FoodFash

Adventure Begins in the Kitchen

Touristing Around

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Pumpkin pie for breakfast should always happen in November.  Pumpkin pie for breakfast on an alarm-less morning on a day off of work in November  is the rightest of right things!

I snacked on pie and took my time getting ready.  It’s been a while since I’ve had a day off of work without traveling involved.  And I had no particular reason for taking the day off other than I was at a breaking point, both literally and figuratively, with my project and it seemed like the logical thing to do.

I ran some errands and then headed over the bridge to meet my mom in downtown St. Pete.  Whenever I go to the State Theatre for a show, there are a slew of stores that I make a mental note of visiting if I’m ever in the area during small store business hours.  Today was my day to do just that.

Unfortunately for me, but fortunately for my wallet, I didn’t find any fashion gems.  But since I wasn’t looking for anything in particular, I had a fine time rummaging through potential treasure and chatting it up with my mom.

Afterward we headed to Ceviche for an outdoorsy lunch.  I still maintain that Ceviche’s ceviche is top notch goodness.

Now we’re sitting across from each other at Starbucks, sipping on warmth and typing away on our respective laptops.  What a lovely day!!

Community Pie

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Cafe Hey appears on FoodFash frequently.  It’s almost exactly halfway between my house and my office.  They have the most vegan options in town. They don’t cringe when I butcher their VLT cause I don’t do T.  I love it there.

And since I compulsively refresh Facebook newsfeed throughout the day and Cafe Hey updates their status almost as often as I refresh, we have a pretty solid virtual friendship as well.  Typically, their updates include info on daily soups, grain salads, and quiche, but yesterday…  I noticed they were hosting a vegan pumpkin pie cooking class for Tampa Freeskool.  Hurrah!  I signed up.

As soon as everyone arrived, we got friendly in the kitchen.  We learned that a pumpkin is a gourd, a calabaza is a sweet Caribbean squash, and that you could use either of these in a pumpkin pie and they would taste equally, if not more, delightful than your run-of-the-mill Libby’s.

Soon after, we stood in a circle, utilitarian bowls in hand, and waited as the ingredients were portioned.  At that point, I think Anne, the owner, was concerned that we weren’t getting enough hands-on time with the ingredients.  What she didn’t know?  Measuring is my least favorite part of baking and she was doing this cook a tremendous favor!

Getting my hands dirty made me realize how I badly I want to get back into bread baking.  And watching this stand mixer do it’s thang reminded me how much I’ve neglected my own.  Me and bread are gonna happen this weekend.

We mixed and mixed and splattered and mixed until the pumpkin-ness was ready to be poured into our ginger and molasses crust.

And then we parted ways, carefully so as not to spill our pies, rushing home to bake our creations.

An hour later…  The pie turned out A+ and I have to believe that’s largely due to how much fresh ginger was both in the crust and filling.  The crust puffed up nicely, like a soft cookie, and complimented the creaminess and the spice of the filling nicely.

Thanks a million Cafe Hey and Tampa Freeskool for reeling in such good company to make delicious community pies!

Architecture In Helsinki

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With soup season comes boot season and, for some reason, the cooler weather also brings concert season.  Last year we noticed a huge influx of good shows in Tampa between October and February and this year promises to be the same way!

I curled my hair for the occasion, embracing my ratty ends.  My mom is probably going to have a heart attack when she sees a publicly posted picture of my blonde, damaged locks, but in all honesty…  I hate haircuts.  Freshly chopped veggies are yum, freshly chopped hair makes me cry.

Justin picked me up and we headed to The Bricks, our usual pre-show spot, to grab some cold beers and a bite to eat.  It was happy hour so I ordered one of J’s favorite, Brooklyn Lager, and what the waitress deemed the ‘least offensive beer on tap’, Palm Belgium Amber.

I ordered the portabelly sandwich with a side of Asian slaw for the gazillionth time.  The past two times I’ve ordered it wrap style and have been super satisfied with the modification.

And then it was Crowbar time!  Crowbar is quickly become my favorite venue for shows.  It’s small, the sound is decent, there’s no bad place to stand, bartenders are friendly, there’s a quaint porch out back, and on some nights the Vegan Beagle even sets up shop.  Oh and I live super close by so I’m on the way, which means it’s never out of the question for me to hitch a ride!

Architecture in Helsinki was one of the best live bands I’ve seen in quite some time.  It was a total 80’s dance party and it just so happens that my sweet dance moves are so appropriate for 80’s dance parties!

Brunch With A Bang

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With a pantry more bare than I could ever imagine, I still haven’t attempted to cut back on my fine, fatty dining.  Perhaps I’m prepping for the holidays?

I think it’s more likely that after a dairy downward spiral, I always need one last bang of a Sunday meal before starting fresh on a Monday.

Robbie picked Bailey’s, the perfect spot for pure glutton.  We sat outside on a glorious mid-70’s fall, Florida day and ate every last bit of every little thing on our plates.

See you tomorrow veggies!!