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!

  
  

Ⓥegan Pasta

Posted on by jeffreylatty

  
Yesterday was my very first experience buying, cooking and consuming Earth Balance Vegan ‘butter’. It was extremely enjoyable and I’m officially now a lifelong customer. Along with Vegenaise, Earth Balance is better than animal-based dairy. SERIOUSLY. It could be the evolution of my palate, but serious tastiness anyway you consume these wonderful plant-based products is a no brainer.

   
   
Saturday night, immediately after work, I went for a ride via towpath to drink some beers and make a small night out of it. I noticed the super moon and was extremely impressed with the visuality of a normally immensely dark (death metal) towpath. I still used my light, but would’ve been fine without my NiteRider Lumina 700. When the moon casts shadows, you (me) know its close to our earth. For the second time this year, I completed a (my) local bars Hall of Foam where you get your name on a plaque for drinking 50 different beers. It was a great night! (Warning: not all in one night)

   
   
Here in northern Illinois, it has been unseasonably warm this September. And yesterday was the first Fall-like day this year (2015:). Chili (and Soup) season is HERE! Last night, after work, I had to make a buttery pasta with the amazing Earth Balance. I decided to make a Mexicano (Ⓥ) Pasta and I’ll just go ahead and call it Mexicano Ⓥasta.

   
 Mexicano Ⓥasta ingredients:

  • Earth Balance ‘butter’, mmmmmmmmm
  • Garlic, minced
  • Carrot, sliced small longways
  • Onion, (red) diced
  • Sweet Potato, WITH PEEL ON (try it!) chopped
  • Oil/BalsamicVinegar
  • SeaSalt/Pepper/ChipotleP/Cayenne/C.R.P./Paprika/FennelSeed
  • Cilantro, I used frozen cubes
  • Kale, frozen & NONGMOProjectVerified
  • Corn, kernels
  • Tomato, grape sliced
  • Rice, Jasmine & cooked
  • Lentils, cooked
  • Radish, sliced
  • Mushroom, sliced
  • Eggplant, chopped
  • Squash, Zucchini & chopped
  • Angel Hair pasta, cooked al dente & not rinsed
  • Thickening agent, instant mashed potatoes

  

T minus ______ until blastoff:

  • Added a bit of Oil to heated pan and sautéed Garlic with Carrot, Sweet Potato, Onion & Eggplant while cooking Jasmine Rice and Lentils on another burner.
  • I added seasonings, Corn, BalsamicVinegar & Zucchini, covering for a few minutes.
  • Once Rice/Lentils are done, I strained and added with Earth balance ‘butter’, Cilantro, Tomato, Radish & Mushroom, covering on a simmer.
  • I cooked Angel Hair (Capellini for those Italians:) al dente and strained. If you’d like, a little Oil on pasta…
  • I added a few pinches of instant mashed potatoes as a thickening agent and served over plated pasta!

  
I couldn’t stop eating this pasta. Not literally, but just about. I might eat the leftovers for breakfast!

  
I hope everyone is having a great week! I also hope no one witnessed any crazies during this Super Moon.

  
And go Chicago Cubbies! Happy Wednesday!

  
I also made Sweet Potato Chips 🙂 (to be mastered)

Ⓥegan Goulash

Posted on by jeffreylatty

  
I’m sure that I’m not the only one who runs low on cash and/or is keeping purchases down. I’m low on food and in order to keep costs down I’ve kept myself out of the grocery store. I have quite a few recipe maps just waiting for me to buy the ingredients and to go to town. This Goulash is basically just using stuff in the refrigerator and cupboard that would go well together. Also, somewhat being a geek, I looked up ‘Goulash’ in my dictionary widget. 

  
Growing up, Goulash was more of a pasta/soup kind of dish. It usually was different, but often tasty and comforting. Here is my screen shot with the definition. Also, my Ⓥegan countup and for some reason I have my time as Seattle time…And “countdown” is a word, but “countup” is not. That is not fair. And for the last three minutes I’ve been searching for countdown antonyms. My phone or Safari is not really responding. And I’m not finding anything…..

