Author Archives: Maya

Local Honey, Now WITH Pollen

Did anyone else see the article from Food Safety News making the rounds on Facebook about how most mass produced honey doesn’t actually contain pollen?

Well, if you found that as disturbing as I did, you might be looking for a few good local sources to buy your honey from now on. Here are a few ideas, and there are loads of other farms and resources out there.

Buy local honey from Steffes Wood Apiary (Aliquippa, PA) right now at Gallery on 43rd Street in Lawrenceville. Why not stop down from December 1 through 4th when you can also enjoy the Joy of Cookies Cookie Tour? That’s right, the Art of Bees is at Gallery on 43rd Street. There is a selection of Spring, Summer and Fall Honey and if you pair that with a honey pot by Plum potter Karen McKee, you have the perfectly sustainable local gift! Open 7 days a week through December.

Support Wild Purveyors‘ new shop in Lawrenceville! Although Wild Purveyors have reached their Kickstarter goal (congrats!) to open the Pennsylvania Specialty Foods Market at 5308 Butler Street, you can still support the campaign and be rewarded in fantastic store vouchers. Or just plan to buy your honey (and more) there when they open their doors.

And there is always the great resource Burgh Bees, where if buying your honey isn’t local enough for you you can sign up for one of their apiary classes and produce your own.

Tree Pittsburgh Presents Arbor Aid 2011

Arbor Aid is an annual fundraiser for Tree Pittsburgh, an environmental non-profit organization dedicated to enhancing the City’s vitality by restoring and protecting City trees. This fundraiser has grown over the years into one of Fall’s more fun and unqiue events. Art made from salvaged wood is exhibited, food and drink is plentiful, and entertainment this year is provided by Pairdown, and the Armadillos. And the folks at Tree Pittsburgh know that to make it a true Pittsburgh celebration you need to include an epic Cookie Table … and a Hug a Tree Photo Booth. So strap on your dancing shoes and head over to Guardian Storage Solutions this Friday, October 28th at 9pm.

Lawrenceville Blossom Tour

Celebrate Spring, Celebrate Mother’s Day, Celebrate Lawrenceville! You can do all three of these things the weekend at the Lawrenceville Blossom Tour. The Blossom Tour is a celebration of Spring and Lawrenceville’s dedication to local goods & services! Sustainability starts at home, and what better way to take action than to plant your own garden? At each official Blossom Tour stop, pick up free seed packets! These seeds are responsibly grown and the selection is specially designed for our climate. If you plant all of them, you’ll have a bountiful garden that can feed an entire family!

Download a map of participating businesses here!

Yinz Luv ‘Da Buccos, I Heart Jim Shearer

Jim Shearer, the mastermind behind the web-series “Yinz Luv ‘Da Guins” and “Yinz Luv ‘Da Stillers,” is answering a question he’s been asked ever since he started his homemade, YouTube sports shows three years ago: Do yinz luv ‘da Buccos? The answer is “yes.” In his Opening Day: Yinz Luv ‘Da Buccos exhibit on display at Wildcard through the month of April, Shearer pays homage to the Pittsburgh Pirates of his youth (back when it was somewhat customary to end a season with more wins than losses) in a series of portraits of beloved players. Using the same art tools he wielded as a youngster, each image is created with colored pencils, crayons, magic markers, and watercolors. To coincide with the Pirates’ first game of the season, Opening Day: Yinz Luv ‘Da Buccos will have its opening night celebration on Friday, April 1st from 8:00pm-10:00pm. The event is free and includes complimentary drinks and refreshments, along with a Pirates trivia contest and other surprises, including Jim Shearer.

Check out some other local coverage of this event, like PittGirl Virginia Montanez’ interview with Jim Shearer or this article in the PittNews.

ps. I’ll admit that right after I moved here in 2002 my roommate and I didn’t have cable but got MTV2. So I started crushing on Jim Shearer the same time I started falling for Pittsburgh.

Eat Pancakes for Tree Pittsburgh

Image courtesy of Tree Pittsburgh

On Sunday, March 6 from 10am to 2pm at the Double Wide Grill on the South Side you get all you can eat pancakes for $10 and your donation goes directly to benefit Tree Pittsburgh – an environmental non-profit organization dedicated to enhancing the City’s vitality by restoring and protecting City trees. Why should you attend? Well, pancakes are delicious (and there is a vegan option), you get free coffee and potatoes as well, tunes from Big Snow Big Thaw, and street trees are a critical element for a livable urban environment. Are you one of those people that includes a link on your Facebook page every time Pittsburgh gets voted ‘most livable city’ (possibly including the comment ‘suck it, Portland’)? Well street trees are a huge part of reducing our City’s pollution* and there is still a long way to go in improving our air quality. Who knows? Your $10 just might end up helping to promote Pittsburgh to most livable city in the world!

For more information on Pittsburgh’s urban forest, info on street tree plantings in your neighborhood, and to learn about becoming an official tree tender to help care for Pittsburgh’s trees visit the Tree Pittsburgh’s website!

RSVP for breakfast on Facebook!

*Leaves filter the air we breathe by removing dust and other particulates. Leaves absorb carbon dioxide and other pollutants from the air such as ozone, carbon monoxide, and sulfur dioxide. In exchange, trees give off vital oxygen.