Easy Chinesey

Posted on by jeffreylatty

VeggHead BeerCyclist   03.05

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Tags: sobriety,mlb,chicago,cubs,writing,smoking,addiction,amc,movie,food,dessert,recipe,cycling,music,beer,craft,story,winter,vegan,vegetarian,netflix,apple,apps,social,media,tv,pics
Title: Easy Chinesy 
Daily Ride: Probable, cold but sunny

I’m not going to go over a specific Chinese recipe. I just want to share a few essentials which create my make-shift Chinese food. Military time is always an easy way to depict the time. Good thing it’s not Japanese food I’ll be going over otherwise I’d have to get nuclear with a joke or two. I also have a Root Beer Floater concoction that was very good on Super Bowl Sunday.
My last beer was at 2100 on Tuesday March 3rd and today, March 5th, my first beer was at I’m gonna guess noon on Thursday. Nothing like a little mid week sobriety to boost your next binge. IVCA (Illinois Valley Cycling Association) usually does a night canal ride every Wednesday on the I&M Canal with drinks afterwards. It’s usually around 40 km. I did not participate for a few reasons. The last time I was down there on the towpath there were sections of pure ice that even on four inch FatBike tires is like a tightrope balancing act without a safety net on a 35 pound bike. I’m ready for spring and have ridden my lower end FatBike 450 miles this winter according to Strava. My last ride was five days ago and I’m going through withdrawals. A bit of a cycling hiatus due to weather, cold and lack of motivation, unfortunately. Addictions can be healthy and not so healthy. Cycling is healthy. No comment on the booze. If ya can’t make it to work because of booze abuse, you have a problem. As of this year, I’ve been cigarette free for five straight years. I am super proud of this and try to influence others to quit as much as possible. 

It took me a good eight years to actually complete the process, but it worked. I unintentionally started to quit in high school. First of all, I started smoking at age 12 with friends and continued until the college years. I used to smoke a few cigarettes before school. My sophomore year of high school I had algebra II first thing. I was always good with mathematics and my teacher was in his mid twenties and decided to call me out in front of the class and asked me if I smoked an entire pack of cigs before school. I got nervous and replied, “No, it was two”. But it got me thinking. I probably smell horrible in the morning after a cigarette clam-baking session before school. Chicks don’t usually like smelly dudes, so I quit smoking before school. I still smoked at lunch and basically established a personal code of no smokes before noon. And no cigarettes in the morning helps weaken the addiction and urge for the “fix”. When I was 20, I tried quitting and couldn’t quit while partying and drinking. I then quit smoking unless I was drinking. I soon after started day drinking to have a couple of cigarettes during the day. It makes me laugh, but it’s true. I didn’t know it at the time. I still love some good day drinking. Is there ever some bad day drinking. Just without the nastiness filthy impolite cigarette habit. In 2010, my girlfriend at the time and I quit. She failed and I haven’t smoked since. The difference being that I actually had the will and she did not. 
HOW TO QUIT SMOKING:
1.) Obtain a strong will. Whether it be for health or for others, you’ll need it.
2.) Quit smoking in the morning. If you can quit cold turkey, do it.
3.) Cut down and give yourself days completely without.
4.) Pick a day like January 2nd and QUIT. 

It took my two days to finish the movie K-PAX on Netflix, but I discovered Aaron Paul was in the very last scene. 

I saw an AROD AB yesterday. It was a good AB and he drew a walk. Not sure how I feel about AROD, but he needs to retire. I did want him to hit a homer or strike out. I cannot wait for baseball to start. The Chicago Cubs dynasty has begun. WATCH OUT! 

I do not know if a Chicago Cubs addiction is good or bad for people. There is still hope and has been forgettable hope for many upon many of decades. There is always next year, but there isn’t always next century. Planets are aligning and things are looking good on both sides of Chicago’s baseball plate. 
Easy Chinesy 
Essential Chineses Ingredients:
-Fresh Ginger
-Rice Wine Vinegar
-Sesame Seed Oil
-Balsamic Vinegar
-Ramen Noodles
-Soy Sauce
(For years I’ve only bought Ramen just for the noodles. Most of them have meat traces in the seasoning packs.)

Additional ingredients:
-Garlic, diced
-Onion, diced 
-Mushroom, quartered or halved
-Cayenne 
-Various other Veggies
-Use your imagination and do it right, not over cooking all of the veggies

This was the batch I made for Christmas. Everyone loved it. Fra ra ra ra ra, ra ra ra ra. 

Root beer Floater, named after On-One Floater FatBike Tires:




Ingredients:
-Badass beer mug or chalice
-Dad’s Root Beer is cheap and good 
-Quality Vanilla Fro Yo or Ice Cream
-Almond pieces
-Whipped cream
-Maraschino Cherries, seeds and stems
-Good Vanilla extract, the stuff I used was 10% alcohol
Stairs:
-You do not want to use the vanilla to obtain a buzz. If that’s the case, add whisky or rum and run.
-Add a splash of Vanilla Extract to awesome mug or chalice 
-Put desired amount of Vanilla Fro Yo or Ice Cream. Leave room for the root beer!
-Add Root Beer almost to the top 
-Throw a little cream on top
-Stab the cream with a few Almond pieces and pop that Cherry with a maraschino cherry
-Take a pic and you might need a spoon or fork if you’re that talented
I’ve been monitoring my storage memory for my iPhone closely since my MacBook is still out-of-order, but by deleting and re installing my Facebook and Twitter app, I cleared almost a whole gigabyte. Taking up that much memory boggled my mind. And I feel like that might have to be a every-so-often procedure. 
Incorrect vegetarian labeling:

Worcestershire Sauce usually contains Anchovy.