  
Countdown (noun) – an act of counting numerals in reverse order to zero, especially to time the last seconds before the launching of a rocket or missile

  
Antonyms of Countdown (made-up;):

  • CountUp
  • CountForth
  • CountVertical
  • RiseOvaRun
  • GoalProgress
  • OptimisticForward
  • GlassISoverflowing
  • UpTime
  • UphillHeadwind

Anyways….

   
 Ⓥegan Goulash ingredients:

  • Rice, brown and white (real Rice)
  • Garlic/Ginger, minced
  • Oregano/NutritionalYeast/Pepper/BrownSugar/SeaSalt/ChiliP/OnionP
  • Sriracha/BalsamicVinegar/Water
  • Potatoes, red & russet-chopped
  • Blackeyed Peas, (only had canned) drained & rinsed
  • Corn, (only had canned) drained & rinsed
  • Tomatoes, grapeish and rinsed
  • Radish, quartered
  • Hot Peppers, diced
  • Oil
  • Daiya, mmmm
  • Mashed Potatoes, instant (for thickening)

Garden fresh grape tomatoes after being cooked in something else and then biting into that juicy ball of joy is an amazing feeling and sense of euphoria.

  • I basically sautéed the Garlic and Ginger in oil before adding Potato. Covered and cooked for a bit and then added seasonings and BalsamicVinegar/Sriracha
  • Cooking Rice until almost done, then add Radish and Tomatoes and finish 
  • Add a thickening agent-I used Instant Mashed Potatoes
  • I then broiled Daiya on top

   
 TGIF… It is Friday and that means tomorrow is Saturday. The day of a big ride I’m supposed to participate in, but can’t, due to work conflicting inappropriately. Happy weekend, be safe & party on, dudes!

  

    Ⓥeganism Science

    Posted on by jeffreylatty

      
    Earlier this year, I turned 30. Earlier this morning (9.19.15), I threw out my back from standing up from a sitting position. My back pain is horrific. I can still ride a bicycle. So, all is (mostly) well.

       
     Yesterday, I tried another from scratch Vegan Burger sandwich. It was not perfect. It has been quite a few days since this blog draft started. And when you smell it… Today is Monday Monday Monday, Monday (as in Monday September 21, 2015.) I freaking love Mondays. As far as my knowledge goes, it’s not a holiday. I usually am off of work on Mondays and that has been my go-to day for 5-10 years. Even back in the day working for the Sicilians, we were closed on Mondays! Every holiday on a Monday puts more assholes in the streets, in my yard, and I’m usually wishing assholes weren’t such assholes, but once an asshole-always an asshole. And it usually sucks to have to share the roads with them.

      
    My back still kills. I’m trying to spin it off. Today was mostly hard gravel and overall super strenuous. I feel I need a good baseball bat to the back. And I mean a real baseball bat, wooden not aluminum. I rode on gravel because it is awesome, because it’s usually low traffic roads and three because I roll well somehow some way. I am guilty of riding road tires on the heaviest, densest and brutal gravel. (Now yesterday) It was busy with dogs, tractors and vehicles. It (I am the king of Procrastinate Island) reminded me of a summer Monday holiday with people just wanting to drive all dangerously and fast. I found a Gravel Matrices in the middle of corn (GMO) country where there aren’t stop signs not even yield signs at the Gravel Matrix intersections.

      
    I am in no way scared of dogs, but on a bicycle around free dogs (which is great) has me severely stressed and anxious of being bit, getting hit by a car and/or falling. And swimming through gravel on my 32 road tires at 30-34 km/h (20+ mph) trying to go faster than the dog while the dog constantly switches sides like he’s hunting dinner and myself constantly looking back while passing through a gravel intersection was just about the worst combination of events I can think of. Gratefully, no one was injured.

       
       
    And then the same thing happened just three minutes later with a giant John Deere tractor. This dude seemingly was gonna run me over until I (I often ride with music in my ears) finally noticed this bone crushing machine directly behind me and I immediately pulled over and stopped. I gave him a good stare, but felt he did nothing wrong really, hence no middle finger. And there were cars driving on all of this gravel like it was a party. One was a mailman, but I’ve never seen so much gravel traffic.

