Chili EⓋolution

Posted on by jeffreylatty

I finished this blog this morning spending two hours on it only for WordPress to fail and erase a huge chunk of data. So, I went for a ride.

Friday Morning Ride


  
I’ve been making kick-ass Chili for at least (well documented) five years now. It has only truly been documented a few times, but I mastered my style of chili probably ten years ago I just never knew it until around 5 years ago. I used to make this kick-ass DIP (for chips) using nothing but chicken and actual veggies working in a restaurant kitchen. You know, against the rules kitchen food, to feed the staff. And from there after plugging the concept in with chili type ideas, my style of Chili was born.


I cannot believe I had the mindset, at more than one points in the past, to keep my cheffing secrets, secrets until they made me millions. I have now forever retired from a kitchen that I do not own. Might as well share and help someone develop their own style.


October is kind of a HUGE month for me. The month includes or almost includes: 

  • Trek HulkRip 2nd Birthday (Sept 22nd)
  • Trek Darth Vader 1st Birthday (Oct 30th) 
  • 1000 Vegetarian Day (Oct 26th)
  • 100 Vegan Day (Oct 16th)

When your own personal well-being is healthy and you truly feel well, it makes life much easier. I feel when healthier than not, stress levels are down and energy levels are up.


Since making a Vegetarian lifestyle change, I’ve noticed extremely better health vitals and weight loss without a true workout routine, other than cycling. Every time that I donate blood (Double Red Cell), I am assured my once moderately high blood pressure is still low. My gym is adventure. My gym is outdoors.

Chili Secrets:

  • Use Vegetables instead of powders
  • Use lots of Vegetables
  • Chop everything yourself, don’t be a lazy ass
  • Marinate on lowest of simmers for hours
  • Drink a good Beer

It shouldn’t necessarily be about ourselves as it should be about the animals, about the environment and truly realizing and comprehending the bigger picture. There is an impact bigger than just one person, cutting out meat/dairy or even just consuming less.


 Chili ingredients (2009):

  • Ground Turkey, eewwwwww
  • Bell Peppers, diced
  • Hot Peppers, diced
  • Onion, diced
  • Salt/Pepper
  • Water sometimes Chicken broth
  • Beans
  • Corn
  • Tomatoes, stewed, diced or chopped (can)
  • Cilantro, chopped
  • Cheddar Cheese, gross

I’ve made different variations through the years. Creating a creamier sauce with adding Cheese until last year. I made Lentili without butter or oil and almost Vegan. I think I added Cheese that wasn’t completely Vegan.


 Ever find an artist (music band) that makes you super excited after you find out the length of their discography to listen to. And only an eighth of their music is what you want and the rest is garbage. I really appreciate good bands that can stay consistently different through the years. Not sounding the same on every album, but not changing their roots either.

mewithoutyou


 Yam Lentili ingredients:

  • Garlic, diced finely
  • Onion, diced
  • Celery, diced
  • Carrot, diced
  • Hot Peppers – Jalapeño, Serrano, Poblano, Chipotle (in Adobo), diced
  • Bell Peppers – Green, Red, Yellow, Orange, diced
  • Veggie Broth, splashy
  • Tomatoes, deseeded & chopped
  • Day, mmmmmm
  • Kale, chopped
  • Cilantro, chopped or frozen cubes 🙂 lots
  • SeaSalt/Pepper
  • Parsley, chopped
  • BalsamicVinegar/Sriracha/Sugar
  • Sweet Potato, chopped and baked on parchment paper
  • I think I added Mushrooms, sliced
  • Lentils, Red (split) & Green 🙂


  
  
 I ain’t here to give cooking lessons. Use your imagination and have FUN! I did also make kick-ass Vegan Corn Bread. Seriously, play with your food!


  
 Ⓥ Cream Corn ingredients:

  • Corn, kernels
  • Cashew ‘Milk’
  • Earth balance, ‘Butter’
  • SeaSalt/Sugar/ChipotleP/Onion&GarlicP/NutritionalYeast
  • Balsamic Vinegar
  • Flour
  • Onion, diced
  • Parsley, chopped
  • Corn Meal
  • Parsley, chopped

I just mixed everything together, covered and set out for a good hour.