Also, took me a few days, but I watched LEGIT season one on Netflix for the second time.
“billy rolled away”
It’s a darker comedy with heartfelt situations. Check it out!

Season two is on YouTube for free. I haven’t finished it yet. I had a playlist that I copied and was awaiting pastement, but I discovered it required payment. Bummer. 

YouTube is and always has been a great free way to do various things. It’s there for educational purposes, entertainment visually and audio and broadcasting. I’ve watched movies, even. And with the correct technology, it’s available for your big screen. It allows R rated language, but unfortunately not porn. Yet. Apple TV, roku and good wifi are my tools for watching YouTube and other things more comfortably. 

Masters of the Universe on tubitv app on my roku was an interesting film. Paste some whiteout over that on the bucket list.
I remember watching the cartoon in the 80’s, but I’ve never seen this movie that I know of. Within the first five minutes, it seemed like a rip off and heavily influenced by various popular 80’s movies. The opening credits and theme reminded me of the Superman sagas. And then Skeletor’s men look awfully like stormtroopers except they are completely black. And Skeletor’s confines reminded me of an early Indiana Jones’ temple. To make things worse the voice track isn’t synced 100%, not even 85%, with their lips. Gwildor gives me a combination of Yoda from Star Wars meets the luck dragon, Falkor, somehow from The NeverEnding Story. A nice sense of memories of movies I grew up with. And then there’s super young Courtney Cox. The sitcom Friends was entertaining and funny when I was ten years old. A couple of months ago, I attempted to watch the Friends pilot episode on Netflix, but only made it five minutes through. And then there’s a school stage with instruments on it where Courtney Cox is attacked and there’s a Back To The Future reference, to me anyways. Dolph Lundgren is He-Man. And when he swords Skeletor into a shaft, reminds me of something just can’t think of it. Is it Die Hard? 

Snowy cycling visibility is still something I cannot defeat. I have not tried actual skiing/snowboarding goggles yet. I will next year. I did try chemistry goggles and they only lasted for 15 minutes. 

A band, Pianos Become The Teeth, has a newer album that is very listenable to all listeners in KEEP YOU. Check it out!

Bologna Rigatoni

Posted on by jeffreylatty

VeggHead BeerCyclist 3.03

Bologna Rigatoni
It Saul Goodman
Yesterday was a partial total failure. My plan was to ride a bike outside and make my pasta. I did not do either. I was a little tired and hungry after work. And a majority of my winter cycling clothes were left in the wash for over 24 hours. I washed the load again and later hung them out to die. Do Not Dry your cycling clothes unless you’re drunk. 

I did drown myself in Lagunitas’ Sucks whole quart UnaBomber. I did not die. It is always a euphorically delightful DIPA. My liver died a little. Also, one quart is 32 ounces. All of those ounces equate to only ¼ of my recommended daily percentage of alcohol, but what can ya do. Lagunitas opened a brewery in Chicago that I cannot wait to visit and terrorize calmly. Try it if ya can.
One thing that has always pissed me off and strangely boggles my mind and my heart. What is with these Japanese Beatles or lady bugs. I love how my phone corrects both “japanese” and “beatles” as it should be because of the threat level significance. They just keep appearing. And flying drunk? I do occasionally leave empty beers in my sleeping quarters and sometimes trap these thugs in Kleenex and put them into an empty bottle. I think they’re that sneaky and annoying that they escape and continue their mission of pissing me off. Last night I caught three and put into an empty water bottle basically as an experiment. Do they need oxygen? What do they eat? Will one eat the other two? Will they die? Will they escape? 
And they all seemed very much alive inside the water bottle this morning. I threw them away and didn’t give them the chance of a respectable recyclables burial. Like the annoying buggers they are, they will be smashed at least once with the garbage and invaders that they are. 
I watched Big Top Pee-Wee on Netflix. I have this obsession with going into my IMDb app to check out a bit of info on there while I miss part of whatever I’m watching because I’m not a multitasker. It ranks that movie less than 5/10. It was corny, funny and overall a 6 in my opinion. Yeah, ok. Tim Burton directed Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure in his debut directing gig and it was definitely better than Big Top Pee-Wee, but Big Top is definitely watchable. It has Benicio Del Toro and Screech in it to name two actors. I am sleeping with Netflix. 
A few interesting Vegan or Vegetarian people I came across inline online:
Gandhi 
Hitler
Forest Whitaker 
Paul McCartney
Herschel Walker
Tom morello
Christina applegate
Elizabeth Berkley
Kevin Nealon
Sarah Silverman
Eddie Vedder
Rob Zombie

It is supposed to be icy today. Ice and bicycles don’t usually mix. Even FatBike tires show a weakness to ice. If I go for a ride it will be solo and it’ll be earlier than later. I guess I never ever ride alone because if zero humans ride with me I jam those earbuds close to my brain. It’s not the safest thing to do, but it always sounds better than wind. I do toggle the volume and sometimes pause the wind. Traffic is danger. And danger is bad only when you’re on a bicycle. 

