My Daily Travels

My youngest daughter dropped in on us today with two of her friends. All three ladies were starving, so we scrounged around the fridge and had a productive cleanout while catching up. Our impromptu lunch included cantaloupe, jalapeno & bacon cheese balls, cold lobster, berries, hummus, fresh... Sign in to see full entry.

As summer is rounding the corner to an end on September 22 with the fall equinox taking over, green tomatoes become short in supply. Our grocery store doesn't carry them like southern states do, so I take advantage when I have them on hand and make fried green tomatoes. Today I am making them... Sign in to see full entry.

During the summer months, my borough enjoys live concerts on Thursday evenings. Yesterday remained in limbo as to whether the passing storm clouds would target Plum Street, and they did just that. The sky opened up roughly two hours before the music would have begun and hung around just long enough... Sign in to see full entry.

We are headed to the farm to buy fresh corn on the cob, small red potatoes, and a watermelon. Our neighborhood farm on Berry Lane offers sour cherry pies, apple donuts, jams, honey, and a large variety of locally grown produce. I plan to use the corn and potatoes in my spicy southern shrimp boil. I... Sign in to see full entry.

School is back in session for 2024/2025. It is hard to believe that our granddaughter will graduate in 2028. John and I don't get to see our two grandchildren as much as we would like to due to work and school schedules, so we look forward to any time spent with them that we can find. It is a... Sign in to see full entry.

It has been eleven years since his last visit to Pittsburgh, so it's a delight to see the 40-foot tall yellow ducky floating down the Allegheny, Ohio, and Monongahela Rivers to the Point State Park in Pittsburgh once again. This time he will be here for a three-week visit.... Sign in to see full entry.

Pennsylvania's elevated mushroom growth started more than a century ago when the Quakers decided to grow mushrooms in the unused space under the elevated beds in their greenhouses. Today, Pennsylvania produces 68 percent of the nation's 946 million pounds of mushrooms with almost 400 million pounds... Sign in to see full entry.

John has lately been on an Italian kick. So, I prepared my Sunday sauce and it is now simmering away. I make a robust spaghetti sauce packed with minced garlic, diced onion, garden tomatoes, rosemary, thyme, parsley, and oregano from our collection of fresh herbs. Photo Credit: Sherri Granato Sign in to see full entry.

It's a hot and humid 88 degrees here in Pittsburgh today, so the day's flavor profile is a chilled Italian antipasto, normally served as an appetizer but with the addition of some cheesy garlic bread, I am making it our dinner. I make my antipasto with a plethora of flavorful ingredients. Genoa... Sign in to see full entry.

Not long after John and I moved to the borough of Elizabeth in 2014, I began hearing about the many haunted businesses and ghost stories about the old cemetery. So, I had one-on-one interviews with several locals and later turned their reports into an ebook. The most controversial legend was derived... Sign in to see full entry.