      

    Bean Concoction ingredients:

    • Garlic, diced
    • Ginger, diced
    • Lentil/Split Pea, cooked
    • Red and Pinto Beans, cooked
    • Noodles
    • SeaSalt/Pepper/Sugar
    • Soy Sauce
    • Celery, sliced
    • Carrots, whole baby carrots
    • Onion, diced
    • Spinach, baby
    • Hot Pepper, diced
    • Corn
    • Salsa
    • Grilled Eggplant, diced
    • Oil

    To-Do List:

    • Heat Oil and sauté Garlic and Ginger before adding Onion, Celery & Carrots.
    • I cooked everything else together and Beans were not pre cooked.

      
    I enjoyed a plate and then the next day decided to try Vegan Burgers from scratch. I named them Herbivores Outsmart Carnivore. Other than the consistency, they were amazing.

      

    Herbivores Outsmarts Carnivore ingredients:

    • Bean Concoction, NutriNinja pureed
    • Tofu, soft
    • Nutritional Yeast & Chipotle Powder
    • BalsamicVinegar/Sriracha
    • Mashed Potatoes, instant (experimental)
    • Buns, gourmet & grilled
    • Eggplant, grilled and sliced
    • Tomato, garden fresh (if possible) and grilled
    • Portabello Mushroom Cap, sliced & grilled
    • Daiya, mmmmmm
    • Potato/Radish/Carrot, grilled for the side (if applicable)
    • Spinach, leafy and baby

       

       
    Spin Class:

    • Pureed the Bean Concoction and combined Tofu, Nutritional Yeast, Chipotle Powder, BalsamicVinegar/Sriracha and Instant Mashed Potatoes in hoping to solidify the mixture.
    • I grilled the Bun, Eggplant, Portabello and Tomato before hand on a cast iron skillet.
    • Then I grilled the Potato, Radish and Carrot on the cast iron skillet.
    • I formed patties out of the mixture and put them on a pan lined with parchment paper and baked.
    • Instead of flipping, I broiled the top. The patties were’t as solid as I would’ve liked. I broiled Daiya on inside of Buns on top of Spinach and on top of patties with Mushroom and Eggplant on top.
    • I made this a Dubbel sandwich combining two patties and enjoyed with a Saison Dolores from Almanac out of San Fran.
    • It was very good and the consistency of the patty could be stronger, but very edible!

      
    And this is where my insanity comes out to play.

      
    I am absolutely addicted to potatoes and Colcannon. I had left over Herbivore Outsmarts Carnivore which on its own is basically superfood and added to it to basically make spontaneous Ⓥ Superfood.

      

    Ⓥ Superfood ingredients:

    • Herbivore Outsmarts Carnivore mixture
    • Roasted potatoes, mashed
    • Salsa
    • SeaSalt/BrownSugar
    • Instant Mashed Potatoes, still experimenting as a thickening agent

    This is pretty self explanatory as I don’t attend to teach anyone how to cook, just sharing my ideas and trying to take away your sanity 🙂 It was very good and very powerful!

      

    Ⓥ Superfood Upgraded ingredients:

    • Ⓥ Superfood, powerfully
    • Water, mmmmm
    • Rice, brown and white (real Rice)
    • Radish, sliced
    • Garlic/Ginger/Onion, minced
    • Oil
    • Spinach, leafy and babyish
    • Daiya

    Superman approved processes:

    • I’m guilty of insanity and having too much fun sometimes. This was very enjoyable.
    • I brought water to a small boil and simmered the rice for quite sometime infusing that rice with flavor and SUPERNESS!
    • I sautéed Garlic/Ginger/Onion in Oil obtaining color before adding Radishes and Spinach.
    • I plated the Superfood Rice and put sautéed gravy sauce (?) over top and broiled with some Daiya.