Perhaps a beer r(un)ide 

Cold wetness is not good. Snow is much tolerable. No go on a ride. I put my Garmin Edge 1000 and NightRider Lumina 700 on their USB and left them charging on my little charging hub. After changing a few settings on the Garmin, its battery life is outstanding. I do not use the three sensors that it came with and turned off the Bluetooth. With all of these things going if was if my Garmin had a battery life of ten hours. It did never die on me, but I did shut her down after I completed my century ride. I didn’t record some km, but nothing was missing from my data. 
I made some killer food today. And ate it to my lonesome while watching the latest episode of Better Call Saul, an outstanding prequel to Breaking Bad. And it’s shaping up to be better than breaking bad. CHECK IT OUT
I did get a few ingredients from my grandmother before her trip and I was told the plastic film had cauliflower, but it was actually cabbage. Which I’ll try and save for St. Paddy’s day at Paddy’s Pub. Did you know that it is always sunny in Philadelphia? No cauliflower, but the Brussels sprouts were the main ingredient anyways. 
I made an experimental Baked Potato and a pasta that I named Bologna Rigatoni. They were a bit time consuming, but I impressed myself. 

Experimental Baked Potatoes
Baked Sprouty Spuds ingredients:
-Potatoes, stabbed with fork
-Brussels Sprouts, roasted
-SeaSalt/Pepper/Cayenne/Onion p/Garlic p
-Avocado Cream
-Corn, roasted
-Cheese, grated
-Garlic, sliced and lightly roasted
-Fresh Dill for garnish 
Avocado Cream:
-Sour Cream
-Avocado
-SeaSalt/Pepper/Cayenne/Garlic p/Onion p
>Mix
Steps:
-Make Avocado Cream and refrigerate
-Bake Potatoes at 375 for 75 minutes
-You do not want to over cook the potatoes
-If everything is prepared, it is a waiting game and good beer drinking time
-When potatoes are baked enough, give them some Visine before taking them out where everyone can see them
-Cut them In half longways leaving the skin to keep both halves attached. 
– I them placed on parchment paper, potatoes open and broiled cooking while adding color at the same time, remove when done
-Add cheese generously and broil again, melting the cheese nicely, yet meanly
-Now just top
-I put Avocado Cream, Roasted Corn, Garlic, Brussels Sprouts, more cheese and garnish with dill. ENJOY with AMC’s finest programming.
This Will Destroy You
God Is An Astronaut 
Explosions In The Sky

Bologna Rigatoni ingredients:
-Non rinsed cooled Rigatoni
-Brussels Sprouts, prepped for surgery and then halved longways
-Garlic, diced and roasted sliced
-Onion, big chunks
-Corn, roasted and lightly season
-Butter, REAL
-Dill, fresh chopped and a garnishment
-Potato, sliced 
-SeaSalt/Pepper/Garlic p/Onion p/Cayenne
-Cheese, grated
-Carrot and Celery, diced superbly 
-Oil and Rice Wine Vinegar
-Thickening Agent

Organization and preparations:
-I first prepared the Rigatoni noodles. I boiled them stirring constantly like eight minutes maybe nine. I decided to not rinse the noodles which changes the noodles compared to rinsed noodles. I do not know the correct term, but it leaves the starch. I under cooked them a little under al dente because they need to cool and until the cooling process is finished they still cook. I put them in the freezer away from anything else for 3-4 minutes before putting them into the refrigerator until I needed them again. They turned out very well. As I confidently expected.
-Cut everything and discard the shit
-Toss potatoes, Onion and Brussels Spouts with vinegar, oil, salt and pepper
-Put on parchment paper and bake 35 ish minutes at 350*
-I removed onions when I flipped potatoes and then turned oven to 425*
-Combine Butter with Dill, SeaSalt, Pepper, Garlic p and Cayenne and simmer barely 
-Add butter to lightly caramelized diced Garlic, Celery and Carrots
-Throw in some Dill and Dill ‘Em All
-When butter is melted and your veggies are close to be or are done add enough flour or corn starch to thicken 
-Add Rigatoni and get warm while seasoning
-You can do whatever ya want. I topped the pasta with cheese or throw it in with all of your roasted goodness 
-Live a little, enjoy! 
I read on Twitter that the drinking age will change back to 18 this summer. Is this true or one of those hoaxes?
I just realized it should be BEETLES. Good day. 

DIPA 

Posted on by jeffreylatty

VeggHead BeerCyclist 3.02

DIPA
I have had the best (DIPA) Imperial India Pale Ale ever. 102 IBU 
AVERY BREWING CO
The Maharaja 

If I were rich, I would pre bathe and post bathe in this DIPA with nothing but smiles in a long, long swimming session in a Olympic sized pool of The Maharaja until, of course, I would drink it all.

My grandma left town with two of my aunts and I volunteered last night to check on her new cat, Mel. Before I cracked (The Skye) open a Big Sky Brewing Co. Camp Robber, a seasonal coffee porter, I could not find my awesome bottle opener. Enjoying good beers helps me to write ridiculous sentences. So, the bottle opener is essential. It’s a decently good beer. It has a nice balance of coffee and porterness. Meeting Mel for the first time, he was shy at first and seemed like an active cat, but the first thing I noticed was his fur. I’ve seen plenty of calico cats as I do attend cat watching with my two friends every Sunday after church with big hats, sunscreen noses and binoculars. Occasionally we see cats attacking and eating birds. We call those episodes, “Jeff’s made-up story out of his ass”. I don’t have any friends.
This cat is mostly white with enormous patches of like grey and black striped cat and red/orange with tan spots cat. Next time, I’ll snap a pic. I was too busy enjoying an Arcadia Ales Hop Rocket and getting the cat water and food. Very hopolicious beer by the way. 

