Saturday CookFest

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Tags: Netflix, food, cycling, music, vegan, vegetarian, recipe, safety, story, Strava, pics, photo, storm, beer, craft
Title: Saturday CookFest
Daily Ride: Taking the weekend off
  
With the cold and windy spring weather lately, I’ve been commuting everyday to work. I took last Friday off and yesterday (Saturday) and most likely today off of the bicycle. It’s been too long (8 days) since a 20+ km ride. I try and make my commutes longer, but staying in town usually persuades my internal mind-thought on shorter rides because of lack of space and my lack of tolerance for riding in multiple circles. 
I did KOM one all-time segment and multiple 2015 KOMs, which doesn’t mean much, but it’s a nice way to look at it. I’d like to claim that I still ride super hard in town pretty damn well. People probably think I’m crazy in this small twin city community because sometimes you have to be in the middle of the road (still on the right side) in order to turn left, because asshole drivers like to pass you three feet away from a stop sign or stop light creating a dangerously awkward situation. And at stop lights, I stop directly behind cars, rarely off to the side. 
You have to fight back when riding in traffic and not cower and give vehicles their way. You basically have to put yourself at risk. Sometimes you’re gonna get hurt, because most people suck at driving and get confused especially around cyclists. 
I was actually forced into an accident by a vehicle in 2013 where I then was life-flown 60 miles away because of brain swelling and trauma. The bicycle helmet, from Bontrager, saved my life. It wasn’t damaged much more than a huge divot, but the emergency personnel had to cut my clothes off of me, including the helmet. With the receipt ,my story of the incident and my damaged helmet mailed to the Trek/Bontrager headquarters in Wisconsin, I was awarded a fresh helmet at no cost. I’m not going to get into this ordeal much, but just a little Strava #ProveIt for any possible readers. 
Earlier this week, I added The Angriest Man in Brooklyn to my Netflix ‘My List’ after seeing it is a 2014 Robin Williams film before his passing. Like 98% of the entire world, Robin’s sudden passing last year was truly more upsetting than any other celebrities’ death and was, to me, taken as a family loss. 

  
I grew up with Robin Williams in various films and he has always put a smile to my face. RIP, Robin Williams. #RideOn
  
The Angriest Man in Brooklyn, is a dark humor drama/comedy with a great cast. It brings you on a roller coaster journey of emotions. And because of his passing months after the release of this film, has me contemplating his death and life literally the entire film. I’m not going to spoil the flick. 
  
At the end, with himself talking about his exact tombstone years, has me speechless. And then later on jokes that Henry “hates bicycles”. Unfortunately, brilliant. 
I came across an amazing hardcore band Code Orange Kids or, I guess, now Code Orange. And with my technology difficulties and funds difficulties it’s easy to hear their music just not keep their music. Very hardcore. Most people would find it ugly and disturbing music. 
  
Last week, I bought a T-shirt. It enticed me brain with little sharks and vast blueness, not to mention the little pocket with…. Just blue. Anyways, I figured a large would size me up right. I’m not super fat, but because of my mostly German and Russian heritage, I’m husky. I then, after purchase, realized it was a British company and didn’t think much of it until I tried this work-of-art onto my work-of-art body. And it was uncomfortably small and tight. 
My brain instantly bubbled and popped and I had this thought that the British had created this hilarious and elaborate joke, by creating millions of T-shirts one size too small while claiming a size up, proving and mockingly stating that the USA is fat. I then swapped it for an XL and all is cool in that spool turning and burning in my skull. Possibly, the L shirt displays the correct sizing for the rest of the world and because I’m used to the USA and we are fat, maybe our sizes are bigger to keep our confidence up and our sizes fitting? I’m ready for a beer. 
  
No beer before breakfast…
  
Yesterday, I did a little shopping and a lot of cooking. I have food for days. I bought this wild rice because of the inappropriate situation in my pants when this Rice was discovered on the shelf. And then when I saw the NonGMO Project Verified label, I let out an uncontrollably loud and awkward moan while making a decent mess in my pants. I will forever owe my heart to this brand of wild rice! 
  
