Cheican Jambalaya

Yesterday, an extremely spontaneous plant-based concoction was prepared and destroyed dangerously as if I were carnivorous, teeth ripping, blood gurgling animal flesh to survive a deadly northern pole winter without a grocery store.

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No harm to animals became of this.

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Exhausted and tipsy, Jasmine and Wild Rice were cooked in water with Lentils. Drunk and lazy, dried seasonings were used in the form of Minced Onion, Crushed Red Pepper, Sea Salt, Pepper and Garlic Powder. Cheican ( iMade that name up, Ⓥ Morning Star chicken strips) were added with Penne and Pepe Noodles. Served with Marble Rye Bread and Salsa Verde, my hunger was fulfilled.

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Today, in a warmed skillet, Veggie Broth and last nights Noodle Concoction were simmered stirringly. Additional seasonings (Sugar, Liquid Smoke, Sea Salt, Pepper, Onion & Garlic P) were added before stirring in Guacamole, Tofutti ‘cream cheese’, Tofutti ‘chorizo’ and BBQ Sauce.

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In the meantime, homemade Bread Daiya was well underway. Marble Rye Bread was engulfed one side with Earth Balance ‘butter’ and grilled on a cast iron skillet. After all pieces were grilled, a couple of pieces were selected to further the Bread Daiya. They were smeared with Earth Balance again, Garlic, Onion Powder, Oregano and BBQ before Daiya. They were baked on the cast iron skillet and topped with a bit of Dill Weed.

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I garnished this dish with fresh Tomatoes and paired with a Surly #Merica! Happy Mother’s Day to y’all moms. A moms presence is your life in unbeatable.

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Pineapple-Tofurky Pita Pi

Pitas are great. They are PITAful. Whole Wheat Pitas were purchased, utilized and enjoyed recently.

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They were lathered generously with Earth Balance and lightly grilled before adding BBQ Sauce, Tofurky, Pineapple, Cilantro, Onion and Green Pepper.

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With an outstanding Rice concoction on the side, titled Meatless & Potato, this plate was furiously Vegan. Meatless & Potato consisted of Mini Red Potatoes, Carrot, Onion, Serrano, Rice Wine Vinegar, Broth, Jasmine Rice, Wild Rice, Cilantro, Sea Salt, Pepper, BBQ Sauce, Tomato, Fennel & Mustard Seed And Meatless Ⓥ Morning Star products.

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As always, this plant-based greatness was surrounded by Good (Surly) Beer, Cycling and FUN.

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Super Ⓥ-Dawg

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The climate in north central Illinois this late April-early May has not been the most friendly. Normally, I would be riding a bicycle with most of my free time. The cold wet wind needs to settle down. I don’t like to spend tons of time in the kitchen on the nicer days. Creating faster Ⓥ options leaves more time to get outside and play:)

In a skillet, (dry) minced Onions, Mustard Seed and Crushed Red Pepper were lightly sautéed in light oil before adding Morning Star glory (Ⓥ Seitan, Ⓥ Cheitan, Ⓥ Pulled Peirk). Canned Ⓥ Chili was added after a bit with Liquid Smoke, Sea Salt, Pepper, Sugar and Garlic Powder. Ⓥ Smart Dawgs were added and simmered.

In a separate pot, Jasmine and Wild Rice were cooked. The Rice was added to the Super Ⓥ Chili. Frozen Fries were baked. The Super Ⓥ-Dawg was built and Daiya was melted on top. BBQ Sauce and Mustard made the Dawgs even more Super.

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CHEERS

ⓋYRO w/ ⓋZAⓋZIKI Sauce

Not a single animal was harmed.

Veggie Broth was simmered with Liquid Smoke, (dry) minced Onion, Crushed Red Pepper flakes, Rice Wine & Balsamic Vinegar before adding Ⓥ: Pulled Peirk, Seitan, Cheican and sliced Onions. (Morning Star meat substitutes.)

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Wheat Pitas were purchased already made because I am a lazy A*#hole. They were topped with the plant-based meat substitutes, Dressing infused Lettuce, Cucumber, Tomato and ⓋzaⓋziki sauce.

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My dressing is Vegenaise, Lemon Juice, Sriracha, Balsamic Vinegar and CILANTRO.

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My ⓋzaⓋziki sauce is Ⓥegenaise, Garlic, Dill, Cucumber, Lemon Juice, Mustard, Sea Salt,  Pepper and Cayenne.

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Plants were severely harmed.

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RADIUM CITY BREWING

The Illinois Valley is actually quite historic. This area is often escaped upon and taken for granted from from diversely working class immigrant heritage wishing to live the “American Dream”. We have Germans, Polish, Irish, African American, Mexican, Italian and many in-between and more mixed heritage.

I leave town for a few days and of course Radium City is going to release a new brew. Calling around to a couple of liquor stores, one of which, Rudy’s Liquor, where my buddy purchased a Baptism By Vampire (the new brew) at. They claimed that they were out. BUMMER. Getting off of work, I call it a day in preporation for the following morning shift. Work is always fun for me. If you don’t like your job, it is your fault and you’re a fool being stuck somewhere that you do not wish to be.