WordPress likes to erase pics I’ve uploaded. Or am I that idiot who screws up his pic uploads and uploads his post and then because his MacBook is dead and his iPhone space is limited he deletes “finished” pics. 
Crack The Skye is a 2009 Mastodon album. I already consider it a classic.

I very much dislike Walmart. I rarely step foot into that voyage of annoyance. My reasoning for abusing myself through a visit was that I needed parchment paper and these cheap energy shots, B12 made by Stacker 2, that I’ve seen there once and always an empty fucking shelf since. They are less than a dollar and better than 5-Hour Energy.
Customers at Walmart seem to be out to get me. Or maybe it’s Walmart. Probably the combination that perseveres toward driving me towards suicide. Why are aisles congregated talk zones, mostly end-aisles taking up two paths? Why do you have to defensively block an entire aisle while slowly determining if you need to further down the aisle? Why isn’t there painted center lines for the lawlessness of cart traffic? 
Usually when I go to Walmart, I always try and disguise myself with shades on and antisocial myself with my earbuds and tunes. I walk fast and I do not excuse myself. 
I should have worn my heart rate monitor to document my Walmart suffer score. 

I took the day off from cycling. My legs are sore from the 35 km ride and the FatBike ride I took over the weekend. I hope to ride after work today. 
Also at Walmart, I picked up some cheese, rigatoni, jumbo russet potatoes and garlic powder. I plan on making a unique pasta today after work. It involves Brussels sprouts. 
A newly discovered liked food in my palate arsenal. I only like them when I make them. This was the dish I made on thanksgiving that was ontrial with my jury of tastebuds.




Cauliflower is also in that category. And I plan to include cauliflower in the pasta. Let’s hope I have time and motivation for both a ride and a little cheffing. 

Try either one of the DIPAs that I mentioned and go for a bike ride.

History of Me

Posted on by jeffreylatty

VeggHead BeerCyclist 2.28

History of Me

My name is Jeffrey. I turn 30 next month (March starts tomorrow). Life has been a turbulent roller coaster of a ride for me thus far. I wish I would’ve gotten a FatBike much earlier. I’m not going into my life story. I would like to go over my cooking, cycling and beer history. 

I just went for a 35 km ride out of town, around town and then back in where I stopped at the liquor store for a few beers. I bought seven beers and a bottled water because my water froze again. I need to start holding a bottle in my pack when I bring my pack with me in the winter. There is a rumor that a little whisky in your water keeps it from freezing. I disagree. I’m all for it as it does add life to your water before it dies a frozen temporary death and I love (good) whisky. Canadian Club is forever the cheapest best whiskey out there. Today’s ride was super sunny, not too windy and not too bad traffic-wise. 

Here is my ride:
Another thing I’ve been working on is becoming more familiar with the metric system. Celsius makes much more sense and so does the measurements. I love the USA, but we’re kind of dumb and just want to be different. Zero degrees Celsius is freezing. Simple. 35 kilometers is 35,000 meters. Simple. One mile is 5280 feet and 63,360 inches according to Google. Now, tell me how many feet and inches are in 1.5 miles without Google. Good luck. Did someone mention ketchup. Probably. 

A few months ago, I switched my Garmin to metric.  
The Fire In Our Throats Will Beckon The Thaw
Spring is approaching and that is a great album from the band Pelican. They are instrumental (until their new album?) post-rock post-metal. Good music!

I learned how to sauté from Pizza Hut. That was my first job and I worked for them for a total of 14 years. I did leave for school, but returned. In 2007 ish, the regular falling apart Pizza Hut built a new building and converted into an Italian Bistro Pizza Hut. It was really cool and actually gourmet until they started cutting costs and ingredients. I did not maintain that understanding of sautéing much. I do not remember much of the style. The ingredients were great! That is where I was first introduced to a chef hat and chef coat. White is an awful idea unless you get like five. The Pizza Hut Italian Bistro also had gourmet pizzas and sandwiches. They quickly began believing in the opposite of what I believe in, QUALITY OVER QUANTITY. 

I started at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale in January of 2009. A friend hooked  me up with a cooking gig at a hole-in-the-wall Italian pizza place called DiMaggio’s. There are actually quite a few in Southern Illinois and one or two in Indiana. I believe all are connected and actually within the same family. My boss, Sebastian, was born in Sicily and lived in France before crossing the pond. He is an awesome guy and knows how to chef it up! They actually made a transformation into a more legitimate sit-down restaurant in 2011. Before that, Sebastian kept it simple. From scratch pizza, pizza by the slice, pasta, sandwiches, salads, etc. we did grind our own cheese, but didn’t make much other than pizza from scratch. 

DiMaggio’s moved into an old Godfather’s building in early 2011. I was working as a seafood clerk and helping moving and prepare the building for three months before DiMaggio’s was ready to open. I learned a lot during my time as a seafood clerk. DiMaggio’s offered me a pizza kitchen management position with very good pay. I accepted and quit the grocery store job and dropped out of school. The way the entire kitchen was set up was the pizza kitchen was in front close to the dining room and the line kitchen behind it more in the BOH and hidden. I soon took over the entire kitchen and worked 60 hours a week, making schedules and prep lists, food orders, and dish creations. This is where I first learned to cook. It was my most favorite job. 