I made Stuffed Poblanos, Roasted Almonds, Cheesy Zucchini and Stuffed Eggplant Linguine. Everything was very good and I’m blessed with vast leftovers which I can play around with today. It all took me a little over four hours, taking my time and sampling a few beers that I purchased. About an hour into cooking, I was confused and thought it was Friday and became disappointed that I’d need to turn my Vegetarian planned food into Vegan food (which is not difficult) to keep my streak of #VeganVriday going strong. Silly me, it was Saturday. And I’ve already successfully completed a #VeganVriday without consciously thinking about it. 
Your brain knows things that you don’t really think you know.
  
Roasted Almonds ingredients:
-Good Oil
-SeaSalt/Pepper/Paprika
-Rosemary
-Whole Almonds
-Garlic, sliced 
-Shallot, diced & julienne sliced
-I added Crushed Rep Pepper
Super easy, just mix and bring Garlic slices and julienne Shallots to top and roast 20 minutes or so
  
Cheesy Zucchini ingredients:
-I used dairy Cheese, but non-dairy “Cheese” is much cooler. 
-Zucchini, halved longways
 (Quartered,if using oval dish like I did, to fit in awkward goalie areas) 
-Roma Tomatoes, deseeded & diced 
-Shallot, julienne sliced
-Oregano
-Good Oil
-SeaSalt/Pepper
-Garlic, diced
-Fresh Basil, sliced
Organic Basil is amazing
-Cheese or “Cheese”
I used Cabot Sharp Cheddar and Shaved Parmesan
Oil dish lightly and add zucchini, not stacking. Lightly brush zucchini with oil and season. Add Garlic, Shallot and then Cheese or “Cheese” with Tomatoes on top -bake for 25 ish minutes and garnish with Basil
  
Stuffed Poblano ingredients:
-Wild Rice
-Brown Rice
-Cilantro
-Celery, super diced
-Carrot, supper diced
-Zucchini, diced
-Garlic, diced
-Onion, diced
-Serrano Peppers, sliced
-Sesame Seed Oil & other Oil
-Fresh Ginger, diced
-Water, super sliced!
-SeaSalt/Pepper/Cayenne
-Poblanos, cut top off and save, deseed also
-Cheese or “Cheese”
-Balsamic Vinegar
-I garnished with alfalfa sprouts
Heat oil, sauté Ginger & Garlic. Add Onion, Celery and Carrots with a splash of Balsamic Vinegar and Sesame Seed Oil after a few minutes. Add Zucchini and sliced water. Put desired Wild Rice in and bring to boil. Then cover and simmer after 20-30 minutes add Brown Rice and make sure there is correct density of sliced water. Add Serrano slices at anytime with generous Cilantro and simmer for an additional 20-30 minutes. You might have to strain before filling Poblanos. I invented a aluminum lasso in the past for making Stuffed Habaneros in order to keep them standing. 
I attempted this again with the Poblanos. It was more difficult as the Poblanos are not as uniform as the Habaneros. I put four into a taller bowl and then used the aluminum lasso at the top. I filled the Poblanos with the dry Rice and added Cheese and baked until cheese was melted. I now feel that cutting the bottoms of Poblanos would be easier and just dicing them and adding to Rice along side Serrano, I also baked the tops of the Poblanos. Bake to desired doneness and garnish with Sprouts or anything you’d like. 
FIRST SPRING STORM!?!? BRB
  
I am an amateur storm chaser. I thought it was coming a little faster. The wind definitely picked up. Probably a good amount of rain, maybe some snow? I’m hoping for some thunder and lightening that I wouldn’t be able to see because it’s 0941. Here comes the rain. 
  
I did get to witness an inland hurricane down at SIUC with my roommate on the porch. I’ll have to dig up a few pictures.
  
