Lifestyles category, Page 131
How to grow parsnips
If you enjoy eating carrots and growing them in your garden, I encourage you to try your hand at cultivating parsnips, too. They’re one of my family’s favorite root crops. Parsnips (Pastinaca sativa) are in the same plant family as carrots, celery, parsley, and dill (Apiaceae). They are all biennial...
Carving out new purposes for golf courses, country clubsVideo
Mike Smetak recalls learning to play golf at Timber Ridge Golf Club in East Huntingdon, before it closed in 2016. In years prior, the site off Route 31 was known as the Mulberry Hill Golf Course. Smetak says he finds it “a little surreal” that he and his wife, Lindsay,...
Orchid Society of Western Pennsylvania show blooming
With a theme of “An Orchid Journey,” the Orchid Society of Western Pennsylvania will hold its annual orchid show March 14-15 at the Crown Plaza Hotel in Pittsburgh. “An ‘orchid journey’ is meant to describe the opportunity to experience the unbelievable variety and beauty of orchids firsthand,” says Norma Raiff,...
Best plants for bees (but not for deer)
Question: I’m looking to add some more bee-friendly perennial plants to my flower garden this summer. Can you make some recommendations? It would be a bonus if the deer don’t eat them, but I know that’s a tough request! Answer: Kudos to you for wanting to provide more nectar-foraging plants...
Grafting tomatoes is well worth the effort
When Rich Gebrosky noticed grafted tomato plants in a seed catalog, it piqued his interest. “But they were so expensive,” he says, “I decided to look into it and see if I could make my own grafted plants.” Grafting tomatoes starts with two sets of plants. There’s the rootstock, which...
Pittsburgh Botanic Garden offers insight on healing gardens
The Pittsburgh Botanic Garden’s spring lecture and workshop is “Healing Gardens: At the Intersection of Nature and Health” on March 25 and 26. The lecture and workshop will be held at the Pittsburgh Botanic Garden’s Bayer Welcome Center, 799 Pinkerton Run Road, North Fayette. The lecture will be held 6:30...
Learn the ABCs of whole grains
We all know by now that whole grains are good for us and that we should be eating more of them. Anyone who has dipped a toe (or spoon) into the world of farro, brown rice and quinoa also knows how satisfying and versatile the arena of whole grains can...
Mullaney’s Harp & Fiddle named top Irish pub in Pa.
It’s always great when a beloved Pittsburgh spot gets some national love. Although it’s hard to not to react with a “Yeah, we knew that!” Well, Pittsburghers might know about Mullaney’s Harp & Fiddle in the Strip District, but the editors of a pair websites are taking the news to...
Save money and buy this produce while in season
March marks the beginning of the end of winter. March is also an interesting month for produce, as many winter fruits and veggies fall out of favor and we see the start of sweet fruits we associate with summer (hello, pineapple!). Come April, you’ll be planting your own seedlings and...
Hate leftovers? 10 tips to make yesterday’s meals more exciting today
Not thinking ahead about leftovers is one of the biggest mistakes that home cooks make. The best cooks I know are thinking about the meals they’ll make with leftovers while they are making the initial meal itself. That might look like making extra protein or vegetables knowing that the following...
Guinness opens its ‘gate’ for St. Patrick’s Day
Craft beer drinkers from the region and beyond will lift a Guinness Stout (or two) in honor of St. Patrick’s Day. Two hundred years after the first Guinness beer from Dublin arrived in America, Guinness has built a brewery in the Baltimore area to focus on innovation. It allows the...
Phipps’ Center for Sustainable Landscapes earns new top-level designation for green buildingVideo
The Center for Sustainable Landscapes on the campus of Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens in Oakland is one of a kind. It is the first facility in the world to meet four of the world’s highest green construction standards — The Living Building Challenge, WELL Building Platinum, SITES Platinum and...
Notre Dame Club shares tale of El Camino pilgrimage
The Notre Dame Club of Greensburg/Uniontown will host “A Pilgrimage on the El Camino” with Bill and Stephanie Kennedy on March 31 at the Westmoreland Museum of American Art, 221 N. Main St., Greensburg. The 7 p.m. program is free and open to the public. The Mother of Sorrows Parish,...
