Ⓥloggings

Posted on by jeffreylatty


I had some horrible news last night. After deciding to ride my only day off this week, I wanted to attempt another live blog. I’m not too sure if I’m totally feeling it today. I’m gonna go about this as a draft. And then let my blog explode on everyones face at once, if it works out alright.


 It’s 10:00 am central time and I’ve missed my original departure time of 10:00. I’m ready to go, though. Apologies for that unconscious rhyme breeze from me’s. It’s 10:15 and I’ll be on the bike by 10:30.


It’s 10:52 and I’m in a great small town of Utica, Illinois and it’s getting hot, my feet are going numb again, and my back is sore. Ever since I switched to clipless peddles, my feet get numb and hurt. To counter those effects, breaks are needed with walking and stretching. It could very well be the cleat position.


Due to a poor state and incorrect priorities, a washout has been ruining the I & M Canal for years. And because of that washout, I just had to basically almost commit suicide taking a busy Dee Bennett speedway to surpass the stupid washout. I’m talking cars going 60-70 mph in a 55. There’s sometimes a small shoulder, but usually not.


After murderous Dee Bennett Rd, I decided to not ride as big as I had dreamed. I also swallowed a bug while on Dee Bennett Rd. It is never fun riding 30 ish km/h and confusing yourself with regurgitating or swallowing this damn bug in your throat while pedaling and trying not to swerve and get hit by a speeding vehicle. I washed it down with water and rode on. #RideOn


In 2011, I was traveling home via Amtrak and read that my last grandfather had passed two days before christmas…. In 2015, i found out my paralyzed uncle who is a doctor of psychology passed by reading also on Facebook. I hate Facebook. I hate most of my asshole Facebook friends and they probably hate me. I was convinced to delete Facebook until my cousin added me today, throwing my plans completely. My new plan is eventually unfollow everyone. I’d like Facebook more if I could decide more what I have to view. I do not wanna see 100 kids before their first day of school. I do not wanna see lame jokes that people find super hilarious. I want Facebook to go back to my early twenties. Be funny, be crazy, be sexy.


  
 I rode to Ottawa, Illinois. I decided to pickup a couple of beers and attempt to go through the washout. The Dee Bennett Rd completely destroyed my ride as it almost does my life every time that I am on it. I picked up a Fresh HopWired IPA by 8 Wired Brewing Co. out of New Zealand. I’ve had a few of their beers in the past and all have been better than good. And same deal with this one. Unfortunately, other countries cannot top most of the USA’s IPAs. We have it figured out. I also picked up a Trade Winds Tripel by The Bruery. Trying to get back onto the I&M Canal, I was going to make a left turn, so I was awaiting my turn in the middle of the road (my lane) and a truck behind me started honking at me.. A bicycle trying to go left on the left hand side of the lane?


 I flipped that asshole off. When riding on the right side of the road especially turning left with traffic behind you, is an accident waiting to happen. Cars try and hurry by cyclists instead of slowing down. It is our duty as cyclists to put ourselves in danger in trying to get vehicles to notice us and slow down. THEY DO NOT LIKE IT, usually.


 Passing Buffalo Rock, basically the last point of upkeep and civilization moreover, was a feat on its own without even talking of the washout. One, it was muddy. Two, the bushes and grass were overgrown. And three, there were numerous trees down. Trying to ride through those conditions are almost impossible, confusing and tedious. I say confusing because I’d rather ride than walk my bike. Having clipless peddles and shoes on are not very convenient in that situation. I had my left unclipped basically the entire time to be ready to stop because of all of the debris. I found a stretch of clear path and itching to peddle hard, I fully clipped in and rode for a good minute. It was 12:44 and I ran into another downed tree and I slowed almost completely, went to put my left foot down and climb over probably the 20th downed tree and BOOM, I was still clipped in.


 I walked through the washout and continued on. I was all muddy, bloody and thirsty. I cracked open the IPA and continued walking, tree hurdling and drinking. A jogger passed me and said, “maybe they’ll fix it one day”, I replied “I doubt it….” That was most of my riding experience. I did BYOL!


Bring Yo Own Lunch = #BYOL

  
I chose to bring Nuts and Ⓥurritos.


Last week I made a Mexican concoction and have been slacking to consume the massive pot. I’m going to try my best to remember what exactly is in it. It is very good, just haven’t been exactly in the mood for it lately. Tomorrow, I plan to make Vegan Burgers out of the remaining concoction. I have been totally listening to this band, Native, lately. They are so good.

Native (live)

I actually took this video on 10.19.12 in Dekalb, Illinois via iPhone 4S.

Yesterday I learned that “&” had a freaking name.


Mexican concoction ingredients:

  • Brown Rice
  • Lentils
  • Split Peas
  • Potato
  • Carrot
  • Scallions
  • Cilantro
  • Eggplant, iThink
  • Onion
  • Japonica Rice
  • SeaSalt/Pepper/GarlicP/OnionP/Cayenne
  • Parsley
  • Pinto Beans


Things that PISS ME OFF:

  • Police patrolling a park via car/SUV
  • Vitamins that contain LACTOSE?? WTFFF? (What The Fucking Flying Fuck)
  • Dogs that uncontrollably bark, should not be allowed outside without owner presence.