Just a little rain for this weak-sauce “storm”… 
  
Stuffed Eggplant
  
BackBurner Ragu Mari ingredients:
-Oil & Balsamic Vinegar
-Garlic, diced
-Carrots, duper sicedly
-Celery, super diced
-Onion, whole & then diced
-Tomato Paste
-Chopped Tomatoes, canned or do it yourself
-SeaSalt/GarlicP/Sugar/Pepper
-Oregano
Cool down for at least two hours…
-Linguine, cooked Starch not rinsed
-Eggplant, thinly sliced longways
-Good Oil
-SeaSalt/Pepper/Oregano
-Cheese or “Cheese”
-Fresh Organic Basil, whole leaves or sliced
-Parsley, fresh tree trunks removed 
Have your Mari ready for ya. Lightly oil both sides of Eggplant & season. Lightly roast for 12-15 flipping once. Add Cheese or “Cheese” or nothing…Whatever airs your tubes. Bake just a little longer and melt whatever is on there. If nothing added skip that ordeal. Roll up eggplant and securely stab through the Rolled up Eggplants heart because why do you think we have Vegan or Vegetarian lifestyles…We hate PLANTS and also Eggplants have like 10 hearts that you should’ve allowed in each slice that you prepared. I used a lasagna pan and added a little Marinara as a base and then I carefully placed the Murdered Eggplant rolls onto the (Bloody) Marinara, while you painted an outline around the bodies and you’d #BetterCallSaul for contributing in this movement & destruction of a crime scene. You can only call Saul (Jimmy, as of now still) on Monday nights 10/9 c. 
  
I splashed a little more blood on top of the Delicious Eggplant massacre and threw some cheese on them. Baked until cheese was melted. They were Cheesy and stingy Eggplant slices, anyways. I laid Linguine on a bed added some delicious Mari and then not one, but two Stuffed Eggplant rolls. I garnished with ridiculousness. Sorry, Basil and Parsley and enjoyed with an AWESOME Stone Enjoy By 4.20.15 DIPA. #Prost to your outstanding weekend! 
  

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VeggHead BeerCyclist      3.24

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Tags: Apple, technology, music, food, recipe, vegan, vegetarian, Strava, food, beer, craft, amc
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Daily Ride:  Yes
I have not posted in ten days, I think. I’m sure it doesn’t bother anyone. I had a slaughterhouse thumb injury making vegan gyros over confidently chopping romain lettuce. And due to my somewhat recent MacBook Pro unable to charge, I’ve been relying on my iPhone 6, its Notes and the wonderful Copy/Paste tool. And without, for me, a fully functional left thumb, texting/iPhone blogging isn’t very easy. I guess I could of voice-texted, but I’m a geek not a nerd and I’m crazy, but not that crazy.
  
While I’m talking about my MacBook Pro misfortunes, I’d like to mention one of the greatest things ever in iTunes Match. Also, I love the autocorrecting texting my phone does when texting apple products. 
  
iTunes Match is an iCloud based music storage that holds like 25G and improves any low quality music with iTunes quality music. It bends you over for only $25.00 a YEAR. And since my MacBook hasn’t turned on, I’d have little access to my music. But, because my music in iCloud I have access to it in numerous ways! It rocks. 
I updated my Strava app this morning. I turned off my auto update setting on my phone. And now Strava allows you to upload photos directly through Strava instead of Instagram. That is exciting and I’ve been waiting for that since creating an Instagram account just for Strava  purposes. 
  
I haven’t been cooking as much lately as Spring is upon us here in Northern Illinois. EXCEPT for yesterday. It snowed a bike helmets worth. I’ve been spending more time outside riding and hiking. 
   

 

All the way from Georgia was this lovely waxed topped beer, Happy Ending Imperial Stout, that I enjoyed yesterday. It escaped the zombie apocalypse and it better call Saul. It was very enjoyable and should go to trial and will probably be guilty of deliciousness. I hope to catch up on my AMC shows today after work. 
  