  
  
ⓋornBread ingredients:

  • Balsamic Vinegar & Sriracha
  • Flour & Sugar
  • Corn Meal
  • Poblano Pepper, just a little & diced
  • Cilantro, diced
  • Baking Powder & Soda
  • Ⓥ Cream Corn

Simply mixed together and baked.


Lentili Colcannon ingredients:

  • Yam Lentili
  • Potatoes, red & russet roasted
  • Cashew ‘milk’
  • Daiya, mmmm
  • Onion, diced
  • Jalapeño, diced
  • Garlic, diced
  • Corn
  • Parsley & Cilantro, chopped finally finely
  • Grape Tomatoes
  • SeaSalt/Pepper/BalsamicVinegar/Sriracha
  • OnionP/GarlicP/Sugar

 

Balls & Strikes:

  • I dry roasted and did not add any oil. I used one pan with PARCHMENT PAPER:) Added things at different times because not all veggies roast in the same time. I then mixed everything together and topped with Yam Lentili. I did not roast the Grape Tomatoes. I heated them up in the Cashew ‘milk’.

10.07.15 I’m taking my love for Chicago-style dawgs and Vegan lifestyle to another level tonight as the Chicago Cubs play the Pittsburgh Pirates in a wildcard matchup. The Cubs, not being in the post-season since 2008, are a stellar team this season.

10.08.15 The Chicago Cubs won and Jake Arrieta threw a complete game SHO (shutout). Jake has shown a poise that I’ve never seen from a Cubs pitcher. His confidence and simply his persona on the mound sometimes gives me goosebumps. The Chicago Cubs acquired Jake (and Pedro Strop) from the Baltimore Orioles on July 2, 2013 for Steve Clevenger and Scott Feldman. At the time I was sad to see Feldman go, but heard both Arrieta and Strop had potential. Arrieta pitched well the remainder of 2013 and 2014. He went 14-7 with a 2.81 ERA (Earned Runs x 9(innings in a game) ÷ IP (Innings Pitched)). And his numbers are in for 2015 with a whopping 22 wins to only 6 losses. Having the best stats ever after the all-star break. Baseball has been around since the 19th century. Baseball has been a game for a few minutes.

I have created the Ⓥ Jake Arrieta’s. Ⓥ=Vegan. I made five of these monsters being strong, consistent & extremely healthy. The Ⓥ Jake Arrieta is a friendly neighborhood Char Dawg.


Chicago-style Relish ingredients:

  • Tomato, deseeded and diced
  • Cucumber, deseeded and diced
  • Onion, diced
  • Hot Peppers (Poblano & Jalapeno), deseeded and diced
  • Celery Seed
  • Celery Salt
  • SeaSalt/Pepper/ChipotleP/OnionP/GarlicP
  • Poppy Seed

MIX 🙂

Since being close to 100 days Vegan, my body has skyrocketed to amazing well-being and health. I’m going to live for 300 years. And I think that I am shrinking while still being very strong. I can ride a bicycle so much better and faster. My energy level is through the roof. And I feel AMAZING.


Ⓥ Jake Arrieta a Ⓥegan Chicago-style Lentili CharDawg ingredients:

  • Chicago-style Relish, mmmm
  • Buns, bigger the better
  • Daiya, mmmmmmmmmmmmm
  • Vegan Hot Dog (I use Lightlife Smart Dogs-JUMBO), charred
  • Mustard, organic 🙂
  • Lentili, mmmmmmmmmmmmm
  • Chipotle Powder, mmmmmm

Extra Innings:

  • Cut the ends of your smart dogs to keep from blistering.
  • Bake/Broil until your level of char or you patience allows.
  • Add already warm Lentili and Daiya and broil.
  • Broil Buns if desired, I’m a char-head.
  • Top with Chicago Relish, Organic Mustard and Chipotle Powder


  
I also came up with a salad concept of Roasted Veggies mixed with Romaine and Lentili as the ‘dressing’. It was good. I made Sweet Potato chips with my first batch of Ⓥ Jake Arrieta’s, but I was a little too tipsy to take a decently good pic. Hopefully today is much better with the art of photography. I also made three Dawgs a little different, yesterday. I feel like I’m forgetting some stuff. DAMNIT.