I basically overcooked everything a bit because I knew I was gonna make Veggie Burgers. If police are going to enter a park where vehicles are not allowed, THEY NEED TO GET OFF OF THEIR FAT ASSES AND HOP ON A BICYCLE. And I would’ve never thought that I would have to check ingredients in Vitamin C in being Vegan.


Ⓥeggie Burger ingredients:

  • Mexican Concoction
  • SeaSalt/GarlicP/OnionP/Pepper
  • Sriracha/BalsamicVinegar/PeanutOil/Honey/Broth
  • Go Veggie! “Cheese”, non-dairy
  • Corn Starch


This time around I cooked these patties at 250 degrees F for 12-15 minutes before upping the temperature to 325 degrees F for another 10. I usually love the burnt flavor, but for these the texture is not good when overcooked.


As for these Ⓥurritos I made for BYOL Friday, here we go.


Ⓥurrito ingredients:

  • Mexican Concoction, heated with Seitan, Broth and Corn
  • Iceberg Lettuce, chopped
  • Cilantro, finely chopped
  • Scallions, finely chopped
  • Sunflower Seeds, shelled obviously
  • Guacamole
  • Sriracha
  • Tortilla Shells, Large

Easiness:

Mix everything up and wrap burrito-like. Grill both sides and wrap in foil and enjoy. Unfortunately, I did not capture any photos of the finished product. Not sure what I was thinking. (I actually just found a pic of a similar Ⓥurrito that I made)


 This was the start of my Facebook status, letting people know that I was gonna be deleting. Not sure what I’m gonna do.

-Unfortunately, my love and respect for animals does not carry onto most humans. Most of you are fucking horrible people and complete assholes. Not to say that I am not in that same group. As a species overall, we fucking suck. I do not care for most of you and most of you do not care for me. I’ve finally got big enough balls to peace out of this Facebook world that is basically a disease anyway. Social media is great and I still love it, but Facebook is no longer for me. I am in no way suicidal, but Jesus fucking Christ, this feels like social media suicide.-


It’s almost September. Have a good Week! Enjoy life as best as possible while taking good pictures! And seriously, go for a bike ride:)

Nutty Ⓥutter

Posted on by jeffreylatty


Last weekend, I made a purchase of a NutriNinja at the local walmart for $79. I despise walmart, but was there and made the purchase. It sat on my kitchen table for a good 4-5 days contemplating if I were going to keep it. I then saw one at Menards for the same price. I bought the Menard’s NutraNinja and returned walmart’s NutriNinja. A friend, who at the time worked for a walmart DC, said “never buy from walmart, it’s all broken.”


I’ve only used the NutriNinja once so far, but was the ultimate test, making my new creation of peanut butter. I named it Nutty Ⓥutter. The NutriNinja passed the test. A coworker asked me today why I chose peanut butter to be the first thing to make in the Ninja. He owns one also and loves it. I never got around to telling him why as we were interrupted by our job, CIA-type things.


My reasoning behind his, “well, why didn’t you go buy peanut butter?”, response is that I am a celery addict and that I love dipping celery into peanut butter. And I ultimately wish that they made peanut butter dipperies. Basically a large container that is easily sealed and opened that isn’t hard to dip one bit. Peanut butter jars are all tall and very difficult (to say the least) to dip into once half empty and the ongoing obsolete process is stressful, awkward and frustrating.


I also wanted to make it better and more to my tastebuds’ needs.


Nutty Ⓥutter ingredients:

  • Old Mill Deluxe Mixed Nuts (Almonds, Cashews, Walnuts, Pecans, Brazil Nuts, Hazle Nuts, Pistachios & Peanuts), shelled and salted or unsalted-boats float when ya want
  • Sunflower Seeds, shelled and salted or unsalted
  • Peanut Oil, good quality
  • Honey, organically and local greatness 🙂
  • Nutmeg
  • Sea Salt

Step:

  • Combine and mixing to smooth.

I decided to make an appetizer dish using CELERY mmmmm.

Tomorrow is Friday and my only day off this week. I may ride 161 km aka 100 miles. Making a day of cycling and packing my lunch and possibly live blogging…… #RidehFriday

Ⓥegan ZZA

Posted on by jeffreylatty


My favorite days are when I have time to create awesome food and have an outstanding ride on one of the bicycles. Today, being Monday “Fonday”, I made pizza, took a nap and attempted a ride. I only made it 7 km.


And I think it was because I read the temperature at 26-27 degrees Celsius and the wind blowing at 8 km/h and it was hot as shit and windy as shit. I need to stop checking the weather before I go and ride. Maybe just the radar. Or maybe I need to man up. Whatever the case being, I was not feeling a bigger ride today.


But, I made PIZZA. I am a pizza addict surviving life. The last time that I had pizza was June 22, 2015. That was before my Veganism lifestyle. Before my Veganism, I had the first of the month being my pizza day. And now, my pizza day is annually August 10, being Vegan Pizza Day.