I had a dream the other day/morning/night. I do not remember the exact rotational position earth was to the star, our sun. It was a nightmare really of myself eating BAY LEAVES…. 
  
Hopefully tomorrow I’ll go over a few Vegan dishes I’ve made. Gotta get ready for work soon. 
  

Winter Conclusion

Posted on by jeffreylatty

VeggHead BeerCyclist    3.06

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Tags: cycling, potatoes, music, measurement, funny, story, winter, spring, vegan, vegetarian, st, Patrick’s, day, paddy’s, patty’s, veganvriday, Chicago, weekend, craft, beer
Title: Winter Conclusion 
Daily Ride: Yes

I’m confident that yesterday was the last super cold day of winter. Yesterday was frigidly in the single digits almost the entire day in Fahrenheit units of temperature measurements. Which I don’t even have to try. It is an amazingly hilarious joke on its own. I knew spring was approaching soon a few weeks ago when I had slight allergies attack. The attack was defended strongly with smiles. I don’t know if the groundhog still exists, but my allergies prediction was correct. Leave the groundhog be. 

I was on the fence doing backflips yesterday contemplating a ride. It was super cold, but it hopefully should be the last super cold day of winter. Should I tackle it and ride into the sunset. Death Rides A Horse. I do not have any horses, just bicycles. I decided to continue my not planned cycling hiatus and wait for the weather to turn for the better. I think today has a high of -1 * C. That’s almost ZERO. I love the Celsius Zero and it should be a superhero! 

I do have a ride planned with a friend. Really just a paid acquaintance to help me seem more normal to the crazy people who read these bloggings. I do not actually have any friends. Animals like me. Anyways, this paid “friend” and I were gonna do a decent distance. He wants to ride miles and I threw a slight fit and made it clear that I wanted to ride kilometers. Not sure how we will come to a conclusion on that. Sounds like a job for the Celcius ZERO! 

I had this beer last night. It was a literal beast. I’ve enjoyed many beers of theirs. The actual brewery is Mercury Brewing Company out of Ipswich, MA. The beer line is Clown Shoes. I’m not exactly sure what that means, but it’s a good beer line. The beer I had was a Russian Imperial Stout bottled on 02.06.15. I love when they put this date on beers. I’m skeptical when I cannot find and ultimately know how old a beer is. If it’s a beer above 8% ABV, you don’t have anything to worry about. The beers below that ABV are the ones that will spoil. The name of this beer is Blaecorn Unidragon. It is a literal beast at a not so nice Clown Shoes 12.5% ABV. Two middle fingers up!

I’ve loved this band muchly for a good 5-6 years. And I’ve also enjoyed other bands that are tied to the band Russian Circles. They are an instrumental post-rock/ post-metal Chicago based trio. They are very talented. I’ve only seen them live once, but it was amazing. All of their sound greatness is awesome. They play heavy yet light and blend it well. 
Yesterday I bought ten pounds of potatoes. This was my adrenaline rushed tweet:

I ate some potatoes yesterday. And today is my #VeganVriday, so I will be enjoying more potatoes for sure today. I’m working on my St. Paddy’s Day meal and my bullshit of an excuse of a recipe. Really it’s just a grocery list that says beer a few times. 

I plan on making and somewhat mapping a “recipe” of VEGAN Corned Beef & Cabbage and Colcannon in honor of St. Patrick’s Day and my somewhat recent discovery that I am 1/16 Irish. That is coming by the death penalty deadline 3.12.15. I did already make a batch of Vegan Colcannon. It was to live for! 
As for the Northern Illinois Winter, I’m not scared of you, but you are a bitch.
And for the Northern Illinois Spring, welcome. I love you! 
Happy Friday! Happy VeganVriday! Have a great weekend!

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!

