music – Page 3 – VeggHead BeerCyclist

BREAKⓋAST

Posted on November 30, 2015December 3, 2015 by jeffreylatty

There are most likely numerous things I do miss about a carnivorous and non-Vegan lifestyle, but, for some reason, I miss that sickening full feeling the most. And the subconscious connection between comfort-food and that sickly full atmospheric pressure is in the back of my brain as I’m still attaining to retain that damn sensation.

The conclusion was creating an awesome ongoing process of constructing Ⓥegan food that is extremely good for you that will never provide a sick-full ambience, like chasing a water-like mirage for 100 kms in a sand-boiling-into-glass desert. After months and months of scientifically creating food ideas like Einstein with an apron on and like Einstein riding a bicycle, there IS NOT a way to be engulfed by that death euphoria without torturing, murdering and consuming animal flesh or animal dairy products.

I will never in my life eat animal flesh ever again. So, it is settled. I do still enjoy creating and consuming Ⓥ “comfort-food”, but I will never experience that deathly ill susceptibility. I will only have an energetic, healthy and LIFEFUL consciousness and how is that a bad thing.

One fact that bothers me is Albert Einstein, the brilliant scientist, believed in vegetarianism his whole life, yet only practiced a vegetarian lifestyle at the conclusion of his life. For someone so smart, why did it take him so long..? I’d truly enjoy asking him that question.

I’ve recently noticed a trend of mothers posting cute pictures of their children and calling them “hams” on various social media platforms. I am biased being Vegan and haven’t stuck a fork in ham for well over three years, but I find it disturbing. All that I can think of is the torture and murder involved in preparing that “cute” dead animal flesh for the holiday. Why is that becoming a fad? I hope for the sake of quality of life that I am not the only one that has noticed and been bothered by this. Maybe I am overthinking this, but felt an urge to shed some light on this. If anyone can explain the reasoning behind this, I’d greatly appreciate it. I can only think of ignorance.

Penguins Kill Polar Bears

A newly found artist, Penguins Kill Polar Bears, are a post-rock scottish foursome that are talented and loud.

CHECK ‘EM OUT

PenguinsKillPolarBears

I am also gonna, from now on, keep track of prices most of the prices in relation to their serving sizes. LBV is still not finished, also. (Low Budget Vegan)

BREAKⓋAST ingredients:

Tofu, extra firm (6) @ $2.98 = $0.50 per serving
Eggplant, chopped (8) @ $1.78 = $0.23 per serving
Spinach, sliced (3.5) @ $2.98 = $0.86 per serving
Shallot, sliced (6) @$0.72 = $0.12 per serving
Portabellini, sliced (3.5) @ $3.99 = $1.14 per serving
SEASONING: SeaSalt/Pepper/FennelSeed/ DillWeed/Oil = $0.07
Lightlife ‘sausage’, crumbled (7) @ $4.99 = $0.72 per serving
Lightlife ‘beef’, crumbled (7) @ $4.99 = $0.72 per serving
Rye Bread, grilled (16) @ $2.89 = $0.19 per serving
Earth Balance (30) @ $4.99 = $0.17 per serving
Tortilla, warm – for burrito (8) @ $1.25 = $0.16 per serving
Potato, diced (20) @ $2.99 = $0.15 per serving
Garlic, minced (27) @ $2.99 = $0.12 per serving

This is definitely not the cheapest meal, at $4.43 per serving, it is well worth it for health and general life benefits. And depending on quality of vegetables, it can cost more. The spinach and Mushrooms are ridiculously expensive for the servings. Not 100% sure those were the serving sizes, but still way more than I normally want to spend.

I do not feel like going into much detail on how I made this. It’s pretty simple. I think I broke my toe last night and I’m going to attempt to ride tonight! I, also, am going to buy a Fat Bike tonight!!!

It’s been quite a few months since I rolled a FATTY!

Happy THURSDAY! Enjoy a good BEER

Chili EⓋolution

Posted on October 10, 2015October 11, 2015 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 October 1, 2015October 2, 2015 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 Comfortisms

Posted on September 14, 2015 by jeffreylatty

Vegan comfort food might not be as readily available as say fast food or other animal product junk. It is, however, easy to create with help from great non animal products. Any Vegan ‘junk’ food is healthier and Better for the world than animal base junk food.