I chose to make BBⓋ Tempeh, Roasted Ⓥeggie, Ⓥicago-Style Hot Dawg, Ⓥaco, MexiⓋano and Ⓥediterranean.

LISTENER


I just enjoyed a Arcadia Ales’ Sky High Rye and checked it in on Untappd for the 91st time, being the most in Untappdiverse. Not sure if I’m proud of that or not. It’s a delicious beer, though. I am currently listening to 3eb. Third Eye Blind might be my favorite feel-good band. And now I’m enjoying a Schlitz. I wish that I could find 16oz cans of Schlitz. I’ve only seen them at The Castle Theater in Bloomington-Normal, Illinois.


Pizza Dough ingredients:

  • Flour
  • Dry Active Yeast
  • Veggie Broth, warmed for yeast
  • Nutritional Yeast
  • SeaSalt/Sugar/GarlicP/OnionP
  • Rosemary, which I was out so I used Oregano, slightly crushed
  • Fennel Seed, slightly Crushed
  • Oil

Let rise and impatiently use, like I always do.

Pizza Sauce ingredients:

  • Crushed Tomatoes
  • Sugar
  • SeaSalt/Pepper/GarlicP/OnionP
  • Vegetable Broth

BBⓋ Tempeh Pizza ingredients:

  • BBQ sauce, vegan and I found this Whiskey Kicker, that was delicious
  • Tempeh, sliced smally, but not too tiny just to chicken slice size ewww chicken
  • Pizza Dough
  • Pizza Sauce, with a splash of BBQ sauce
  • Daiya, white and yellow mmmmm
  • Red Onion, julienne sliced
  • Cilantro, chopped for garnish which I forgot

Toss Tempeh and BBQ sauce lightly keeping that Tempeh whole slices. Sauce the pizza with a little BBQ and Pizza Sauce, put some Daiya (it’s expensive, go easy) Red Onion and Tempeh. Garnish with Cilantro and ENJOY. It’s so good.

Roasted Ⓥeggie Pizza ingredients:

  • Pizza Dough
  • Pizza Sauce
  • Daiya, whiteness greatness
  • Potatoes, red
  • Turnip, peeled if wax coated(LAME if waxed)
  • Corn, I used canned corn
  • Onion, reddish purple
  • Peppers, yellow, green, orange and red(my red pepper had fuzzy mold growing on it)

How’s it Gonna Be

I found a truly hilarious movie on Netflix last year called Awful Nice. I repeatedly watched it and watched it again last night. Also, this annual Pizza Day is stretching into three days…. Oh, well. I’ve also been blogging these words for the same three days. Here’s a sum of the movie I think is unbelievably funny.

Awful Nice Preview

And now that I’ve mentioned Netflix, I’ll have to mention a few others. As of the 15th of 2015 August these are on Netflix. From 1991, Ed O’neill and Ethan Embry deliver this now 24 year old classic. JUST WATCH IT.

Dutch Preview

Another is The History of Future Folk. A feel-good movie that is very well put together. Future Folk Preview

And lastly, I just watched this last night (8.14.15) as it was just put on Netflix this week. I first was introduced to this comedian years ago when you was on The Daily Show talking about myspace. He has had his own show with his own style of comedy on Comedy Central that I found hilarious.

Demetri Martin: Live (At the Time)


Ⓥediterranean Pizza ingredients:

  • Tofu, firm
  • Spinach, present
  • Onion, white and julienned
  • Tomato, roma julienne sliced
  • Artichoke Hearts, canned whole sliced
  • Kalamata Olives, cut long ways
  • Daiya, white and yellow
  • Pizza Sauce
  • Pizza Dough
  • Sriracha, cock sauce
  • Balsamic Vinegar
  • SeaSalt/GarlicP/OnionP/DillWeed

Backflips:

  • First, infuse your Tofu with SeaSalt/GarlicP/OnionP/DillWeed, Balsamic Vinegar & Sriracha. Get your dough stretched and put on pan. I sometimes like to fold the dough over to make a thicker crust.
  • I topped Pizza Sauce, Spinach, Daiya, Tomato, Onion, Olives, Artichokes & Daiya. I could’ve baked for 5 minutes longer, but I was impatiently hungry.

Perfect Situation


Monday night, I made two pizzas somewhat tipsy. Hence, the picture quality. They were made well, just not perfectly. The two styles of Pizza were the Ⓥicago-Style Dawg Pizza and The MexiⓋano-Style Pizza.


Ⓥicago-Style DawgZza ingredients:

  • Pizza Dough
  • Pizza Sauce
  • LightLife Smart Dogs, sliced and grilled
  • Sauerkraut, drained
  • Onion, red and julienned
  • Tomato, roma and julienned
  • Cucumber, diced
  • Daiya, mozz-style
  • Scallions or Mustard, for garnish

Hurdles:

  • Get everything chopped/sliced/grilled and ready. Dough is ready with some sauce, just add toppings and Daiya and garnish how you’d like. This one is a treat.
  • Only Hunter Pence uses ketchup on DAWGS, dog. GO CUBBIES. That sweep against the SFGiants was HUGE.