Bologna Rigatoni

Posted on by jeffreylatty

VeggHead BeerCyclist 3.03

Bologna Rigatoni
It Saul Goodman
Yesterday was a partial total failure. My plan was to ride a bike outside and make my pasta. I did not do either. I was a little tired and hungry after work. And a majority of my winter cycling clothes were left in the wash for over 24 hours. I washed the load again and later hung them out to die. Do Not Dry your cycling clothes unless you’re drunk. 

I did drown myself in Lagunitas’ Sucks whole quart UnaBomber. I did not die. It is always a euphorically delightful DIPA. My liver died a little. Also, one quart is 32 ounces. All of those ounces equate to only ¼ of my recommended daily percentage of alcohol, but what can ya do. Lagunitas opened a brewery in Chicago that I cannot wait to visit and terrorize calmly. Try it if ya can.
One thing that has always pissed me off and strangely boggles my mind and my heart. What is with these Japanese Beatles or lady bugs. I love how my phone corrects both “japanese” and “beatles” as it should be because of the threat level significance. They just keep appearing. And flying drunk? I do occasionally leave empty beers in my sleeping quarters and sometimes trap these thugs in Kleenex and put them into an empty bottle. I think they’re that sneaky and annoying that they escape and continue their mission of pissing me off. Last night I caught three and put into an empty water bottle basically as an experiment. Do they need oxygen? What do they eat? Will one eat the other two? Will they die? Will they escape? 
And they all seemed very much alive inside the water bottle this morning. I threw them away and didn’t give them the chance of a respectable recyclables burial. Like the annoying buggers they are, they will be smashed at least once with the garbage and invaders that they are. 
I watched Big Top Pee-Wee on Netflix. I have this obsession with going into my IMDb app to check out a bit of info on there while I miss part of whatever I’m watching because I’m not a multitasker. It ranks that movie less than 5/10. It was corny, funny and overall a 6 in my opinion. Yeah, ok. Tim Burton directed Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure in his debut directing gig and it was definitely better than Big Top Pee-Wee, but Big Top is definitely watchable. It has Benicio Del Toro and Screech in it to name two actors. I am sleeping with Netflix. 
A few interesting Vegan or Vegetarian people I came across inline online:
Gandhi 
Hitler
Forest Whitaker 
Paul McCartney
Herschel Walker
Tom morello
Christina applegate
Elizabeth Berkley
Kevin Nealon
Sarah Silverman
Eddie Vedder
Rob Zombie

It is supposed to be icy today. Ice and bicycles don’t usually mix. Even FatBike tires show a weakness to ice. If I go for a ride it will be solo and it’ll be earlier than later. I guess I never ever ride alone because if zero humans ride with me I jam those earbuds close to my brain. It’s not the safest thing to do, but it always sounds better than wind. I do toggle the volume and sometimes pause the wind. Traffic is danger. And danger is bad only when you’re on a bicycle. 

Perhaps a beer r(un)ide 

Cold wetness is not good. Snow is much tolerable. No go on a ride. I put my Garmin Edge 1000 and NightRider Lumina 700 on their USB and left them charging on my little charging hub. After changing a few settings on the Garmin, its battery life is outstanding. I do not use the three sensors that it came with and turned off the Bluetooth. With all of these things going if was if my Garmin had a battery life of ten hours. It did never die on me, but I did shut her down after I completed my century ride. I didn’t record some km, but nothing was missing from my data. 
I made some killer food today. And ate it to my lonesome while watching the latest episode of Better Call Saul, an outstanding prequel to Breaking Bad. And it’s shaping up to be better than breaking bad. CHECK IT OUT
I did get a few ingredients from my grandmother before her trip and I was told the plastic film had cauliflower, but it was actually cabbage. Which I’ll try and save for St. Paddy’s day at Paddy’s Pub. Did you know that it is always sunny in Philadelphia? No cauliflower, but the Brussels sprouts were the main ingredient anyways. 
I made an experimental Baked Potato and a pasta that I named Bologna Rigatoni. They were a bit time consuming, but I impressed myself. 

