hello beauties!

welcome to my open journal

My name is Audra & I am your creator of Foodista From Scratch

  Here you will find my passion for food, photography, & words

Born and raised in black & gold country, I will forever praise my love for the Steelers, Double Egg & Cheese Primanti Sandwiches, and the countless bridges that tie this beautiful steel metropolis together. I graduated this past December from a fairly small university in Pittsburgh, majoring in Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC) and Journalism.

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I believe [Foodista from Scratch] is a suitable title for what I may be referred to as.
 After all, I have no shame in admitting my total lack of professional experience in the kitchen :)

Aside from my own "creations" ...

The blooming food industry in Pittsburgh has allot the opportunity to explore trending restaurants, as well as favored historical sweet spots that have made a name for themselves far beyond our three rivers boarder. Over the past four years I've grown madly passionate about finding these unique treasures and sharing them with everyone that I love. And now, all of you as well.

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Aside from food, photography has always had a special place in my heart. 
 Whether it be spending endless hours admiring beautiful imagery created by others,
or attempting to create something special of my own, I am all about it.

 I am already thankful that this experience will encourage me to pull out my baby, which almost all of my pictures will be taken on, a lot more often. I am more than excited to share what I capture with you.
[for those wondering, I'll be shooting with a Nikon d3200]

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While this blog is more or less a work-in-progress, 
I hope that you find it something worthy of following. 

 PLEASE feel free to leave suggestions & recommendations that I can learn from :)

happy reading, my friends 

BLUEBERRY-BANANA MINI LOAVES (old post from 2012)

So I've been looking for an excuse, ANY excuse, to dig my new kitchen utensils into some seriously scrumptious cookie dough. Or maybe cake batter... homemade pancake mix... the ooey gooey raspberry filling to some darn good jam cookies. Pretty much, ANYTHING. (I told you I was desperate.)

With that, I present to you ....

 BLUEBERRY-BANANA MINI LOAVES 

Simply because I wished to bake something that would showcase the sweet plump blueberries that were held hostage in my fridge.
And banana bread, even in its simplest form, has always been a favorite of mine ... (and everyone else who loves not only the moist consistency of it, but the sweet buttery smell it radiates throughout the whole house!)

I grew up living off homemade banana bread from none other than one of the best women I knew, my lovely Nana. Between her, and my other grandmother (who we call Situ - Syrian dialect,) I had been a very lucky girl, spoiled to death when it comes to food.

Unfortunately, my Nana's banana bread recipe has been missing for quite some time, leaving me to hopefully discover one that would at least half live up to her established standards.

After sifting through recipes from several of my favorite fellow foodistas, I turned to Google for this challenge. Within just one search I uncovered a recipe that sounded just about right.

Intrigued by the blueberry-banana loaf recipe posted by Lauren, of the Lawfully Wedding Wife blog, I crossed my fingers and began the journey.

And to say the least, I was very pleased with the final result,
& that oh-so-familiar heavenly aroma, yeah, that made its first appearance in my kitchen.
I think Nana would be proud (:


SOME ALTERATIONS*

• whole fat sour cream, instead of low-fat 
• 1.4 c. all purpose flour & 1/2 c. whole wheat flour 
• Slivered almonds & sprinkled organic sugar on top