Schlage


Ⓥexicano Pizza ingredients:

  • Pizza Dough
  • Pizza Sauce
  • Tempeh, chicken-like sliced
  • Daiya, orange and white
  • Black Beans, rinsed and dried
  • Corn Kernels, rinsed and dried
  • Cilantro, chopped for garnish
  • Scallions, sliced for garnish
  • Cayenne/Pepper/Sriracha/ChiliP/GarlicP/OnionP
  •  

Triathlon:

  • Mix Cayenne/Pepper/Sriracha/ChiliP/GarlicP/OnionP with Tempeh softly leaving Tempeh intact.
  • Top Pizza Dough with Sauce, Daiya and toppings.
  • Bake and Garnish with Scallions and Cilantro. Apologies for the picture quality.

Jon from Vegan Zombie


AvocadoNaise ingredients:

  • Acocado, peeled and chopped
  • Vegenaise, mmmmmmmm
  • Cilantro, finely chopped
  • Scallion, sliced
  • Lemon, juice

Mix while not trying to consume all on the spot.


 Ⓥaco Pizza ingredients:

  • Tempeh, crumbled
  • Tofu, crumbled and infused (see Ⓥediterranean (above))
  • Sriracha/BalsamicVinegar/Cayenne/Turmeric/GetchaSum!/Cumin
  • Black Beans, rinsed and dried
  • Corn Kernels, rinsed and dried
  • Daiya, orange-mmmmmmmm
  • Daiya, white-mmmmmmmm
  • Pizza Dough
  • Pizza Sauce
  • Iceberg Lettuce, chopped finely
  • Onion, red-julienned
  • Tomato, roma-julienned
  • Olives, black-halved
  • AvocadoNaise, tasty!


Wheelies:

  • Preparations before hand is easier. Like always…
  • Mix already infused Tofu with the crumbled Tempeh and infuse that with eventually infused Sriracha/BalsamicVinegar/Cayenne/Turmeric/GetchaSum!/Cumin, BUT do not get confused
  • I went Pizza Dough, Pizza Sauce, Beans, Corn, Tempeh/Tofu, orange Daiya and then baked.
  • I cut the pizza when finished baking.
  • I topped the already topped finished pizza with Lettuce, more Beans and Corn, the white Daiya, AvocadoNaise (plopped in center), Tomato and Onion nicely around the AvocadoNaise, and to top it completely off, Black Olives around the perimeter of the AvocadoNaise or beginning of Mount AvocadoNaise.


They might be considered foothills, but I’m not too sure. Eat and enjoy with a stack of napkins or hand/face wash station nearby. Better yet, it wouldn’t hurt to have an eye wash station close by either. Depending on amount and time of Ⓥaco Pizza, it can get super messy. Clean up and #RideOn!


BreakⓋast Tofu Scramble

Posted on by jeffreylatty

Hoppy IPA Day! I trekked via Trek CrossRip Elite (Darth Vader) to a bar that I have not been to since age 20, yesterday, to try a super local brewery’s brews.    The brewery is Radium City Brewing out of Ottawa, Illinois. The beer that I tried and the only beer the bar had left was Passing Time IPA an American IPA with citrusy hoppy goodness at 6.9%. It was very good. I gave it 4.25 bottle caps on Untappd. And because this is a very hoppy day and I’m off of work, I made breakⓋast this morning!    It was absolutely delicious, hence, me blogging all over your face. And I wanna share some pictures. I love taking pictures and my photographic eye has seemed to evolve to another level over the past year.    I made two different Scramble batches in the last week. The first being a Seitan Tofu Scramble and this one without Seitan, but including Eggplant, Cashews and Zucchini. Both Scrambles were basically made the same way and both delicious. That’s the nice thing about scrambles, stir-fry, soup or anything along those lines, throw in them whatever you want or have on hand.      Slightly before the first batch, I made Cauliflower Mashed. And then after taking a few days trying to learn how to spell “cauliflower”, practicing manually writing and typing “cauliflower’ and after many failures and shed tears of disappointment, I decided to give up and just eat the Cauliflower Mashed inside a baked potato. Just like my spelling, I need to master the Cauliflower Mashed and not rely on auto-correct. It would be cool if there was an auto-correct-chef. But, then like the occasional craziness of auto-correcting texts, I’d screw up baking a cake and it would wind up sauerkraut infused cake or something crazy. I’ve only made from-scratch carrot cake twice, but I hate baking. I can handle bread.    I also used already made Pita Bread and made BreakⓋast Pitas with the first batch. Homemade Pita Bread is still by far better than store bought even if it was made there at the store. It was whole wheat and still very good. IMG_8398