Experimental Baked Potatoes
Baked Sprouty Spuds ingredients:
-Potatoes, stabbed with fork
-Brussels Sprouts, roasted
-SeaSalt/Pepper/Cayenne/Onion p/Garlic p
-Avocado Cream
-Corn, roasted
-Cheese, grated
-Garlic, sliced and lightly roasted
-Fresh Dill for garnish 
Avocado Cream:
-Sour Cream
-Avocado
-SeaSalt/Pepper/Cayenne/Garlic p/Onion p
>Mix
Steps:
-Make Avocado Cream and refrigerate
-Bake Potatoes at 375 for 75 minutes
-You do not want to over cook the potatoes
-If everything is prepared, it is a waiting game and good beer drinking time
-When potatoes are baked enough, give them some Visine before taking them out where everyone can see them
-Cut them In half longways leaving the skin to keep both halves attached. 
– I them placed on parchment paper, potatoes open and broiled cooking while adding color at the same time, remove when done
-Add cheese generously and broil again, melting the cheese nicely, yet meanly
-Now just top
-I put Avocado Cream, Roasted Corn, Garlic, Brussels Sprouts, more cheese and garnish with dill. ENJOY with AMC’s finest programming.
This Will Destroy You
God Is An Astronaut 
Explosions In The Sky

Bologna Rigatoni ingredients:
-Non rinsed cooled Rigatoni
-Brussels Sprouts, prepped for surgery and then halved longways
-Garlic, diced and roasted sliced
-Onion, big chunks
-Corn, roasted and lightly season
-Butter, REAL
-Dill, fresh chopped and a garnishment
-Potato, sliced 
-SeaSalt/Pepper/Garlic p/Onion p/Cayenne
-Cheese, grated
-Carrot and Celery, diced superbly 
-Oil and Rice Wine Vinegar
-Thickening Agent

Organization and preparations:
-I first prepared the Rigatoni noodles. I boiled them stirring constantly like eight minutes maybe nine. I decided to not rinse the noodles which changes the noodles compared to rinsed noodles. I do not know the correct term, but it leaves the starch. I under cooked them a little under al dente because they need to cool and until the cooling process is finished they still cook. I put them in the freezer away from anything else for 3-4 minutes before putting them into the refrigerator until I needed them again. They turned out very well. As I confidently expected.
-Cut everything and discard the shit
-Toss potatoes, Onion and Brussels Spouts with vinegar, oil, salt and pepper
-Put on parchment paper and bake 35 ish minutes at 350*
-I removed onions when I flipped potatoes and then turned oven to 425*
-Combine Butter with Dill, SeaSalt, Pepper, Garlic p and Cayenne and simmer barely 
-Add butter to lightly caramelized diced Garlic, Celery and Carrots
-Throw in some Dill and Dill ‘Em All
-When butter is melted and your veggies are close to be or are done add enough flour or corn starch to thicken 
-Add Rigatoni and get warm while seasoning
-You can do whatever ya want. I topped the pasta with cheese or throw it in with all of your roasted goodness 
-Live a little, enjoy! 
I read on Twitter that the drinking age will change back to 18 this summer. Is this true or one of those hoaxes?
I just realized it should be BEETLES. Good day. 

History of Me

Posted on by jeffreylatty

VeggHead BeerCyclist 2.28

History of Me

My name is Jeffrey. I turn 30 next month (March starts tomorrow). Life has been a turbulent roller coaster of a ride for me thus far. I wish I would’ve gotten a FatBike much earlier. I’m not going into my life story. I would like to go over my cooking, cycling and beer history. 

I just went for a 35 km ride out of town, around town and then back in where I stopped at the liquor store for a few beers. I bought seven beers and a bottled water because my water froze again. I need to start holding a bottle in my pack when I bring my pack with me in the winter. There is a rumor that a little whisky in your water keeps it from freezing. I disagree. I’m all for it as it does add life to your water before it dies a frozen temporary death and I love (good) whisky. Canadian Club is forever the cheapest best whiskey out there. Today’s ride was super sunny, not too windy and not too bad traffic-wise. 