      
    I’m truly not sure if I can ever surpass this entire process, but it kept me not hungry and entertained for a few days. And parents tell their children not to play with their food. I say PLAY WITH YOUR FOOD & HAVE FUN WITH IT! Recipes are guidelines. Do not follow them to a T. Take some pics, have a beer and ride your bicycle. Be safe, be healthy and blog off:)


    (Apologies, I’m not ordering you to do anything, just recommending.)

    Damnit, I almost forgot to share this Dubbel Boca idea…

      

    Tom Relly ingredients:

    • Tomato, garden & deseeded and diced (save the guts!)
    • Garlic/Ginger/Onion/Oregano, minced & lightly toasted
    • Oil/Sriracha/BalsamicVinegar
    • Celery Seed
    • Eggplant, grilled & diced
    • Bun or Bread, grilled heavily and super diced

    Mix

      

    Dubbel Boca ingredients:

    • Boca, vegan & baked or pan-fried
    • Bun, gourmet and grilled on inside
    • Tom Relly, mmmmm
    • Mustard
    • Chipotle Powder
    • Daiya, mmmmmm

      

    Brain Surgery:

    • Have your Tom Relly, ready. If everything else is grilled and ready before hand, life is easier to construct your edibles to be destroyed by you plant eating herbivorous monsters! I created a massive thunderstorm above theⓋ Boca patties. There was heavy winds, loud thunder and not a drop of rain until right before the climax of the evil storm squirted out flavorful Organic Mustard followed by the precise light mist of smoky Chipotle Powders and then vanishing into muggy humid Illinois air (sound effect (of your choice)), these ridiculous sentences are gone.
    • I grilled another Potato for the side. I constructed the Dubbel Boca onto the bottom (already grilled (on the inside)) Bun creating a tight seal of Chipotle Mustardation between the Boca’s. I then piled Tom Relly (it’s short for Tomato Relish, ok…)
    • I put as much Daiya possible on top of this erected edible Ⓥ tower of power and BROILED
    • Serve as hot as your (my) evil soul for inflicting cruel evil torturing pain on this plant based food before I devour it like I hate plants.

      
    Happy Tuesday, y’all.

    Must Watch on Netflix 

    Posted on by jeffreylatty

    Cowspiracy
    There are many reasons why I’ve been Vegaetarian for three years and now Vegan for three months. Yes, some are to greedily better myself, however, I feel my lifestyle is truly something I can do to help better our world. And to me, that makes it much more worth it. 

    Let’s make a real difference. 

    Grilled Daiya

    Posted on by jeffreylatty

      

    Grilled Daiya sandwich ingredients:

    • Daiya, ‘Cheddar’ & ‘Mozzarella’
    • Wheat Bread, toasted on one side
    • Hummus
    • Vegenaise Upgraded
    • Grilled Eggplant, NonGMOProjectVerified & diced
    • Seitan, NonGMOProjectVerified/Chipotle&Diced
    • Tortilla Chips & Sriracha, for side or something else

    IMG_9581

    Vegenaise Upgraded ingredients:

    • Vegenaise, mmm
    • Mustard, organic
    • Cucumber, diced without seeds
    • Onion, diced
    • Tomato, diced and strained

    MIX

       

     Lunch Bells:

    • Toast one side of Wheat Bread and smother bottom with Hummus and top with Vegenaise Upgraded w/ eggplant on top of Hummus and Seitan on top of Vegenaise Upgraded & broil
    • Add Generous amounts of Daiya to both sided and broil
    • Put sandwich together and grill (cast iron skillet) on both sides
    • Cut in half diagonal if you dare
    • Serve with a side or Tortilla Chips with Sriracha

      
    Super quick and super easy is ideal for a solid lunch. Happy Wednesday!

    Vegan Ⓥhinese

    Posted on by jeffreylatty

      
    In a recent blog, I briefly shared an easy Chinese-style concoction that is super easy to make however you’d like. I made a massive batch and decided to go out with a bang and fix it up just a bit in the end.

      
    I tell ya what, Non GMO Project Verified Food sells me every time. And I usually pay more, but for the pride it delivers me, it’s well worth it. I wrapped my handlebars with new Bontrager tape. And I’m loving the new look.