I’ve been a big fan of Apple Music the last couple of months and I decided to check up on some bands that I have not been keeping track of in the recent years like I used to. One of the bands that I have been keeping track of since day 2 is deftones. I’ve been purchasing albums since 1997. They are single handidly my favorite band and have been since probably 1998. Their first album, Adrenaline, came out in 1995. And it would have been one of my first albums ever purchased. If I remember correctly, this would be my first five CD and Cassettes:

The Doors – Greastest Hits
Ozzy – The Ozzman Cometh
Limp Bizkit – Three Dollar Bill, Y’all
Rage Against The Machine – Evil Empire
Deftones – Adrenaline

I’ve learned over the years that in order to gain use out of your ingredients, you’ll (me) have to plan around bulk ingredients. And as I’m blogging these (all over your face) there is an overlap of ingredients. Use it or Lose it! I came up with a Ⓥlattaco, grilled apple ampersand The Post-Apolacalyptic Zombie Butcher VeggHead.

Just today I used Apple Music to check up on the band Korn and their new music. They really went downhill after Follow The Leader. Deftones have kept themselves very good and still make very interesting music and they appear to continue to. And because of this, I’m going to share a favorite song off of every album.

I really hope at least one music lover that has never experienced deftones took at least five minutes to click on one of the above links to enjoy. Now onto the food. I was impressed with the look and the simplicity of a grilled apple, but it wasn’t as tasty as I was hoping.

Ⓥlattaco ingrediets:

Whole Wheat Tortilla, Grilled on one side
Hummus
Guacamole, spicy 🙂
BrownRice/Lentils/SpiltPeas/dicedNonGMOfrozenGrilledEggplant:) cook in below seasonings
Sugar/SeaSalt/Pepper/GarlicAmpersandOnionP/ONEBayLeaf/ChiliP w/ water to cook above ingredients in
Daiya, ‘Cheddar’ & ‘Mozzarella’ mmmmmmmm
Fishless Filets, baked and sliced
Seitan, Chipotle Seitan 🙂
Onion, grilled for garnish
Fiesta Pico De Gallo w/ Pineapple, strained

Rocket Science:

This is a Taco Cookie, Flat Taco or better yet an open Quesadilla. It is very easy and very tasty! Smear the living shit out of the already grilled side of Tortilla with Hummus and Guacamole.
Generously, but carefully, place a layer of BrownRice/SplitPeas/Lentils/GrilledEggplant
Cover with both types of Daiya, Seitan and Fishlessness’
Place in nonstick pan and cook over low-medium heat while covering to murder and melt that Daiya
Garnish with grilled Onion and Pico De Gallo on top:)

I’ve been trying to come up with a name for this monster sandwich. And like many great Craft Beers, this sandwich deserves a unique and basically dark and disgusting name. It only took a couple of minutes of concentration. It has been named The Post-Apocalyptic Zombie Butcher VeggHead. I feel that is a name that confidently names this beastwich.

Vegenaise Upgraded ingredients:

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

MIX

The Post-Apocalyptic Zombie Butcher VeggHead ingredients:

Buns, multi-grain Ciabatta
Boca, Vegan
Daiya, ‘Cheddar’ & ‘Mozzarella’
Grilled Eggplant, NonGMOProjectVerified if possible
Seitan, NonGMOProjectVerified & Chipotle
Onion, Grilled then sliced
Hummus
Guacamole
Sugar/SeaSalt/Pepper/GarlicAmpersandOnionP/ONEBayLeaf/ChiliP w/ water to cook above ingredients in
BrownRice/Lentils/SpiltPeas/dicedNonGMOfrozenGrilledEggplant:) cook in below seasonings
Grilled Eggplant
Pico De Gallo, Fiesta w/ Pineapple
Potatoes, grilled
Sriracha, cock saucy and splashy
Vegenaise Upgraded, mmmmmm
ChipotleP

Survival to sanity:

Either toast or grill inner sides of Ciabatta Bun and save for later consumption.
Pan fry Boca and after flipping add Daiya, Grilled Eggplant and Chipotle Seitan. Cover and lower heat. Dash of Chipotle Powder on top:)
Heat BrownRice/Lentils/SpiltPeas/dicedNonGMOfrozenGrilledEggplant
Grill Potatoes and Onion
Hummus on bottom Bun and Guacamole on top Bun (inner, inner Vegan DINNER of top and bottom)
Once everything is ready, build the masterpiece of death (LIFE)
From the floor it goes (architecturally) bottom Bun, Hummus, BrownRice/Lentils/SpiltPeas/GrilledEggplant, Vegenaise Upgraded, two Boca patties with greatness melted on top, Grilled Onion slices, Pico De Gallo w/ Pineapple, Guacamole and the top Bun.