Seitan ingredients: -Vital Wheat Gluten -Vegetable Stock -Tomato Sauce/Paste -SeaSalt/Pepper/GarlicP/OnionP -Sunflower Seeds, shelled and slightly crushed -Rosemary, dried and slightly crushed -Fennel Seeds, wholly moly -Carrot and Onion, rough chopped -Bay Leaves and Thyme -Non-dairy Cheese Cloth 😉 IMG_8318IMG_8317 Hail Seitan: -The first thing done was bring a pot of Broth, Carrot, Onion, Thyme, CRP, Thyme and Bay Leaves to a slow boil. Simmer. IMG_8319 -I mixed the Fennel Seeds, Rosemary, Seeds, SeaSalt/Pepper/GarlicP/OnionP, Vegetable Stock and a little Sugar and Cayenne together in a big bowl. I put the very very very Vital Wheat Gluten in a separate, yet bigger, bowl. I then poured the liquid greatness with the gluten hand kneading slowly but efficiently until a loaf is formed. I wet the non-dairy cheese cloth with water and then spray the loaf with non-stick spray and roll it up. IMG_8316
-Put into a lasagna pan and pour half of simmering Broth onto raw Seitan roll keeping Bay Leaves and veggies in broth and not on top of non-dairy cheese cloth.
-Bake for 2-2.25 hours flipping over halfway and adding remaining broth, if needed. IMG_8345
-Once complete, unwrap Seitan from non-dairy cheese cloth like the plastic surgeon did for Joker in the first Batman movie from 1989 with Jack Nicolson and Michael Keaton. Just don’t smash a mirror or continue to give Batman hell. Wrap the not so funny, but seriously delicious Seitan in foil and refrigerate. Use how you’d like.
IMG_8575

Cauliflower Mashed ingredients:

-Cauliflower, organic & chopped, roasted

-Corn, roasted -Onion, diced & roasted

-Carrot, finely diced & not a lot

-Potatoes, diced & roasted -Cashews, roasted -Tomato GUTS, leftover from Pico Ⓥ Queso -Seitan, diced -Cilantro, chopped -Scallions, finely sliced Garlic, minced roasted slightly -SeaSalt/Pepper/ChipotleP/Cayenne/GarlicP/OnionP -Almond Milk -“Cheese”, I used Go Veggie dairy-free Mexican style -Corn Starch


 Steps:  -I roasted Veggies and simmered Almond Milk. I added seasoning and then roasted Veggies. I then added “Cheese” and Corn Starch, as much as needed, for correct consistency. I enjoyed it chunky and not fully mashed, but I would go about it a little differently. I would keep it oil-free, though. -For the Cauliflower Mashed Stuffed Potato, I roasted a couple of Potatoes on parchment paper face down. I then cleaned out most Potato flesh and threw in with Cauliflower Mashed and put in the empty lifeless Potatoes and broiled with a little “Cheese” on top.


 Scramble ingredients: -Tofu, firm -Raw Cashews -Garlic, minced -Onion, chopped or sliced -Various Peppers, I used green, yellow, orange and red small sliced -Potatoes, diced and niced (made-up word;) -Eggplant, diced -Kale, frozen chopped or freshly chopped -Kalamata and Manzanilla Olives, finely diced and Juice/Brine -Sport Peppers, finely diced and Juice/Brine -Portabello Mushrooms, sliced -SeaSalt/Pepper/Fennel Seeds -Balsamic Vinegar -Avocado, sliced thick -Large Tortilla shells, soft -Daiya 🙂 -Canola Oil -Lemon, juiced


 The BreakⓋast Adventure: -I heated some Canola Oil in a pan and basically added everything as I prepared it. And grilled the Avocado slices on my cast iron skillet. The order of operations after heated oil go; Cashews, Potato, Garlic, Eggplant, Onion, SeaSalt/Pepper/Fennel Seeds, Balsamic Vinegar, Lemon Juice, Olive Juice and Sport Peppers Juice, Bell Peppers, Mushrooms, Kale, finely diced Olives and Sport Peppers, Tofu and Daiya. -I steamed the Tortilla shells and stuffed them with the scramble greatness. I put directly on pan with parchment paper, Tortilla folds down, and baked for 12-60 minutes.


Definitely closer to 12 than 60 minutes. I then threw them on the cast iron skillet and gave them a nice mark. I cut in half, put on plate with more scramble topped with grilled Avocado and took a picture before destroying the Vegan greatness.


 I was at work one night devising breakⓋast ideas and googled Vegan meat replacements. The internet is never 100% correct, but it was telling me that there was Vegan Morning Star “Bacon” and “Sausage Links” at the local Hy-Vee. I was super excited until I physically looked on the packages in the Health Department (my home) at Hy-Vee and noticed they were not Vegan. I was disappointed, but thought of these kickass ways to eat Vegan BreakⓋast and saved some money. I first was introduced to the Tofu Scramble from Vegan Zombie. Check ’em out!


Vegan Zombie


Happy Thursday and Hoppy IPA Day to all! Go for a bike ride, hike or walk, enjoy a good beer and take a few pictures!

Pico Ⓥ Queso

Posted on by jeffreylatty

  
Monday I had flowing creative energies overflowing my body and persona. I love Mondays. I had a leftover Vegan Mexican concoction in the fridge. I also wanted to make Vegan burgers. I do not remember exactly what was in the Vegan Mexican concoction, so I won’t even get into it. I literally just added water and Corn Starch to form patties and threw them in the oven for a bit.