Escaping from your job, love or hate, is essential. Ideally, freedom is our way of life and must be utilized. Nothing sets me free more than riding my bicycle wherever I want to have fun and Live. I stop at Rudy’s Liquor after work to become absolutely surprised by their Baptism By Vampire bombers in the cooler and on the shelf. These bottle tops were dipped in a sexy  red wax. I bought two:) Jumping onto the I&M Canal on my bicycle, I rode excited and thirsty until Split Rock where I took a little hydration break.

And stopping at the next town, Utica, IL – home of the Starved Rock State Park, I was ecstatically surprised to find BAPTISM BY VAMPIRE on draft at Duffy’s Tavern. A hard days work, a fun bike ride and a beautiful day was enhanced by Good Beer, Food and company courtesy of the Illinois Valley. Local greatness is local pride. If you can’t find it, get the f*ck out.

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soloCUBSparade I

I ride to honor the 2016 world champions, the Chicago Cubs. I ride in honor of the tremendously inspiring life of Mike Hall, whom lost his life this March riding his bicycle. I ride to overcome challange. I ride to predetermined destinations without the certainty of an exact route. 


The obstacles in my first portion of this soloCUBSparade were sunlight, vehicles, small bugs, suicidal butterfly bombers, one dog (I won the standoff), thirst, dying Garmin and extreme fun. 


Food could’ve been more healthy, but the Destihl brews were delicious. I listened to much of the CUBS game with intervals of good music through most of my 126 km ride. The wind was loud, but I’m assuming my legs will be screaming louder than the wind tomorrow. I may be dealing with storms tomorrow. I will also deal with new roads. Gravel is, by far, the safest route and will be utilized as much as possible. 


Sent from my iPhone


#RIDEON

Tofurky Cold Cut (LBⓋ 20)

Low Budget Vegan 20 is a simple sandwich. Since childhood, sandwiches have been absolutely comforting to me. I discovered the joy of Mayo and Mustard together around that same time. Obviously, my tastebuds have exponentially evolved from many years ago.

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  • Whole Wheat Bread (10) = $2.25 @ $0.23 per serving
  • Guacamole (15) = $2.99 @ $0.20 per serving
  • Hummus (9) = $1.99 @ $0.22 per serving
  • Horseradish (45) = $1.97 = $0.04 per serving
  • Tomato = $0.14 per serving
  • Onion = $0.09 per serving
  • (OPTIONAL) Peppered Tofurky (3) = $4.99 @ $1.66 per serving

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Overall, $2.40 per serving is not very low budget because of the Tofurky, but 74 cents per serving without the Tofurky. Tofurky is deliciously amazing in many palatably various ways. Purchase it, or do not purchase Tofurky. My Garmin Forerunner 235 uploaded my ride, finally. I’m drinking a Tart Cherry Beer and I’m excited to go to work in the morning. CHEERS

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•Ⓥ• Stuffed Rigatoni Pizza Pi •Ⓥ•

Back Burner Marinara is made with Various canned Tomato products, Onion, Celery, Carrot, Herbs, Sugar, SeaSalt, Pepper, Garlic… And cooked down over time.

 

Make Super Ⓥausage. Grind raw Cashews into a chunky powder and mix with Lightlife ‘beef’ & ‘sausage’, Tempeh, Fennel Seed, Ghost Pepper marinated Smart Dawg, frozen hash brown patty cooked, chilled and then leftoveringly diced, Liquid Smoke, Veggie Broth and GarlicPowder/SeaSalt/Pepper/Sugar.

 

A bit of Back Burner Marinara was thickened in a separate pot with a little Instant Mashed Potatoes.

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Cook Rigatoni, slightly overcooked, and rinse/cool. Cut Rigatoni in half (or leave intact) and stuff with Super Ⓥausage.

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Clobber your (Ⓥ) Pizza Dough or Crust with thickened Back Burner Marinara. Weight that Pizza Sauce down with generous amounts of Capers. Excellent Sauce tends to want to float up to where its level of greatness actually is:)

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Daiya needs to be a word already so my Mac doesn’t continue to try to correct the spelling. Daiya slices to contribute weight upon the Sauce. Stuffed Rigatoni is the next density to trap the ingredients together. Unfortunately, plant murder is my lifestyle. And after enough heat, the Sauce will not try and escape anymore.

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Splash with more Back Burner Marinara after baking. Enjoy a Good Beer and have a great day!

Ⓥausage Stuffed Rigatoni Waffle Pi

Make Super Ⓥausage. Grind raw Cashews into a chunky powder and mix with Lightlife ‘beef’ & ‘sausage’, Tempeh, Fennel Seed, Ghost Pepper marinated Smart Dawg, frozen hash brown patty cooked, chilled and then leftoveringly diced, Liquid Smoke, Veggie Broth and GarlicPowder/SeaSalt/Pepper/Sugar.

Back Burner Marinara is made with Various canned Tomato products, Onion, Celery, Carrot, Herbs, Sugar, SeaSalt, Pepper, Garlic… And cooked down over time.

 

Cook Rigatoni, slightly overcooked, and rinse/cool. Cut Rigatoni in half (or leave intact) and stuff with Super Ⓥausage. Bake Ⓥegan Waffles and top with sliced Daiya and melt.

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Place Super Ⓥausage stuffed Rotini’s on Waffle and slightly broil. Add Back Burner Marinara and a garnish. Alfalfa Sprouts were used with this one.

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