A deftones song, You’ve Seen The Butcher, my fandom of Vegan Zombie, my partial WordPress name VeggHead and the scary darkness of Post-Apocalypse helped mosh pit into the name of the beast which I did eat.

Happy Monday! Happy 50th Blog to me. Thanks for the likes and follows! Stay healthy, my friends! And have fun!

Mexican Breakfast Ⓥiesta

Posted on September 4, 2015September 4, 2015 by jeffreylatty

I’m going to attempt to blog this blog in one day, today! Do you think that I can do it!?

It’s Friday and it’s going on 0830. It is also September 4th, 2015, incase you didn’t know.

I took this whole week off of work. I needed to get some things done and I wanted to do some serious riding. I requested these days off in early August when I thought for sure it would be a nice low 20 C degree days, but good ol’ Illinois has been in the 30s C ALL WEEK. Which in our ridiculous style of USA measurements, it has been in the 90s F ALL WEEK. There, in my mind, is nothing more simplistic than zero degrees being freezing.

I might be one of the few Americans who rides kilometers and gets their weather in Celsius. Celsiuses? Celsius’s? Celsius’? Google has helped me vastly in the transition. Anyways, I haven’t been getting a lot done and it’s a little too hot for massive riding, so I’ve been cooking more this week. I’ve been enjoying good beers too 😉

I did ride a Strava Gran Fondo on Tuesday with temps in the 30s. I ran into a few really awesome roads, being exactly what I needed. It was a very mixed surface ride. The ride diversing from Road, soft gravel, hard ocean-like gravel, dirt, loose dirt, grass into small rocks. Truly being a large variety of riding surfaces.

I’m doing an organized metric century in a few weeks. It’s my very first organized ride and I’m actually somewhat training for it. I will never be a just road cyclist. Where is the fun?

I do have 200+ kms already for the month of September, so I’ve been riding a decent amount.

Gran Fondo #ProveIt Strava

I started this Breakfast around 9:45 and went about it at a casual pace. And eating the breakfast for lunch around noon was still amazing and well worth it! And for the first time ever, I had a Ⓥegan Trifecta of Tofu, Tempeh and Soyrizo.

Mexican Breakfast Ⓥiesta ingredients:

Lentils, cooked
Split peas, cooked
Brown (REAL) Rice, not instant-cooked
Corn Kernels, canned or frozen-slightly warmed (especially if frozen)
Blackeyed Peas, canned or dry-cooked
Celery, dicely sliced
Onion, julienne sliced
Habanero, diced
Garlic, diced
Tomato, diced
Carrot, sliced
Cilantro, chopped
Kale, I used NONGMO frozen 🙂
Potatoes, stringy hash brown-style (I used already prepared frozen)
Lime, just the juiciness
Tofu, strained
Soyrizo
Tempeh, sliced & grilled
DAIYA, mmmmm
Rye Bread, Grilled and cut at a 45 degree angle 30 or 60 degree cuts are acceptable
SeaSalt/Pepper/Sugar/OnionP/GarlicP/BayLeaves
BalsamicVinegar/Honey/VeggieBroth/Oil

The Decent with a Tailwind:

I first prepared the Lentils, Split Peas and Rice. I cooked them together for around 25 minutes and seasoned with Sugar, Sea Salt, Pepper, Onion and Garlic Powder and a couple of Bay Leaves. I added the canned Corn and Blackeyed Peas for a few minutes before straining and setting aside. REMOVING BAY LEAVES. I’ll never forget that nightmare that I had of eating Bay Leaves…
I used a machine to dice the Garlic and Habanero together. Habanero on the hands is asking for discomforts…
Sautéed the Garlic and Habanero in Oil before adding Celery, Onion, Carrot and then covering sautéing for a few minutes.
Saute Soyrizo with everything. Add Lime Juice, SeaSalt/Pepper & Balsamic Vinegar and stir.
Add Beans/Rice/Corn, HashBrowns, Kale, Tofu, Cilantro, Tomato, Honey and cover and simmer for a good 15-20 minutes
Add VeggieBroth (not a lot, but a decent amount), stir and Add Daiya on top. I baked in pan for 10-15 before Broiling
Garnish with Tempeh and Toast, and Cilantro (if you live life on the EDGE)

I made enough to eat a heaping serving for lunch and for dinner. Simply, yet complex, BUT Ⓥegan greatness all the same. Food and Cooking is fun and should never be taken seriously unless it is your job. Recreational Cheffing is a hobby that everyone should partake and enjoy. Whatever your level of cooking, it’s fun, others enjoy, it’s HEALTHIER and it provides excellent photo criteria. And when you throw in a good Beer or glass of Wine and progressively make it an art, it’s a Lifestyle. A FEEL-GOOD lifestyle.