  
Pico de Gallo ingredients:

-Tomatoes, deseeded and chopped

-Cilantro, destemed and chopped

-Garlic, peeled and chopped

-Cucumber, diced

-SeaSalt/Pepper/Chipotle

-Lime, juiced

-Seitan, diced

-Parsley, destemed and chopped

-Shallot, diced

  
Throw together and enjoy

  
Pico Ⓥ Queso ingredients:

-Pico de Gallo, if not all consumed all ready 😉

-Raw Cashews, boiled, strained and ground

-Eggplant, slices roasted peeled and diced

-Scallions, diced

-Non-Dairy “cheese”

-Cilantro, chopped

-Nutritional Yeast

-Sriracha, cock sauce brand, splashy

-SeaSalt/Pepper/GarlicP/OnionP

-Cayenne/ChipotleP

-Almond Milk

-Sugar

-Corn Starch

Take a hike:

-Simmer almond milk. Again, I do not measure with anything other than instincts and eyes. Add seasonings and chopped and diced ingredients. Add Corn Starch last! I chose to keep it a little chunky, blend if desired. 

  
-Bring to correct consistency and serve with Non GMO Project Verified chips or smother a Vegan burger. Enjoy warm and add a touch of water, broth or Almond milk to reheat. Garnish with Cilantro and Scallions. Have a good beer. Better yet, have two good beers and eat your heart out. 

  
This IPA that I enjoyed last night was from Tighthead Brewery located in Mundelein, IL. It was an Irie IPA with 7.8% ABV and a whopping 134 IBU, according to Untappd. A very good IPA. 

  

Saison Secret

Posted on by jeffreylatty

  
My Sundays are usually exactly the same boringness commuting via bicycle to work for eight hours and returning home to eat have a beer and watch a little Netflix before bed. Yesterday was still definitely a Sunday. I still rode Darth (Darth Vader, my 2015 Trek CrossRip Elite) to work. And I was sitting outside of work, cooling off and basically meditating to get my self psyched up for work, when I was scared almost to death, having multiple heart attacks when I saw this crawling on my ankle. That might be the definition of a run-on sentence, but I am nor ever was an English major.

  
I pushed the little rockstar off and ran to safety. I did not kill it or squash it. I took a picture of that beast, though. I had a great day at work and went to one of the five places where I find good new beers. This one being a liquor store in existence since the late 19th century, with an exception to prohibition, selling alcohol to LaSalle-Peru, Illinois. I came across four beers from a brewery that I have never seen before. There was a Saison, Dubbel, Tripel and a Witbier. Those four beers were all 750 ml and corked, but varied from $15.99-$19.99. The brewery Rockmill Brewery from Lancaster, OH, wherever that is. I chose the Saison for $16.99. This Saison is up at the top with my favorite Saisons, Firestone Opal and Brasserie Dupont Avec Les Bons Voeux.

  
It was light, tart and spicy. I cannot wait to try their other beers! If you see it and can afford it, try Rockmill Brewery.

Fast Food Vegan

Posted on by jeffreylatty

  
It is essential for me to have quicker vegan food be edible sooner without loosing quality and nutrition. I’ve somewhat fallen off of the fake meat and cheese bandwagon while still choosing vegan Morning Star, Boca and Lightlife’s delicious Smart Dogs on a weekly basis.

  
I chose to join Apple Music last week and I am truly enjoying it. I have, in the past, used Spotify. I have never payed for any sort of music database other than iTunes Match. Bands that I have frequently enjoyed since joining Apple Music are Mouth of the Architect, God is an Astronaut and Form & Fate. I’m extremely happy to use Apple Music offline while in Airplane mode to conserve battery and data (I’m AT&T grandfathered).

  
Good News Veganism

  
Wednesday Ride

I guess this recipe was definitely time consuming when you throw in the homemade Seitan. The other part was super easy and fast and thought of after my Wednesday night ride and a few beers. The way I make Seitan takes a few hours, but with a big enough batch, it is always worth it.

  
Seitan ingredients:

-Vital Wheat Gluten

-Vegetable Stock

-Tomato Sauce/Paste

-SeaSalt/Pepper/GarlicP/OnionP

-Sunflower Seeds, shelled and slightly crushed

-Rosemary, dried and slightly crushed

-Fennel Seeds, wholly moly

-Carrot and Onion, rough chopped

-Bay Leaves and Thyme

-Non-dairy Cheese Cloth 😉

  
Hail Seitan:

-The first thing done was bring a pot of Broth, Carrot, Onion, Thyme, CRP, Thyme and Bay Leaves to a slow boil. Simmer.

   
 -I mixed the Fennel Seeds, Rosemary, Seeds, SeaSalt/Pepper/GarlicP/OnionP, Vegetable Stock and a little Sugar and Cayenne together in a big bowl. I put the very very very Vital Wheat Gluten in a separate, yet bigger, bowl. I then poured the liquid greatness with the gluten hand kneading slowly but efficiently until a loaf is formed. I wet the non-dairy cheese cloth with water and then spray the loaf with non-stick spray and roll it up.

  
-Put into a lasagna pan and pour half of simmering Broth onto raw Seitan roll keeping Bay Leaves and veggies in broth and not on top of non-dairy cheese cloth.

  
-Bake for 2-2.25 hours flipping over halfway and adding remaining broth, if needed.