I then grew cocky and homesick after most of my friends graduated and moved on. I took a job back home in charge of a kitchen of a restaurant that I’ve always enjoyed. It was also Italian and taught me more of a northern Italian style. Unfortunately, it became a horrible job and I had to quit. From there I went back to Pizza Hut. Recreational cooking has not stopped. 




As for my love for Cycling, I’ll need to mention college and Carbondale. Carbondale, IL is a great cycling town. I bought a cheap “mountain” Schwinn bike mostly to participate in Tour de Carbondale. 




The Tour de Carbondale was just a drunkiness bike ride with 4-6 stops with a different theme of booze each stop. And my house was the first stop! Margaritas at 11:00 am are the way to start off a drink fest. 
We had a beer stop, a jungle juice stop, a wine stop and then the completion stop. Apologies for the quality of pictures.

I then continued to ride my Schwinn as much as possible. I rode it to commute and for fun. In late 2013 I bought a 2014 Trek CrossRip. I became a part of the Strava community in mid 2013. I joined a cycling club in 2014. I have not yet competed in racing or organized rides/races. I love riding with others and I like to go fast and far when I can. 
I’ve always been trying to document my experimenting with Beers. And then came Untappd. I became a member in 2012. I’ve always extremely enjoyed photography. I like beer. I’ve had three since I’ve started writing this. They are on Untappd. 
My MacBook Pro stopped charging late last year after I quit my job. I’ve been writing these blogs on my iPhone. 

I found this picture a few months ago. It was in 2005. Just a little #ProveIt. Strava. 



Tempeh Sandwich 

Posted on by jeffreylatty

VeggHead BeerCyclist 2.28

Tempeh Sandwich

Yesterday I awaited the arrival of my new FatBike shirt that I had ordered earlier in the month. I love technology and being able to track a package. You know, to see all of the fabulous places it has seen before finding a new home. The USPS tracking number revealed that it would be delivered the 27th, but when I checked at 4:00pm yesterday it was saying it was in Peoria, IL some 60 miles away. My question is if I have to wait until Monday. Delivery should have a universal law. That if you order a delicious just Cheese pizza, FatBike tires, t-shirt or whatever you might order for delivery and it gives you an estimated time and it is late, you should get a nice discount or credit. Or if it take two plus hours for a pizza to be delivered and I pay with my credit card and have already added a generous tip, but have passed out because I only order pizza if I have been drinking and the two hours is a long time to keep drinking on an empty stomach and then I cannot answer my on-silent phone or (not on-silent) door bell, don’t take my money and the pizza. Just leave the pizza on the porch. It’s cold enough in Illinois winter to basically refrigerate or freeze it. 



Today I used leftovers from things that I have made recently that need to be used up and can’t survive much longer without getting shot in the metaphorical ass with the PED, preservatives. No one likes waste. It’s not cool. I used the Angry Stuffed Habaneros stuffing, various veggies, cheese that I had left, tempeh, thousand island and the homemade Bleu cheese. 

Also, this morning I came across this:
It was clever, hilarious and awesome. I had to share it.

I thought of a new name for the Cheese stuffing, Pepper John Cheese. Jack sounds like a clowns name as it isn’t as common and as serious as John. I like Pepper Jack Cheese, but it is a choking joke compared to my Pepper John Cheese if they competed against each other on the Scoville Scale.