Just be careful when using Hot Peppers and Drink responsibly. It is easy to get carried away with confidence while chopping Romain after one too many Beers. Still better me than any animal:)

Happy Friday!

Comeback Kid

Ⓥegan Fall

Posted on September 3, 2015 by jeffreylatty

As most of you should know, Fall is upon us, being almost September. This is when I am in my cycling prime and the weather is usually outstanding. That is, in Illinois, anyways. Sometimes it’s literally freezing in November. The month September is always great.

(I also, as most should know, I suck at finishing my blogs as it is now September third:)

(Also, this week has been in the 90’s F or 30’s C, but that’ll be in the next blog)

Along with the amazing cycling weather brings Fall-style beers. Whether it be Oktoberfest or Pumpkin/Yam beers, I am a big fan.

I am not a fan of short days and “Daylight Savings”. “Daylight Savings” does nothing other than waste electricity. People do not wake up like they used to. Farmers are just about extinct. I can’t even get myself started on factory farming-I will go on forever. The majority of people are awake and about in the evening. Let’s cut our electricity costs?

In later September, I will partake in my very first organized ride. It is basically a metric century (110 km) of gravel and rough/tough terrain. I’m super excited! I’ve been kind of on the fence about Veganism… Not, on the fence, maybe it’s just not been as easy as I thought it would be. Consciously, it’s easy, but it’s when you’re not checking ingredients when ya (me) fuck up.

Chipotle BBQ Sauce containing anchovies
Chewable Vitamin C tablets containing Lactose/Milk

I’m not a beer prude who reviews beers like I can distinctively taste and smell the different notes. I’m not a poser and I only bullshit about things I do know.

Go listen to the album High Country by The Sword. It’s basically New Age Classic Rock?

Mammoth Ⓥurger

Mammoth Ⓥurger ingredients:

Mexican Concoction
Morning Star Roasted Garlic & Quinoa, Vegan & NONGMO baked and diced
Hash brown patty, baked and diced
SeaSalt/GarlicP/OnionP/Pepper
Corn Starch, starchy
Sriracha/BalsamicVinegar/PeanutOil/Honey/Broth
Go Veggie! “cheese”, non-dairy
Daiya, mmmmm
Tempeh, grilled
Zucchini, grilled

Mexican Concoction ingredients:

To the best of my knowledge 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

Slightly overcook everything.

Colossal Mammoth footprints:

Mix everything together to a nice consistency.
Save Daiya, Tempeh & Zucchini for later usage.

I decided to take a different approach to a sandwich. I basically wanted to make a cake and turn it into a sandwich.

I sprayed a pan with some oil. Which when it claims to be fat free, it’s complete bullshit. It’s fat free with the serving size being basically nothing.
Cake formed the tasty mass and baked, flipping with a inverted pizza pan over top after a good 12 minutes.
If the 12 minutes were not good drink a beer in three minutes and then flip with the pan science.
Bake another 10.

I do not not keep times, timers and measurements in mind. I’m basically bullshitting these times 🙂

Sprinkled with “cheese” and broiled.
Add grilled Tempeh and Zucchini
Cut like a pizza and stack on bottom bun
Broil Daiya over top and enjoy

These are the recent Fall beers that I’ve enjoyed. They were all tasty. The best being the Pumpkin Smasher from Big Muddy. Go for a ride, enjoy a beer and take a few pics! Be healthy 🙂

Ⓥegan ZZA

Posted on August 17, 2015August 21, 2015 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!

Playlist: Cycling

Posted on August 4, 2015August 4, 2015 by jeffreylatty

I know that I break Cycling rules, cycling with music in my ears, but I feel better with my eyes than my ears on the road or the Path. My peripheral vision is absurdly great and my 20/20 vision would concur and would make much more sense being on top of my personal safety.