Here is my ride:
Another thing I’ve been working on is becoming more familiar with the metric system. Celsius makes much more sense and so does the measurements. I love the USA, but we’re kind of dumb and just want to be different. Zero degrees Celsius is freezing. Simple. 35 kilometers is 35,000 meters. Simple. One mile is 5280 feet and 63,360 inches according to Google. Now, tell me how many feet and inches are in 1.5 miles without Google. Good luck. Did someone mention ketchup. Probably. 

A few months ago, I switched my Garmin to metric.  
The Fire In Our Throats Will Beckon The Thaw
Spring is approaching and that is a great album from the band Pelican. They are instrumental (until their new album?) post-rock post-metal. Good music!

I learned how to sauté from Pizza Hut. That was my first job and I worked for them for a total of 14 years. I did leave for school, but returned. In 2007 ish, the regular falling apart Pizza Hut built a new building and converted into an Italian Bistro Pizza Hut. It was really cool and actually gourmet until they started cutting costs and ingredients. I did not maintain that understanding of sautéing much. I do not remember much of the style. The ingredients were great! That is where I was first introduced to a chef hat and chef coat. White is an awful idea unless you get like five. The Pizza Hut Italian Bistro also had gourmet pizzas and sandwiches. They quickly began believing in the opposite of what I believe in, QUALITY OVER QUANTITY. 

I started at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale in January of 2009. A friend hooked  me up with a cooking gig at a hole-in-the-wall Italian pizza place called DiMaggio’s. There are actually quite a few in Southern Illinois and one or two in Indiana. I believe all are connected and actually within the same family. My boss, Sebastian, was born in Sicily and lived in France before crossing the pond. He is an awesome guy and knows how to chef it up! They actually made a transformation into a more legitimate sit-down restaurant in 2011. Before that, Sebastian kept it simple. From scratch pizza, pizza by the slice, pasta, sandwiches, salads, etc. we did grind our own cheese, but didn’t make much other than pizza from scratch. 

DiMaggio’s moved into an old Godfather’s building in early 2011. I was working as a seafood clerk and helping moving and prepare the building for three months before DiMaggio’s was ready to open. I learned a lot during my time as a seafood clerk. DiMaggio’s offered me a pizza kitchen management position with very good pay. I accepted and quit the grocery store job and dropped out of school. The way the entire kitchen was set up was the pizza kitchen was in front close to the dining room and the line kitchen behind it more in the BOH and hidden. I soon took over the entire kitchen and worked 60 hours a week, making schedules and prep lists, food orders, and dish creations. This is where I first learned to cook. It was my most favorite job. 




I then grew cocky and homesick after most of my friends graduated and moved on. I took a job back home in charge of a kitchen of a restaurant that I’ve always enjoyed. It was also Italian and taught me more of a northern Italian style. Unfortunately, it became a horrible job and I had to quit. From there I went back to Pizza Hut. Recreational cooking has not stopped. 




As for my love for Cycling, I’ll need to mention college and Carbondale. Carbondale, IL is a great cycling town. I bought a cheap “mountain” Schwinn bike mostly to participate in Tour de Carbondale. 




The Tour de Carbondale was just a drunkiness bike ride with 4-6 stops with a different theme of booze each stop. And my house was the first stop! Margaritas at 11:00 am are the way to start off a drink fest. 
We had a beer stop, a jungle juice stop, a wine stop and then the completion stop. Apologies for the quality of pictures.

