Thursday evening. Steve’s first Guest blog.
Steve photographed Franco Harris* at the Little Italy Days Bocce tournament in the neighborhood of Bloomfield. * (Former Steeler. Known for the “immaculate Reception “ play and a member of four Steelers Super Bowl Championship teams) Mr. Harris threw out the first ball of the Bocce tournament.
In 2017 Steve photographed me with Mr.Harris at the same event.
To see the famous play of The Immaculate Reception click here
Although I don’t think of myself as a “doughnut person”, this doughnut has to be the most delicious one I’ve eaten in my adult life.
A friend brought it over for me. Right now they are take-out only. Made in Bloomfield at Bitter Ends Garden Luncheonette on Liberty Avenue. “Find our doughnuts with THYME MACHINE Wed-Fri 8am-NOON out front of our shop!”
Yeasty, fresh and delicious.
October 11th, fellow blogger and friend, Audrey Kletscher Helbling, posted the news that her poem, “Funeral During a Pandemic” had been published in an award winning book- This Was 2020—Minnesotans Write About Pandemics and Social Justice in a Historic Year.
The collection was compiled by Paul Lai, a Ramsey County Librarian in Minnesota. If you click the link at “posted the news” above so you can see a photo of the beginning of her poignant poem.
There are 54 pieces of prose and poetry in the volume. I called the reference librarian at their library and was able to get the
ISBN# 9781087967622
I discovered the book could be ordered from your independent bookstore. So I did!
Here is a nearby independent bookstore, White Whale Bookstore (“a home for book lovers”) in Bloomfield neighborhood of Pittsburgh PA, just a few miles from my home. Today I went to pick up the book. I’m looking forward to reading it. 
Hope you have an independent bookstore near you.
Steve brought home a container of vegetable soup from Maria Merante’s which a block from his work. To turn it into a main course, I added a can of white cannellini beans, drained.
Added salt to boiling water and cooked a cup of penne pasta.
I placed the cooked pasta in the bowl first, poured the hot soup over and then added some Parmesan cheese.
It was fragrant and hearty on a chilly winter evening. Merante’s : celebrating all things Italian since 1983
One of my favorite evenings and images.
Originally posted 7-14-2011.
The Bocce Court underneath the Bloomfield Bridge.
From the archives.
We were sad when a local neighborhood business on Cedarville Street, Groceria Italiana, closed their doors last summer..
But here’s the good news!
It has recently reopened as Bloomfield Groceria. It’s really close to Steve’s work so he picked up this wonderful ravioli and brought it home.
We are thrilled they are in business under new proprietors.
Especially after tonight’s dinner of their delicious Spinach and Cheese Ravioli. I sautéed baby spinach- you can see it peeking out underneath.
And I grated some fresh Parmigiano-Reggiano on top. I asked Steve if he could to pick up mushroom ravioli for dinner next week.
Here’s an Pittsburgh Post-Gazette article written by Bob Batz, Jr., about the new Bloomfield Groceria
Silent Sunday
A gallery from Thursday evening’s Halloween Parade in the Bloomfield neighborhood, Pittsburgh PA. One officer said they expected a crowd of ten thousand lining the parade route down Liberty Avenue. It was chilly. The little ones dressed up in costumes, so cute, thrilled to catch candy and treats thrown from the convertibles and others walking. I saw lots of unicorns! All sizes.