      
      
    Ⓥegan Ramen ingredients:

    • Ramen Noodles, seasoning discarded
    • Potatoes, diced and boiled (or roasted)
    • Broccoli, fresh or frozen florets-blanched
    • Garlic, minced
    • Ginger, minced
    • Soy Sauce, Vegan
    • SeaSalt/Pepper
    • BalsamicVinegar/Sriracha
    • Vegetable Broth
    • Peanut Oil
    • Vegetable Oil
    • Sunflower Seeds, shelled
    • Fishless Filets, baked & sliced
    • Grilled Eggplant, baked

      

    Chopsticks to mouth:

      

    • Cook Ramen slightly undercooking, draining and leave separate seasoned with Soy Sauce and Sriracha.
    • Cook Potatoes and blanch Broccoli and leave aside.
    • Add Oil/Garlic/Ginger and sauté for a couple of minutes before adding everything else and mixing.
    • This time around I baked Fishless Filets and Grilled Eggplant and just sliced the Fishless Filets and put on top
    • I could have brought more Broccoli to top, but I’m lazy and I was hungry!

    Eat healthy to be healthy! 

      

    Vegan Ⓥuesadilla

    Posted on by jeffreylatty


    Spontaneous cheffing is often extremely successful for me. Spontaneity isn’t for everyone and often kicks my ass, but not all the time. I had a long day at work and got off around 2000 (8:00pm) and commuted home and broke my THIRD damn spoke in two months and had an urge to buy beers and good food.


    And out of know where, I had the idea of making Ⓥegan Quesadillas. Here is my shopping list (not premeditated):

    • 6-pack 16oz. PBR
    • 12oz. Funky Pumpkin
    • Bomber Thunderstruck IPA
    • Daiya ‘Mozzarella’
    • Daiya ‘Cheddar’
    • Hummus
    • Guacamole
    • Fiesta Pico de Gallo
    • Buns
    • Whole Wheat Tortilla
    • Lightlife Smart Dogs
    • Chipotle Seitan
    • Gardein Fishless Filets
    • Woodstock frozen Grilled Eggplant
    • (2) Vegan Nugo Dark Chocolate Pretzal



    Ⓥuesadilla ingredients:

    • BrownRice/Lentils/SpiltPeas/dicedNonGMOfrozenGrilledEggplant:)
    • Sugar/SeaSalt/Pepper/GarlicAmpersandOnionP/ONEBayLeaf/ChiliP
    • Whole Wheat Tortillas, pre grilled
    • Daiya, yellow and white-mmmmm
    • Pico De Gallo, strained
    • Hummus, spreadily readily
    • Guacamole, readily spreadily
    • Chipotle Seitan or Fishless filets (sliced) or party hard and do both!


    40 ounces to freedom:

    • Quesadilla makers are for cowards and T-Rex armed godzillas (not that they would have weapons shooting T-Rexs, just their ARMS BEING SHORT)
    • Cook Legumes and Brown Rice with the seasonings below where I mentioned above? Throw diced Eggplant in, also.
    • Grill Tortillas before hand, the tops on both sides and the bottoms just on the inside. Cast Iron with a Grill?
    • On the inside (grilled side tortilla), smear hummus, Legumes/Rice/Eggplant then add Daiya, Seitan or Fishlessness, Daiya, Pico De Gallo
    • Place completed Quesadilla on non stick surface and cook readily. you could even build the Ⓥuesadilla on your non stick pan. I did cover with a lid to help melt the Daiya. I cut with my sharp ass chef knife into four.


    DO NOT CUT YOURSELF ON ACCIDENT


    Also, hopefully not in person, planned. (I became a little tipsy last night and again couldn’t finish a blog)


    Last year I bought a low end FatBike. It was a Corsa Mammoth. I bought it for like $650. I basically rode it into the ground. It’s existence made it almost 1,000 km. And now I plan on either eventually fixing that FatBike up and buying a new one or selling it for cheap, but still buying a new one. And I think I’m gonna go with a Charge Cooker (pronounced Koker). I just need to get some cash together. A FatBike brings permit-smiles and winter cycling easier.


