adventures in Pittsburgh: The Strip District

Posted on March 17, 2014 by Sarah S.

To an outsider’s ear, the Strip District doesn’t exactly sound like a place you want to spend a lovely Sunday morning. Let alone a place you’d pick up a slew of produce at dirt cheap prices or stock up on bulk locally roasted coffee or admire beautiful art from local artists. But the Strip is just the place to go for that sort of adventure. For the first seven months of living in the city, I actively avoided going to the Strip. The traffic is awful. Parking is worse. And there are so. many. people.

But let me tell you, it’s worth every minute you spend stuck waiting for j-walking pedestrians or battling your fellow drivers for a just-barely-big-enough stretch of curb to park on.

Why exactly?

Adventures in Pittsburgh: Vegan Groceries, Coffe, and Art in the Strip District miaprimacasa.com

Firstly, because I bought a week’s worth of produce for $15. FIFTEEN DOLLARS! In the middle of the city! I even found daikon root. I still don’t really know what it is, but it was less than a dollar and tastes delicious in fried rice.

Adventures in Pittsburgh: Vegan Groceries, Coffe, and Art in the Strip District miaprimacasa.com

Secondly, because the Asian markets are numerous and well priced. I bought a jar of umeboshi plums for $6. The same sized jar costs about $9 at my local co-op. I did my shopping at the first place I found, which was a small Korean market with an extremely helpful owner who tolerated my request for lotus root. But I was told that Lotus is also a great Asian market (and presumably also has lotus root…).

Adventures in Pittsburgh: Vegan Groceries, Coffe, and Art in the Strip District miaprimacasa.com

Thirdly, because coffee. So much coffee! I even asked the guy behind the counter if I could buy one of their empty coffee sacks. Yes, yes I could. So I did. For $2, which means I now have the cheapest wall art ever.

Adventures in Pittsburgh: Vegan Groceries, Coffe, and Art in the Strip District miaprimacasa.com

And fourthly, because of the people. Ok, I know the vendors might be overly friendly because you have a wad of cash in your pocket, but trust me, I’ve seen vendors in northern Italy blatantly insult customers, so… I was satisfied. There was the bread guy who went into his (then closed) shop to find me olive oil. There was the Russian photographer who chatted with about being a Pittsburgh newcomer (“No matter what they say, you don’t have to be a Steelers fan.”), and whose beautiful photo of the city is now hanging in my living room.

With it’s fresh, affordable produce and Asian markets, the Strip District is a vegan’s dream. Toss in some quality coffee and some quality people, and you have a recipe for one of the best Sunday mornings you can find in this town.

Cheers!

Sarah

Adventures in Pittsburgh: Exploring Oakland

Adventures in Pittsburgh: Carnegie Museums

Adventures in Pittsburgh: Schenley Park

Adventures in Pittsburgh: The Cafe at the Frick

“My refusing to eat flesh occasioned an inconvenience, and I was frequently chided for my singularity, but, with this lighter repast, I made the greater progress, for greater clearness of head and quick comprehension.”

-Ben Franklin

Lemon Mango Cucumber Water- Yum!

Posted on March 12, 2014 by Sarah S.

The idea is so simple, I can’t believe I didn’t think of it sooner! Add cut up cucumbers, lemon, and frozen mango to a pitcher of water, and suddenly you have a refreshingly healthy drink that actually makes you excited to drink more water. Plus, every time I pour a glass I feel kind of fancy. 😉

Some other flavors I have in mind:

*Cucumber Mint

*Strawberry Lemon

*Blueberry Lemon Lime

*Honey Lemon with a hint of Green Tea

*Cucumber Watermelon

*Honey Lavender

What’s your favorite?

Cheers!

Sarah

50 Awesome Flavored Water Recipes

Naturally Flavored Water

Adventures in Plant-Based Nutrition

Running Hard, Getting Healthy, and Going (Almost) Vegan

Visions of Monaco (in 6 Screens)

Posted on March 10, 2014 by Sarah S.

If you follow my Instagram, you might be surprised to learn that I actually do in fact do more than just cook vegan food, go clothes shopping, and take adorable pictures of my cat. Actually, one of my latest ventures has been a beginning screen printing class at the Pittsburgh Center for the Arts. My ultimate goal is (to probably no surprise) to screen print on t-shirts and home decor items (think: inexpensive throw pillows!). But for my first project, I wanted to keep it 2D, and instead decided to create a vintage-inspired Monaco Grand Prix poster for my dad (in exchange for some handmade metal screens, of course…). I pulled inspiration from posters, below, and overall I am very satisfied with the piece. It took six unique screens to print and a lot more time that I originally thought (I didn’t use photo emulsion but instead hand “painted” the design onto the screen), but it’s a great start to what could be a pretty awesome body of screen printed work.

Courtesy of grandprixposters.com

Courtesy of vpracing.com

Cheers!

Sarah

Wearing Strength & Courage

Posted on March 7, 2014 by Sarah S.

For some reason, I don’t wear the jewelry we sell at Uncovered Artistry as much as you’d expect. Maybe it’s because I spend so much time photographing it, describing it, and otherwise trying to convince my family and friends to buy it, that I just sort of forget to don the pieces myself. But this week, I made an extra effort to pull out some of my favorite Uncovered Artistry pieces.

