Make no mistake

It's fall and it's beautiful. While today is suitably cold, grey skied and rainy, the weather has been majestic, the colours splendid, and Pittsburgh generally delightful. Makes waiting for the bus a little less tedious for sure.

Like Kerri Russell (without the tips)

 Well, it's a funny thing being in America, there are some things that feel very different here. Mos Def sounds different, Gillian Welch sounds different, Fall feels decidedly different to Autumn, and pie, it tastes different too. It seems to belong to this landscape. When asked to provide dessert for a recent dinner with Henry's school mates it seemed like the logical route. Amazingly easy and crazily decadent, while whipping it up I thought a lot about diners, and holiday traditions, and Kerri Russell in Waitress only I am certainly happily married, all the more so after basking in my husband's praise for this tofu pie (Victory!)

The recipe comes from a Melbourne blogger who adapted it from this great lady. And as they have both published versions of the recipe I will lead you to them if you choose embark on this pie train. PS. That pic is actually my pie!

Convening

I spent the first half a week (just gone) at the David Lawrence Convention Centre, located on the banks of the might Allegheny River in down town Pittsburgh. The occasion was the AASHE 2011 conference, which is the Association for the advancement of sustainability in higher education. It motivated the attendance of over 2000 delegates, comprised of students, staff and faculty from institutions across America - ivy league schools and small state colleges were represented and it was indeed a gathering of inspirational folks, though in truth it left me a lot dispirited. I lent my stellar timekeeping and transcribing ability to various sessions in return for attendance at additional papers and the key note addresses. It was a strange affair, and truly I left the first two days feeling like an interloper.. Alas only on the final day attendees eased into conversation and I found myself happily engaged in chatter with Sustainability Officers from Vermont, and Texas, with researchers from Ireland, and students from Eastern Pennsylvania and Portland. We talked about the world, career progression, parenting, poetry (after an amazing performance by the incredible Sandra Steingraber) and alas the awfulness of coal seam gas mining that is destroying the shale under Pennsylvania. And already it seems like long ago, though I am sure many went home inspired by the work and enthusiasm of their peers. In just over a week I fly to Anaheim California for the American Evaluation Association annual gathering... more there from the environmental evaluators interest group..