    Happy weekend! Be safe! Have fun!

    Labor Day Mayhem

    Posted on by jeffreylatty

      
    The thing that I miss most about not being Vegetarian and even not being Vegan is, I think, that gross euphoric sense of accomplishment of consuming something that took time off of your (my) life. I believe I’ve been trying to recreate that sense with Veganism, but any way I go about it, Veganism is super healthy without that sick feeling. Even Vegetarianism provides that sense that ultimately contributes to obesity and copes with horrible days.

      
    I’ve been Vegan for over two months and this Monday (Labor Day) brought myself urging for that disgusting sense that would make a bad day, good? I had the worst ride of my life.

      
    I lost a screw to one of my cleats to one of my cycling shoes right off the bat and I also was stranded with a flat tire and a failed patch kit in BFE. I chose to be dropped off 60 minutes from home and ride home in round-about fashion. I had a gravel climb that made me stop and change my auto-pause speed to 2 km/h instead of 12 on my Garmin Edge 1000. 

      
    That climb also made me want to quit cycling forever. And that was part of an oncoming gravel ride later this month. Being labor day, most assholes didn’t have to work and were all driving around like assholes. I had to cross a bridge over a bigger sized river with no freaking shoulder. I took the wrong way on a highway without a shoulder where it was super busy. I had to backtrack and I saved my life by walking back on the nonexistent shoulder.

       
     I found a really cool area of rolling gravel roads and obtained that flat. I believe it was a pinch flat… And made sure to bring tools, but when i was ready to use my patch kit, the glue was all dried up. I had to walk (of shame) with a bicycle on my shoulder for 90 minutes before I could even get service where I could call to be picked up in the closest town. 

       
     The entire time I was pissed that I used my only spare tube in order to replace a slow leak in an old tube putting different tires on and keeping tubes in my (now off) road tires and dreamed of justifying the day by crushing a cheese pizza.

      
    I brought just enough water and two Smart bars and was eventually picked up.

      
    It’s set in stone that I’ll be Vegetarian for the rest of my life. Not so much with Veganism (yet). I did not crush a cheese pizza, but made a big batch of chinese-style noodles and a Vegan Mayhem sandwich. I found squeezable ginger that had me super excited until I saw the bullshit preservatives added. I still had to buy it.

    I was so hungry and exhausted that I had energy to make a huge batch of Vegan Ramen. Noodles are Vegan, seasoning is not.

      
    Ⓥegan Ramen ingredients:

    • Ramen Noodles, seasoning discarded
    • Potatoes, diced and boiled (or roasted)
    • Broccoli, fresh or frozen florets-blanched
    • Garlic, minced
    • Ginger, minced
    • Soy Sauce, Vegan
    • SeaSalt/Pepper
    • BalsamicVinegar/Sriracha
    • Vegetable Broth
    • Peanut Oil
    • Vegetable Oil
    • Sunflower Seeds, shelled 

    Chopsticks to mouth:

    • Cook Ramen slightly undercooking, draining and leave separate seasoned with Soy Sauce and Sriracha.
    • Cook Potatoes and blanch Broccoli and leave aside.
    • Add Oil/Garlic/Ginger and sauté for a couple of minutes before adding everything else and mixing.

      

      Vegenaise Upgraded ingredients:

      • Vegenaise, mmm
      • Mustard, organic
      • Cucumber, diced without seeds
      • Onion, diced
      • Tomato, diced and strained

      MIX

        

      Ⓥegan Mayhem:

      I then panfried two Vegan Boca patties and a Ciabatta bun (insides down). I put the two patties on the bottom bun and added noodles without any Broccoli and put a scoop of Vegenaise Upgraded on top and broiled for three minutes.

        
      It was tasty and still healthier than anything animal based. Perhaps I didn’t achieve that early death feeling, but I honestly didn’t need it. My ride was horrible, but I took a few good pictures, rode in the rain and wasn’t hurt in any way. #RideOn