Being vegetarian or vegan equates to a possible black hole equivalent emptiness inside from the personal hot wing boycott. I was never a huge wing fan. Especially after butchering whole chickens a few times. For the record, I have never killed a living animal. And never will. Butchering (already dead) chickens and its disgustingness helped influence my vegetarian transformation. I am also not a huge fan of meatless meat replacements. I have eaten some and will continue to eat some. Some are made right and are organic, Project Non-GMO Verified and preservative free. Most are packed with preservatives and additives. Still very much better than eating meat or fish or aliens, pets and or other humans. 
After the Angry Stuffed Habaneros laughed at me and called me cowardice and other self-esteem crushing names, I wished I had some celery. 
By the way, the band Defeater, has an intensely awesome song Cowardice on their Travels album. Check it out if that’s your thing. It’s a loud to some people song. 
I’ve heard many of times milk is the best thing for you after your mouth is on fire. It will help to literally put out a fire if your mouth has flames on it, but milk is gross. I stopped drinking milk years ago. Also, I have a video of myself eating a raw Habanero and then eating a raw Bhut Jolokia, also known as a Ghost Pepper. This was in 2012 a few months after I moved back in with my parents after College. I almost thought that I needed a Hospital run. My mom actually took the video.
Suck it, Angry Stuffed Habaneros. 
Pepper John Cheese Stuffing ingredients:
-Cream Cheese at room temp
-PLAIN Greek yogurt
-Crushed Sunflower Seeds
-Garlic/Onion powder
-Sea Salt/Pepper
-Sugar
-Dry or Fresh Dill
-Deseeded Diced Cucumber 
-Super Diced Carrot
-Super Diced Sharp Cheddar
-Super Diced Habanero super deseeded
Pepper John Celery ingredients:
-Pepper John Cheese Stuffing
-Additional Sunflower seeds
-Organic Celery, rinsed and cut into thirds
Only two steps:
-Spread the Pepper John Cheese Stuffing onto the celery as if it were peanut butter.
-Slightly push sunflower seeds on Pepper John for looks, protein and texture.
While we’re on the topic of Habanero again, I had a Ballast Point Sculpin IPA this month that was outstanding. It wasn’t the regular Sculpin, but the Habanero Sculpin. It was very well balanced with the habanero and hops with some nice citrus notes. I might have a small tolerance to heat, but it was a delicious Hopanero IPA. I recommend it with a meal. 
Veggie Tempeh Baked Sandwich 
This sandwich was Dry. No oil or butter was used. The wonderful parchment paper offers a peaceful nonstick surface for all of your cheffing needs. I hope no one thought I meant dry like prohibition Dry. 
Homemade Bleu Cheese ingredients:
-Veganaise
-Gorgonzola 
-Soy Sauce
-Sriracha
-Sour Cream
-Butter
-Milk
-Apple Cider Vinegar 
-Sea Salt/Pepper
-Fresh Dill
>Mix 
Vegan Thousand Island:
-Veganaise
-Sriracha
-Celery Seed
-Garlic, caramelized 
-Sea Salt/Pepper/Sugar
-Paprika/Garlic/Onion Powder
-Balsamic Vinegar
-Diced Hot Peppers (I used Habanero)
-Deseeded Cucumber, diced
>Mix while listening to good tunes
I used leftover marinaded Tempeh from Vegan Reuben’s that I made last week.
Marinaded Tempeh ingredients:
-Tempeh, sliced
-Water or Veggie Broth
-Garlic, halved
-Onion, sloppy choppy
-Soy Sauce
-Sriracha
-Sea Salt/Pepper
-Thyme/Savory
Step One, Step One, Two, Three:
-Add Water or Broth and heat
-Add everything else and create boilage
-Cover and extinguish fire. Let cool completely and save your Tempeh. Depending on how thin you sliced it, it might be flimsy.
Save the remaining liquid if you’d like as it has a decent start to being Homemade Veggie Broth. Discard veggies or eat them. Use your imagination.
Ingredients for sandwich:
-Cucumber, deseeded and sliced
-Radish, rinsed and sliced
-Cheddar, not rinsed and sliced from block
-Mozzarella, sliced from block
-Homemade Bleu Cheese 
-Roasted Onion slices, raw if preferred 
-Avocado, Californian and extra large, sliced
-Thousand Island, made at home
-North American Cheese, I split one slice into equal quantities for three sandwiches
-Tempeh, pre marinaded 
-Rye Bread
Steps: 
-Take two slices of good Rye. I always go the seeded route. On one side spread the Vegan Thousand Island and on the other slice, spread the Homemade Bleu Cheese. And broil for a couple of minutes infusing the inside of your sandwich.
-Get your veggies and Cheese all ready to assemble your sandwich
-I started with Thousand Island side and put down a layer of Cheese including the small amount of American
-I generously put the Tempeh on top of the cheese layer
-More Cheese (I don’t put a lot of cheese just layers of Cheese spottiness)
-Cucumber and Radish
-More Cheese
-Onion and Avocado
-Remaining Cheese and Finish with Bleu Cheese slice, Bleu Cheese side down/inside
-Put on parchment paper
-Bake each side of sandwich at 350* F for 12-15 minutes (implement visual check intervals)
-Cut diagonally and plate
-Grab a good Beer, take a pic and enjoy!
I did not ride yesterday as something came up. Today is the last day for me to reach my February goal of 250 km’s. All being outside in a cold winter month. Strava does a MTS challenge, Monthly Training Series, that I always participate in. I need 30 plus km’s today. The route is depending on the wind, but it’s super sunny! Thanks for reading. Tomorrow, it is March! #RideOn



Vegan Dawgs

Posted on by jeffreylatty

VeggHead BeerCyclist 2.27

Vegan Dawgs
I’m excited to receive a t-shirt that I ordered earlier this month, today! It is the very first FatBike shirt that I’ve come across. Thanks, Teespring. Hopefully it’s delivered before the mail as the mail always comes around 3:00 pm. The USPS always has me guessing. We will see. 



I had a really good Sour beer last night. It wasn’t just any Sour, it had great complexity and it is the closest local brewery to me being 50 some miles south in Bloomington, IL. It is the third Sour I’ve had from Destihl brewery that was at least very good. It was pricy and I’m poor so I probably won’t enjoy another, but it was well worth it. 



I’ve always loved hot dogs. I ate them as a kid. I always ate them at Wrigley Field either before or during many upon many of Old Style’s. Before magically transforming into vegetarianism to save the world, I found the best Dawg that I have ever had.  And it just took some time, but I dug up the only picture that I have of this amazing delight, Chicago-Style Char Dawg from Gold Coast Dogs inside the Chicago Union Station. 