The bright spring colors of this neon flower necklace made for a breath of fresh springtime spirit to my otherwise (still) sweater-filled outfits.

And this purple ribbon bracelet, which I wore just about everyday this week, reminded me of the Uncovered Artistry Project and amazing women behind our jewelry every time I glanced at my watch. To me, wearing one of our pieces is like, in some small way, wearing the strength and courage of our artisans, who battled through (and survived fearlessly) domestic and sexual abuse.

That’s some pretty powerful jewelry.

Cheers!

Sarah

The Uncovered Artistry Project and boutique is a non-profit that sells the art of domestic and sexual abuse survivors. Learn more about us at our website: www.uncoveredartistry.com.

“Boldly seek love.”

-Paulo Coelho

Amalfi Coast, Italy

Adventures in Pittsburgh: Avalon Exchange

Posted on March 4, 2014 by Sarah S.

Avalon Exchange Pittsburgh, PA on miaprimacasa.com

Avalon Exchange is a very unassuming resale shop in heart of Pittsburgh’s Squirrel Hill. So unassuming that I never ventured inside until my hairdresser recommended it to me. Not only was the shop filled with racks and rack of quality used clothing and accessories, but it was also packed with people. Apparently I’ve been missing out on quite a neighborhood hot spot.

The shop had a sizable selection of menswear as well as a robust women’s selection. The shoes in particular were great quality at very reasonable prices. You won’t find a thrift shop steal here, but you might find a pair of Miu Miu heels for less than $100. Which is certainly a steal in my book!

For less than $50, I left with some of the best vintage finds I’ve had so far this year. Needless to say, this is far from my last trip to Avalon.

J.crew Rugy, $1 from Avalon Exchange in, Ambercrombie Flannel, $14 from Plato’s Closet, Dooney & Bourke leather boat shoes, $29 from Avalon Exchange, Vintage striped sweater, $13 from Avalon Exchange, and a sneak peak of my latest screenprinting project

Vintage finds from Avalon Exchange Pgh on miaprimacasa.com

Adventures in Plant-Based Nutrition

Posted on March 3, 2014 by Sarah S.

I’ve been a vegetarian (actually more of a pescetarian, really) for five months already. I originally toyed with the idea of switching to vegan and cutting out all animal products all together. But I was skeptical. Would that really improve me health? Would I have less energy? How would I be able to eat out? And what about the stigma around the word “vegan” itself?

Plus, I really, really love cheese.

And ice cream.

And more cheese.

But then I watched the documentary Forks Over Knives, which introduced me to the plant-based diet. A plant-based diet is a bit different from veganism. Besides not eating animal products (including dairy, eggs, and meat), people following a plant-based diet also limit their oil, refined sugar, and refined carb intake. And this is what appealed to me the most. I’ve always had this nagging feeling that sugar and refined carbs might be contributing to my sluggishness, worsening allergies, and poor, sensitive skin.

I’ll admit it; I’m not ready to dive cold turkey into a plant-based diet. I still love and cook with olive oil (having an Italian family and living in Florence for a bit makes the idea of cutting out olive oil earth-shattering), and I’m hesitant to give up fish.

So instead, I’m giving myself the following easy guidelines to follow:

1. No meat (duh).

2. No dairy (including cheese and milk). For my coffee, I’ve switched to agave nectar for sweetening and soy milk.

3. No refined sugar.

4. Eat whole foods (veggies, grains, you get the idea).

5. Eat processed whole foods (crackers, pita bread, and cereal) sparingly.

6. Avoid adding oil when cooking and limit oil consumption to coconut and olive oil when possible.

7. Eat fish, but sparingly and buy the highest quality possible (think: wild salmon over canned tuna).

8. Make more of my own training food: protein bars, gels, sports drinks. I have a feeling this is going to save me some money as well!

9. When I travel (to say, Amsterdam to visit my sister), I’ll try my best to eat according to the plant-based diet, but enjoy the local food to its fullest. So yes, I’m going to eat stroopwafels. Just maybe not ten of them….

10. Try new things. Cook with new veggies and beans. Continue to try new ethnic restaurants with a new perspective. Use my crock pot more often. Buy more cook books. Experiment with my own version of recipes. Fall in love with food- real, whole, and delicious food.

11. Share my adventures and recipes in plan-based nutrition with you all on MiaPrimaCasa!

What do you think about my plant-based nutrition plan? Any suggestions or recommendations?

My Plant-Based Education Reading List:

Forks Over Knives by Gene Stone, T. Colin Campbell, and Caldwell B. Esselstyn

The Idiot’s Guide to Plant-Based Nutrition by Julieanna Hever

No Meat Athlete

The Kind Life

image courtesy of spreadthelove on etsy

“Once in the midst of a seemingly endless winter, I discovered within myself an invincible spring.”

Strong Girls, Strong World

Posted on February 26, 2014 by Sarah S.

GUYS, you HAVE to check out this organization. Activyst (active + catalyst) sells functional gym bags and tees that help fund girls’ sports around the globe.