  
-Once complete, unwrap Seitan from non-dairy cheese cloth like the plastic surgeon did for Joker in the first Batman movie from 1989 with Jack Nicolson and Michael Keaton. Just don’t smash a mirror or continue to give Batman hell. Wrap the not so funny, but seriously delicious Seitan in foil and refrigerate. Use how you’d like.

BTBAM – Viridian

I’ve been slacking on my blogfulness and have been trying to complete this blog for a few days now, but the Chicago Cubs just ended their “Not Being No-Hit” streak since 9.9.65 when Sandy Koufax did it. This time being Cole Hamels who has been rumored to be interested in acquiring via trade by Cubs and numerous other teams. IRONY.

  
Lettuce Greatness ingredients:

-Iceberg Lettuce, shredded

-Guacamole, homemade or store bought

-Vegenaise, mmmmmmmmmmmm

-Sriracha, cock sauce brand

-Seitan, diced

-Pico de Gallo, homemade or store bought

Tricks:

-Mix.

I made two different batches of Nachos or better yet, Ⓥachos!

  

I used blue corn tortillas and NON-Dairy Go Veggie “cheese” with various toppings. And they were very quick and very tasty.

  
Seitan Ⓥurrito ingredients:

-Tortillas, warmed or not warmer-bigger the better

-Seitan, if ya want additional 

-Blue Corn Tortilla chips, on the side

-Go Veggie “cheese”

-Veggies, various and diced 

 Mead Science

I made the Ⓥurritos and threw them on a cast iron skillet for a couple of minutes for color. I put the Ⓥachos under the broiler for a couple of minutes to melt the “cheesy” greatness and served them to myself in these paper lined baskets because I HATE DOING DISHES. 

  
Happy day off to me and happy Monday to y’all! 

   
Eat, ride and live healthy.  It took me three days to completely edit this….

Tofurrito 

Posted on by jeffreylatty

  
This tofurrito that I created and dominated last night was so amazing that I had to share this morning. Also, I came across this this morning:

  
Garmin Varia Radar
It’s 199 U.S. dollars for just the radar. I feel I need it for country rides, but not for in-town commutes or joyrides as traffic is a constant anyways. It is only compatible with select Garmin devices. Including my Garmin Edge 1000 that I spent $700 on. I also tried a few new brews last night. All were very drinkable at the least. 

  
Tofurrito ingredients:

-Tofurky, oven roasted 

-Guacamole, non gmo project verified

-Hummus, original or HOMEMADE 🙂

-Organic Mustard

-Iceburg Lettuce, shredded smally 

-Sunflower Seeds, shelled

-Fiesta Fresh Salsa (Garlic)

-Extra Large Tortilla 
Tofurrito Steping Stones:

-Combine Lettuce, seeds and Fiesta greatness together and toss. Meanwhile, collide hummus, guacamole and mustard neatly, but impactful. Take the big ass tortilla and smear that chickpea-avocado mess onto the tortilla. Does anyone else consider small tortilla shells useless? Cover with Tofurky.

   
    
 -Smother all of that with the lettuce mixture and literally roll up and cut in half. 

  
-Consume 

Ride a bike, enjoy a GOOD beer and be happy.

Bill Nye The Bike Guy
Bicycle Commuting

June Time Science

Posted on by jeffreylatty


I’ve had a super busy month of June. I have statistics and numbers to elaborate. It is now the 10th of July and I am still recuperating. The best thing about it all is that I’ve chosen to take that leap from Ovo-Lacto Vegetarianism to Veganism as of 07.08.15. Time is everything. Time is something you cannot control. Time will continue throughout the ever-expanding universe even without precious you. What do you do with your time (EXACTLY)?


I’ve spent TIME in the past, accumulating numbers for TIME spent on things, but only a week at a TIME. And I’ve only included Facebook as my audience. This TIME, I try and make sense out of the entire 720 hours, 1,800 minutes and 108, 000 seconds involved timely in JUNE of 2015.


Out of all of the 720 hours of June, I have been Vegetarian for completely all of them, but ⓋEGAN at least 288 hours. I’ve been Vegetarian for three whole years without any slip-up… I have completed six straight ⓋEGANVEEKENDS. #VeganWeekends or #VeganVeekends are me being completely ⓋEGAN from midnight Friday morning until 11:59 Sunday night. And recently I have realized that I’m not meant for eggs or dairy at all. It stopped agreeing with the all-mighty science of my body. BOOM.


The only explanation of time I cannot account for could very well be linked to PORN. And by my PORN viewings, it must stop TIME literally because I watch 165 PLUS hours of PORN a week.


CELLARING TIPS: TIME LOCK SAFE DON’T DRINK THAT SHIT


No one watches porn. There is no money in that.


  
Wanna know something cool that I have figured out. Rhetorical question mark has got to be a freaking period?