Ever since experiencing this greatness of a Dawg, I’ve been trying to recreate it and make it better. Since I’ve taken the vow to save the planet by establishing an Ovo-Lacto Vegetarian lifestyle, it has been a bit more challenging. I’ve created quite a few different dawgs from the basic Dawg to elaborate and creative as possible. I always use Smart Dogs by Lightlife. They have smaller Dawgs and jumbo Dawgs. I like the jumbo Dawgs better, just because they have a greater gravitational pull to keep all the ridiculous toppings close by that I throw on them.
While I’m at it, I’d just like to share a discovery that I’ve made involving Dawgs and sandwiches. I like pickles and relish, but unpickled raw cucumber is where it’s at! I haven’t used relish or pickles in a couple of years. I haven’t even eaten them. And catsup or ketchup is baby food. Which most isn’t even safe for babies with all of the tomato flavoring with the sugar. Tomatoes are so much better and healthier. I could talk bad about catsup or ketchup for a very long time. If you don’t have tomatoes, donate the catsup or ketchup to a diabetic who can’t find their insulin and throw some Sriracha on there and grow some balls. Why is there two different spellings for the same product that is basically the same pronunciation. The whole idea of IT, buying, writing about IT, smack-talking about IT, even consumption, kills my brain cells and is ultimately mentally challenging. I’m done. 
I’m sharing 5 different Dawgs that I have pictures for so I can Strava #ProveIt. I seriously accidentally hashtagged ProbeIt. Haha. “LOL” belongs with IT. It’s dumb, overused, and so 2000. I have a basic Chicago Char Dawg, Experimental Mexi-Chicago Char Dawg, Italia-Chicago Char Dawg, Lentili Char Dawg and the 333 Halsted. I am and have been Vegan on Fridays for a few months now. #VeganVriday. I promise that I’m done hashtagging. It won’t be long before the actual hashtag finds its way into the dictionary and/or the bible. 



I’ve made numerous varieties of Lentili. It’s my usually Vegan awesome creation. Really I just use Lentils instead of beans. But the name, Lentili, rocks and makes me want to do a shot every time I say it or type Lentili. I drank a little Jameson last night. I’d have a pretty good buzz after this paragraph. I usually make Lentili without oil, but in this case I used leftover Back Burner Ragu Marinara that I used for some Chicago Stuffed Pies that was made with a bit of oil. 



Back Burner Ragu Marinara ingredients:
-Oil, not too splashy
-Garlic, diced
-White or Yellow Onion, diced
-Celery, diced
-Carrots, whole and then diced
-Sea Salt/Pepper/Sugar/Oregano
-I usually throw a little cayenne in
-Tomato Paste
-Canned chopped Tomatoes or be a chef and chop your own
-Water or Veggie Broth
-Time to simmer down now
Steps:
-Sauté Garlic in oil
-Sauté Onion 
-Sauté Celery and Carrots
-I usually add a few splashes of Balsamic Vinegar after the veggies are sautéed 
-Add Tomatoes and Paste and Water or Broth
-Season
-Bring to a very brief boil without scorch torture 
-Simmer while stirring for hours. 
-You want it to cook down. Things are better with time. Cheese, Wine, Beer… The consistency you want to start out with is a little runnier than chunky as it will thicken and swell upon timely simmering.



Vegan Lentili ingredients:
-Back Burner Ragu Marinara
-Oil
-Bell Pepper assortment, Deseeded and diced
-Hot Peppers, deseeded and diced
-Carrot and Celery, diced
-Garlic and Onion, diced
-Go Veggie! “Cheese”
-Balsamic Vinegar
-Sea Salt/Pepper/Garlic Powder 
-Lentils!
-Water or Veggie Broth
-I used mush that I saved from previously deseeding tomatoes and cucumbers. Why not. 
-Time
Steps:
-Oil
-Sauté Garlic
-Sauté Onion
-Sauté Celery and Carrot
-Sauté PEPPERS
-Add Balsamic Vinegar
-Add Back Burner Ragu Marinara
-Add Water or Broth if needed
-Season
-Simmer for 60-90 minutes
-Add Lentils
-Simmer 30 more minutes
-Add “Cheese” and turn off your simmer contraption 
-Probably hot, but ready to serve or save for your Lentili Char Dawg.



Vegan Chicago Char Dawg ingredients:
-Good Buns
-Smart Dog
-Cucumber
-Tomato 
-Organic Mustard is the shit.
-Onion 
-Pepper
-Hot Peppers or Sport Peppers
-Do not disgrace me with IT (Rhymes with Fetch Crup) 
Steps:
-Char your Dawgs by grilling, broiling or baking
-To somewhat imitate that Gold Coast Dog, I cut the end like they do. It’s not necessary and Smart Dogs are grillable. That is a recent change they’ve conquered. They can withstand more heat. They still bubble a bit, but don’t explode (that I’ve seen).
-Char your bun now or later. One it adds flavor. And two it gives ya a stronger platform, host, boat or Bun as most would say.
-While keeping your charring on your mind, get your veggies prepped. 
-Build your Dawg and top with Mustard and a few dashes of Pepper.
-Add a side and a good Beer and enjoy! 



Vegan Mexi-Chicago Char Dawg ingredients:
     I experimented by slicing the Smart Dogs before charring. It is not necessary.
-Smart Dog, charred 
-Go Veggie! “Cheese”
-Serrano Peppers, sliced (deseed if you want)
-Avocado, sliced (seared if you want. I did it in the pic, just to do it.)
-Onion, diced
-Tomato, diced, sliced or whole?
-Guacamole (store bought or homemade) 
-Cucumber, anyway you’d like
-Mustard, if it’s Organic, all over my face
Steps: 
-I charred the Dogs and then melted “Cheese” on them. 
-Prepare all of your veggies.
-Spread the Guacamole on the Bun and lightly char/toast
-If you build it, he will come eat it.
-Add a side and a beer and enjoy!