I LOVE JAMMING while cycling, either being a commute or Gran Fondo joyride. I never listen to anything while riding with others. And since the new iTunes update and myself joining Apple Music, for the first time ever, I’ve started a playlist called Cycling. It’s a small playlist so far as I’m not a playlist guy and don’t take days to think of a playlist, I take months going on years. The premise of my Cycling playlist is to rock out loudly and scream and yell, but to have the same calmness and beautifulness to it. I’m not sure if that makes much sense to most, but it’s a beautiful balance of music that has intrigued me and inspired me since the beginning of my musical listening career.

Ron Ghousley’s Fucked Up Dream (Ron To The Hills. Ron For Your Life) Remurdered Immutable Dusk Taps Campaign Carpe A Vivid Chaos Viridian Rosemary White Oak Doors Wake The Dead Procellous Speak Afghamistam C. Thomas Howell As The ‘Soul Man’ We Are The Romans Last Last Chance You, Me and The Violence Cottbus Swim To The Moon Fossil Genera – A Feed From Cloud Mountain When Two Are One Bleeding Mascara

#RideOn

MacBook Sour

Posted on June 23, 2015August 6, 2015 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

Vegan Italian “beef”

Posted on May 3, 2015May 3, 2015 by jeffreylatty

VeggHead BeerCyclist 05.02

Began: 2211 Finished: 0943

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ScrewUp: Y Edited: Y

Tags: vegan, vegetarian, food, beer, craft, recipe, story, cycling, pics, organic, Netflix, wellness, lifestyle, music, photos, pics

Title: Vegan Italian “Beef”

Daily Ride: Yes

I recently had a Charles Bukowski binge and needed a mandatory detox. The detox excluded everything but water, food and vitamins. I didn’t have booze for 5 days, energy/caffeine for 3 days and Netflix is still going strong at like 12 days.

The Netflix breakup, as I do date Netflix and f*%hdhdhdjdjjdjd Netflix up the a*+=]hdhdjjdd, was due to (sorry) an inactive debit card that the bank told me to cancel because of a threat. I just didn’t update my Netflix account. And have since been watching free streaming on Crackle. Crackle bl^#*hdhdjd me good, but then there are those damn commercials…. Apologies for being a dirty person tonight, but this is the only way to describe my relationships with streaming. I am drinking barleywine! I need another beer. Barleywine makes me feel FINE.

I went for a ride to end up at my sisters for my seven year old nephews birthday party tonight. I had a water malfunction. I went to a bar with $3 and change and drank them out of water. I climbed 338 m in 58 km. I feel extremely happy about that. I had my Garmin on maps the entire time. And I just RODE. It is the greatest feeling.

Live free, ride a bicycle.

I need another beer.

I need more THRICE.

I made this vegan dish awesomely it just needs to be perfected.

Seitan ingredients:

-Corn Meal

-Tomato Sauce

-Vital Wheat Gluten

-Herbs/SeaSalt/Pepper

-BROTH

-Non Dairy Cheese Cloth

-Fennel Seeds

(Continued the next morning)

Mix ingredients and wrap in cheese cloth and place in pan w/ Broth and seasonings and bake for two hours turning Seitan over after 60 minutes. And cool.

I haven’t perfected slicing the Seitan for Italian “beef” yet, but slice it how ya want.

Au Jus ingredients:

-Broth

-Brown Mustard

-Crushed Red Peppers

-Garlic cloves

-Peppercorn

-Sugar

-SeaSalt/Pepper

I sliced Red and Green Bell Peppers and an Onion and put into Au Jus with sliced Seitan and marinated for a bit.

I used French Bread and toasted in oven before topping with Seitan, Peppers and “Cheese”.

I also used Hot Goardiniera for one sandwich. I also pan fried Beefsteak Tomatoes.

The Barleywine that I enjoyed last night was a 2013 Kosmyk Charlie’s Catastrophe Ale from Central Waters Brewing Company out of Amherst, Wisconsin. It aged very well. And I drank it quickly.

The band Thrice is a post-rock, alternative and slightly emo/screamo (earlier years) band. I first and only, actually, saw them in Chicago for my 21st birthday. They were very good live and have put together great music from 1999-2012 according to Wikipedia. And are supposedly playing some shows this year?

Anyways, I hope I’ve inspired someone to cook, jam out to Thrice or go ride a bike. Take pics and have fun!