(Slightly tipsy)

I have always worked in the restaurant business, killing myself and killing others with tasty and cholesterol packed foods and money tips are great. BUT I TELL YOU SOMETHING, when you leave that death-trap and work in a workplace full of life and help. When you’re not killing people in your line of work, that is a great feeling. Instead of selling well done filets, extra bloody carnivorous rare T-bones, meat lover pizzas, or basically contributing to a future heart attack, selling a nice door and windows that bring life and happiness to people. Unfortunately, many purchasing a nice door or replacing a double hung window, have been killing themselves with red meat and arty clogging cheese. It is incredible to have people skills and to sell necessities rather than sad addictions. Even better than that feeling is when you occasionally, or for me, an often handshake. I get many handshakes and after selling 2,000 dollars in just windows.


I might be the only asshole who is good with people, but gets a minor chubby after every handshake.


ALWAYS WASH YOUR HANDS AND/OR CARRY SANITIZER WITH YOU

GOD IS AN ASTRONAUT

WORCESTERSHIRE SAUCE USAULLY ISNT VEGAN

In the past, I’ve often used Worcestershire sauce in my Bloody Mary’s to add a little flare and flavor. Worcestershire sauce often and possibly always involves anchovies at the least. I concocted a Vegan Bloody Mary, but being Vegan, I need to remove the “bloody” from the name.


In the month of June, there were roughly 135 hours of TIME that I cannot account for and probably ties into many other things.


I have spent almost a third of my time in June working a whopping 197.42 hours. That’s an average of almost 50 hours a week. I was working two jobs for the majority of the month. I spent 32 hours riding my bicycles, 1,922 minutes to be more exact and quite a few of those hours were commuting the long way to work. Some were even climbing 200 meters before and after work, unfortunately, not during work or on the clock. I did climb a total of 3, 450 meters throughout June. My goal was 8, 848 meters, being the altitude of Mt. Everest to complete the Strava Climb For Nepal challenge. My total distance ridden was 763 kilometers or 763, 000 meters, being 8, 623 % of distance in climbing to complete that challenge. After riding 8, 623 % of climbing goal, only 40 % of goal was achieved. Now the month of June here in Illinois was not exactly Mt. Everest climbing weather.

According to

Illinois State Climatologist https://climateillinois.wordpress.com

Illinois received the most rainfall in the country in the month of June at 9.3 inches. In California it rained 2.5% of Illinois rainfall. I believe year round, Florida or Floyduh has one of the biggest annual rainfalls, only precipitated 63.4% of Illinois precipitation. My birth state, Colorado, rained only 20.7% of what Illinois rained.


  
MAKE IT RAIN

There were many days that it was too wet to ride comfortably and many days I did ride uncomfortably.


I concluded that I spent 42 hours watching sports and/or socializing and I enjoyed 56 beers last month for the very first time. I have made some adjustments and hopefully sense out of my 135 unanswered hours. I figured that I have spent 75 hours cooking/eating, 9 hours grooming/hygiene, 6 hours cleaning, only 50 hours watching Netflix/internet, 5 hours mowing the lawn, 10 hours shopping, 25 hours in the restroom RESTING, and 271 hours sleeping. 271 hours of sleep averages a little over 9 hours of sleep a day in the bedroom not the restroom. Many of these hours intertwine as I am a king of multi-tasking. It is crazy to think about and is not exactly quick and easy to calculate, but at the same time is fun to see and share.


As for this “bloody” Mary, I have decided to name it Vegan Garden Mary.


Vegan Garden Mary ingredients:

-Rosemary infused Vodka

-Sriracha

-Balsamic Vinegar

-Tomato Juice

-Lemon Juice

-SeaSalt/CelerySalt/Pepper/

-Celery

-Green Olives and Green Olive Juice or Brine


Vegan Garden Mary adventure:

The first thing to complete is infusing your Vodka with a few sprigs of Organic Rosemary. Fresh, of course. You’ll want to either drink a few shots of Vodka or use for Vegan Vodka Sauce like I did and throw the sprigs into the bottle closing it and infusing for 4-5 days. After infusement, strain Vodka into container and discard empty bottle with trapped Rosemary sprigs. When the Rosemary has been infused, it is go time. Combine all ingredients and garnish with Celery, Olives and Rosemary. Take a pic, cheers your friends and enjoy!

MacBook Sour

Posted on by jeffreylatty

Hello, kids, giraffes, dudes, lovely ladies and possibly life from other galaxies, this will be my first and definitely not my last blog on my MacBook Pro that I finally fixed last week. All other bloggings before this have been texting it on my iPhone notes and copying and pasting into my WordPress app and then uploading with numerous photo uploading issues. So, I just wanna mention a few words about this laptop. It basically was a gift from my ex-girlfriend, but obviously girlfriend at the time, after my Dell desktop took a disgusting and smelly shit after I spent a good month curing its virus and other issues. Myself paying my own bills and rent without the best credit, couldn’t really afford a major purchase like a new CPU. Her having a wealthy father, could. It was very much appreciated. I later called it quits with the girl after a sense of realism and unstable future plans. I promised to pay her back being quite tipsy one day after our relationship was over. I quit my well paying job and had to stop sending her money and my MacBook quit charging. Possibly related, possibly not. And without another job lined up, I had to put the MacBook on the back burner since November 2014 until last week June 2015. Ironically she just received another payment just before the laptop was fixed.

Continue reading MacBook Sour