Wigle Distillery marks opening of new space with ‘Grand’ tastings
Wigle Whiskey Distillery plans two upcoming tasting events to celebrate “The Grand Opening” of its new distillery restaurant and expanded tasting room. Two seatings will be offered on March 13 — at 6 and 7:30 p.m. The new space doubles the Strip District distillery’s size at 2401 Smallman St., Pittsburgh....
Bold decor, and you still get the security deposit back
Noelle Daumeyer and her roommates knew they needed a big, bold art piece to decorate the bland, white walls in the living room of their rented apartment, but they also worried about damaging the paint. They solved the problem by painting their own version of Henri Matisse’s “Dance” and using...
Out & About: Leadership Karaoke brings out hidden musical talentVideo
Participants in Westmoreland Diversity Coalition’s Leadership Karaoke say that the organizations’ co-chair Carlotta Paige has a particular talent for getting people to sing at the event. It’s called arm-twisting. Everyone who performed at the second annual event, held March 7 at Ferrante’s Lakeview in Hempfield, was happy to have their...
Out & About: Guests relive prom night at Blind Association event
Prom is an occasion for high schoolers to make memories that last a lifetime. On March 6, the Westmoreland County Blind Association provided an opportunity for reliving those memories and making some new ones with its A Night to Remember … Adult Prom. Held at Rizzo’s Banquet Hall in Crabtree,...
Out & About: Roaring 20s dance benefits Westmoreland food bank
Did you know that the male equivalent of the Roaring 20s flapper was called a sheik? Well, now you do. A century later, some 2020 sheiks and flappers drove their flivvers to Ferrante’s Lakeview in Hempfield on March 7 for a Roaring 20s Retro Dinner/Dance to benefit the Westmoreland County...
Out & About: Parks and rec comedy night is a tonic for 300 guests
They say laughter is the best medicine. The Mayo Clinic confirms it, noting on its website that laughter benefits internal organs by upping oxygen intake, lessens tension and stress, relieves pain and boosts the immune system. That being the case, about 300 people left the Youngwood Fire Hall on March...
Spring is just around the corner and so are custard treats
Mark your calendars and tell your sweet tooth. Independent ice cream and custard stands sprinkled around the Alle-Kiski Valley are prepping for their upcoming sweet season — with opening dates set. “The first sunny day in winter I have people asking us to open,” says Ice Cream Pump owner Cindy...
Remember When: March 9
100 years ago Depleted GAR post to disband The Grand Army of the Republic, Post 495 of Natrona will disband after 28 years. General Thomas Rowley said “41 members have been called by death” and suspensions, disabilities and transfers have depleted the post to 10 members. 75 years ago New...
Why you shouldn’t order ‘chai tea’
Tea lovers, listen up. I’m about to save you from an easy error we’ve all made before. Here it is: Chai means tea. Yes, that means if you’ve ever gone to a coffee or teahouse and ordered a “chai tea,” you basically ordered a “tea tea.” While it is common...
Poach boneless chicken breasts for flavor, tenderness
This time of year, boneless, skinless chicken breasts are my go-to protein. You can add them to a grain bowl, a green salad or Caesar, or shred them to make chicken salad, soup, casseroles, one-pot meals, etc. But so often they are dried out and tasteless. You know what I...
Spring forward and sip these refreshingly seasonal cocktails
Daylight savings time may rob us of an hour this weekend, but it brings those longer days we’ve missed all winter. Before you tackle spring cleaning or other seasonal chores, enjoy a colorful, garden-inspired cocktail or two from Fine Wine and Good Spirits. Sparkling Grapefruit & Rose 2 ounces Ketel...
Travel tip: Tour Northwestern Pennsylvania maple sugarhouses
One sure sign that spring is coming is when the maple sap starts flowing, and farmers tap their trees to begin the syrup-making process. The Northwest Pennsylvania Maple Syrup Producers Association has scheduled its 16th annual Maple Taste & Tour Weekend for March 14-15, including free tours of working regional...