Vegan Lentili Char Dawg ingredients:
-Good Bun, charred
-Smart Dog, charred and “Cheese” charred
-Go Veggie! “Cheese”
-Vegan Lentili, heated
Steps:
-Get your charring inferno completed and don’t toast the Bun too much as you’re gonna double char that punk.
-I charred the Bun the first time with a little “Cheese” on it.
-Throw that meatless tube steak on the cheesy Bun.
-Add some more “Cheese” on top and find a way to balance it for the additional charring. I used a shallower bowl. 
-When charred, plate your work.
-Does it look good?
-Throw some Lentili on it add a Beer and a side and you’re good to go! Enjoy! 



Vegan Italian-Chicago Char Dawg ingredients:
-Good Bun, charred
-Smart Dog, charred and “Cheese” melted/charred
-Go Veggie! “Cheese”
-Garlic, sliced 
-Cucumber, I cut them into strips
-Tomato, sliced or diced
-Onion, diced
-Serrano Peppers, sliced 
-Organic Mustard is worth it.
-Parsley, if you’re gonna take a beautiful picture to share to your friends. It is also edible 🙂

Leaps:
-Char your Dog. I believe that I baked the Dog first before broiling. I achieved great color with these. 
-Melt/Char the “Cheese” lightly
-Put sliced Garlic on the “Cheese” EVER so carefully and then go nuts and char the Soy out of it. 
-Also, char your Bun
-In the meantime, listen to some Helmet. Yeah, from the 90’s! 
-Your favorite thing, veggie prep, should have already been done during the Edible Vegan Charcoal process.
-Throw it all together. Distance gets you much more points. Have a beer, take a pic and enjoy. Then go for a bike ride! 

333 Halsted:
This one is my baby. It took some time to name and complete with the awesome sense of success it gave me.
The address is 333 Halsted St.
Chicago, IL 60661. It is a National Hellenic Museum. It is in Greektown in Chicago in Illinois in the United States of America found in the Northern America on Earth’s Northern Hemisphere inside our Solar System in the enormous Milky Way Galaxy. Just a tiny dot in the vast universe. 
My thought process was to infuse Greek-Style and Chicago-Style into one Dawg. Greektown is an awesome area in Chicago, by the way. This is a Vegan Dawg, but I did leave the “Cheese” away. Add it if you’d like. I’ve been a fan of different types of tapenade for quite a few years now. Maybe not the correct name, but it should have an elaborate name for the awesome ingredients in it. It’s basically a Greek-Style relish. Tapenade is an assortment of capers, olives and oil originated in Provence. Which is France. I’ve never been. I am not an expert and I guess they like anchovies in theirs. 



Greek-Chicago-Style Tapenade ingredients:
-Chicago Hot Giardiniera, super diced
-Capers, super diced
-Garlic, super diced
-Roasted Red Pepper, skinned and super diced
-Hot Peppers, super diced (I used Serrano)
-Onion, super diced
-Cucumber and Tomato, deseeded and super diced
-Green and Kalamata Olives, diced superbly-Pits not allowed
-Red Wine, drink a glass as well
-Oil and Balsamic Vinegar
-Sea Salt/Pepper/Paprika/Poppy Seed
Steps, Wino:
-I hope that’s good wine. 
-Mix everything together just don’t drown everything with a waterfall of flavor. You just want this tasty concoction to swim and relax, having fun with their friends. 
-Let marinade at room temperature for a while.
333 Halsted ingredients:
-Greek-Chicago-Style Tapenade
-Smart Dog, charred
-Good Bun, charred
-Organic Mustard
Voyage:
-I actually forgot to char the Bun in the picture. Too much wine. It was still delicious. 
-Char the Dog and Bun if the wine lets you. 
-Throw it together 
-I recommend trying those potatoes
-Slice and bake for hourish at 400* F seasoning is always good
-Keep drinking your wine or crack open a 2013 Destihl Saint Dekkera Reserve Sour: Excommunie Trois. The best Sour that I’ve ever had. 



Man, writing these posts are time consuming and make me hungry and make me thirsty. On another good note, it’s super sunny outside and I’m gonna take my Trek HulkRip out for an in town road ride. Thanks for reading this, if you did. I bought all of you readers flowers at Aldi! 



Slow Strava Aptitude 

Posted on by jeffreylatty

I’m new here on whatever this is. Blognet, blogville, blog your mom. Anyways. I somehow started my long-thought dream of blogging all over you. I went for a night FatBike ride tonight thinking roads were gonna be slightly bad for a cross bike. The roads were actually amazing until I came into parks and a cemetery. 

I’ve been drinking all day. I have been consumed with ‘work’. I pace my drink. I rode hard and it was amazing. Just wanted my shit to sync. I guess I am scared of all of you. 



So, my ride uploads through my wifi or others. It then goes through GarminConnect (bless their souls) where it links to Strava, usually. I’m upset that Strava is blank for a crazy night ride, but it is okay. 

There are two really nice women at the grocery store that used to always ring me up after a super long and awful days of work at my old job before I quit. I am horrible with names. But, I’ll remember their faces forever. It was nice to finally see them for the first time in four months. 



I haven’t ridden the FatBike in weeks. And the air pressure was low. The last FatBike ride I was on was an IVCA (Illinois Valley Cycling Association) Wednesday night I&M Canal ride that had a few ice age apocalyptic  catastrophes. The low tire pressure helps grip the dangerous terrain. I biffed it one and a half times. I’m an excellent biff artist. I put some air in the tires. 



My ride uploaded to Strava this morning. Not sure why there is sometimes a delay. I’m close to a 250 km mark for the month. It is not much, but it is all outside riding in the heart of a cold winter. I have two days left and need 40 km. Every mile or kilometer counts. #RideOn