  
  
The Cubs play STL in a best of 5 NLDS and I’ve been saying all season that if the Cubs want to win big, they have to be able to destroy STL. And they can. Go CUBBIES & Happy Friday!


This Will Destroy You

And it is now Saturday.. HAPPY SATURDAY!

I came up with yet another Lentili concoction. This one is a Lentili Spudwich.

And these are a concept of eating Lentili without utensils, being Potato bowls filled with Lentili and Daiya!

Ⓥ Souper

Posted on by jeffreylatty

  
My choice of Vegan lifestyle obviously started with the easy decision of Vegetarianism close to three years ago. And while maintaining 100% Vegetarian lifestyle, I progressively made Vegan adaptations.

  
Social media is a tool and often a tool for me to reference statistics or dates. Today I’m gonna search through my social diary in Twitter. At some point in my life, I want to write a book with basically just my tweets.

  • First purposely #VeganVriday was 1.9.15
  • First purposely #VeganVeekend was 5.29.15

I did not survive every VeganFriday and I think I failed only one VeganWeekend after starting. I did, however, notice a difference in my digestive system and stomach between Vegetarianism and Veganism. Ultimately bringing me to the no-brainer decision of upgrading vegetarianism into Veganism as of 7.8.15.

  
I have finally found my love for Earth Balance Vegan ‘butter’. “Better late than never.” Says everyone.

  
I made SOUP for the first time in this colder turning time. And I was going to name it Souper Ⓥ Supe, but chose to shorten to Ⓥ Souper.

  
I found out that Sweet Potato skins are very edible and very good.

  
I resurrected my very first “real” bicycle in honor of his second birthday on September 22nd, in a 2014 Trek CrossRip. I’ve named him the HulkRip. I’ve ridden him through hell and back at over 7,000 km. He needed new cables, brakes, chain, cassette, chain ring and tape and pedals which I put on. He sat up at the bike shop for a good month awaiting a chain keeper. I’d like to keep HulkRip rideable for a long long time. And rode him for the first time in months yesterday. Happy Birthday, HulkRip!

   
    
 Ⓥ Souper ingredients:

  • Tofu, soft
  • Soyrizzo, had to add another ‘z’ because I’m a cubbies fan
  • Mushroom, sliced
  • Sunflower Seeds, shelled & I used non salted
  • Garlic, minced
  • Radish, sliced
  • Onion, Diced and julienne sliced
  • Green Pepper, shorter julienne sliced
  • Tomato, beefsteak diced and grape-whole
  • Spinach
  • BalsamicVinegar/Oil
  • Earth Balance ‘butter’, mmmmm
  • Jasmine Rice, cooked
  • Lentils, cooked
  • Kale, frozen & NonGMO mmm
  • Eggplant, chopped
  • Zucchini, chopped
  • Sweet Potato, chopped w/ skin
  • Red Potato, chopped w/ skin
  • Russet Potato, chopped w/ skin
  • Cilantro, frozen cubes mmm
  • SeaSalt/Pepper/Cayenne
  • Serrano & Hot Peppers, diced
  • Veggie Broth

Insanity:

  

I actually started out making a breakfast stir-fry and severely enjoyed it before later making into soup.

  

  • Cook Rice and Lentils together while stir-frying and later drain before adding.
  • Heat Oil and add Garlic, Hot Peppers, Potatoes, diced Onion and Eggplant.
  • Add Tofu, Soyrizzo, Sunflower Seeds and diced Tomato. Cover and sauté.
  • Add Seasonings, Rice/Lentils and BalsamicVinegar with generous Earth balance! Cover
  • Always stir occasionally…duh
  • Add Kale, Zucchini, Green Pepper, Julienne Onion, Radish, Mushroom, Cilantro& Grape Tomatoes
  • Can’t forget the SPINACH
  • Cover and simmer low

  
I served the stir-fry w/ wheat toast with Earth balance. I FREAKING LOVE EARTH BALANCE.

  
Rano Pano – Mogwai

  
To make Soup, I honestly just added Broth as it mixed and thickened extremely well. Very flavorful! And powerfully nutritious!

   
   
Go Cubbies as it’s almost playoff time! Have a good beer, take a good pic and ride a bicycle before the cold hits! Happy Thursday and Happy Weekend! Do something out of the ordinary!

  
  

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!