Weekend Wonders
Posted on | August 18, 2008 | 2 Comments
hard to believe that there are exciting things to do in pittsburgh. [i am allowed to say that. i lived here back when there weren't any exciting things to do.]
the hubster and i decided to trek out to the strip district on saturday for a day of fun. it was a gorgeous day. and we have always talked about going to the farmers market and just wandering around. so, we got our bags together and hopped into the car. and away we went. realizing, only after we were there, that we forgot the camera. crappers.
after about 10 minutes of driving around, we finally found a place to park and started to walk around. we decided to hit the farmers market after lunch so the food wouldn’t spoil. we found a great craft corner on 20th and Penn, walked in and out of shops, and perused different vendors tables.
and then. it happened. we found a Penzeys Spices. i never knew what heaven awaited inside. we have only used one spice, the pasta sprinkle, and it was a gift. one we had been meaning to replace for a long time…and now, we finally had our chance!
the shop was huge. and it had every possible spice, herb and flavoring you could imagine. they had small jars, big bags, and even gift boxes of the best smelling seasonings you could dream of. it was heavenly. and we were both getting hungry thinking of all the things we would be making with them.
we ended up with the pasta sprinkle [hallelujah], turkish oregano, and some fancy kind of cinnamon stick. we also got a little housewarming gift for someone very special.
we managed to stop in an oriental market. i love browsing the shelves in markets like this. so many foriegn and colorful packages that i have no idea what they are. wish i had my camera for that one. we ended up with a huge bag of jasmine rice and some fresh udon noodles. mmm.
our next stop was cafe on the strip for lunch. it’s a favorite of the hubster, and he was pretty excited that we had a coupon for a free meal. so, off we went. and boy was it good.
we were pleasantly full. so full, in fact, that i had enough for lunch on sunday! my sandwich had roasted peppers on it that were marinated in some amazingly delish sauce. and it came served on hot fresh bread. which is enough to make any sandwich inredible. seriously. best part is, it won’t break the bank. most meals are around $8-9.
finally, we were ready for the farmers market. now, i don’t know if you saw the link above. but we certainly didn’t. otherwise, we would have known it closed at 1pm. what time did we get there? 1:30pm. and they were all done packing it up. harumph. no local organic goodies for us.
we did make up for it and go to stan’s market. they do have fresh and local produce. we got some yummy looking peppers, granny smith apples, and a plump looking head of garlic.
it was pretty picked over, so i am sure we missed the good stuff. oh well! we had fun anyway. and that’s all that matters right?
we decided that we are going to hit the markets at least once a month. it was so relaxing to just walk around. it also both made us very excited to see that there was an area of pittsburgh that was so vibrant and energetic.
best part? we ended up back there for dinner with some friends. they took us to kaya where we all snacked on some amazing veggie treats. we had the three salad appetizer (hummus, eggplant, and quinoa). i had the green curried veggies and the hubster had the spicy tuna. the vegetable paella also looked amazing. i love restaurants that are veggie friendly and are cheese-free!
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August 18th, 2008 @ 6:16 pm
[...] bookmarks tagged reluctant Weekend Wonders saved by 3 others nathendricks bookmarked on 08/18/08 | [...]
October 7th, 2008 @ 12:12 am
[...] The Reluctant Vegetarian enjoyed some veggie treats [...]