I then continued to ride my Schwinn as much as possible. I rode it to commute and for fun. In late 2013 I bought a 2014 Trek CrossRip. I became a part of the Strava community in mid 2013. I joined a cycling club in 2014. I have not yet competed in racing or organized rides/races. I love riding with others and I like to go fast and far when I can. 
I’ve always been trying to document my experimenting with Beers. And then came Untappd. I became a member in 2012. I’ve always extremely enjoyed photography. I like beer. I’ve had three since I’ve started writing this. They are on Untappd. 
My MacBook Pro stopped charging late last year after I quit my job. I’ve been writing these blogs on my iPhone. 

I found this picture a few months ago. It was in 2005. Just a little #ProveIt. Strava. 



Tempeh Sandwich 

Posted on by jeffreylatty

VeggHead BeerCyclist 2.28

Tempeh Sandwich

Yesterday I awaited the arrival of my new FatBike shirt that I had ordered earlier in the month. I love technology and being able to track a package. You know, to see all of the fabulous places it has seen before finding a new home. The USPS tracking number revealed that it would be delivered the 27th, but when I checked at 4:00pm yesterday it was saying it was in Peoria, IL some 60 miles away. My question is if I have to wait until Monday. Delivery should have a universal law. That if you order a delicious just Cheese pizza, FatBike tires, t-shirt or whatever you might order for delivery and it gives you an estimated time and it is late, you should get a nice discount or credit. Or if it take two plus hours for a pizza to be delivered and I pay with my credit card and have already added a generous tip, but have passed out because I only order pizza if I have been drinking and the two hours is a long time to keep drinking on an empty stomach and then I cannot answer my on-silent phone or (not on-silent) door bell, don’t take my money and the pizza. Just leave the pizza on the porch. It’s cold enough in Illinois winter to basically refrigerate or freeze it. 



Today I used leftovers from things that I have made recently that need to be used up and can’t survive much longer without getting shot in the metaphorical ass with the PED, preservatives. No one likes waste. It’s not cool. I used the Angry Stuffed Habaneros stuffing, various veggies, cheese that I had left, tempeh, thousand island and the homemade Bleu cheese. 

Also, this morning I came across this:
It was clever, hilarious and awesome. I had to share it.

I thought of a new name for the Cheese stuffing, Pepper John Cheese. Jack sounds like a clowns name as it isn’t as common and as serious as John. I like Pepper Jack Cheese, but it is a choking joke compared to my Pepper John Cheese if they competed against each other on the Scoville Scale.

Being vegetarian or vegan equates to a possible black hole equivalent emptiness inside from the personal hot wing boycott. I was never a huge wing fan. Especially after butchering whole chickens a few times. For the record, I have never killed a living animal. And never will. Butchering (already dead) chickens and its disgustingness helped influence my vegetarian transformation. I am also not a huge fan of meatless meat replacements. I have eaten some and will continue to eat some. Some are made right and are organic, Project Non-GMO Verified and preservative free. Most are packed with preservatives and additives. Still very much better than eating meat or fish or aliens, pets and or other humans. 
After the Angry Stuffed Habaneros laughed at me and called me cowardice and other self-esteem crushing names, I wished I had some celery. 
By the way, the band Defeater, has an intensely awesome song Cowardice on their Travels album. Check it out if that’s your thing. It’s a loud to some people song. 
I’ve heard many of times milk is the best thing for you after your mouth is on fire. It will help to literally put out a fire if your mouth has flames on it, but milk is gross. I stopped drinking milk years ago. Also, I have a video of myself eating a raw Habanero and then eating a raw Bhut Jolokia, also known as a Ghost Pepper. This was in 2012 a few months after I moved back in with my parents after College. I almost thought that I needed a Hospital run. My mom actually took the video.
Suck it, Angry Stuffed Habaneros. 
Pepper John Cheese Stuffing ingredients:
-Cream Cheese at room temp
-PLAIN Greek yogurt
-Crushed Sunflower Seeds
-Garlic/Onion powder
-Sea Salt/Pepper
-Sugar
-Dry or Fresh Dill
-Deseeded Diced Cucumber 
-Super Diced Carrot
-Super Diced Sharp Cheddar
-Super Diced Habanero super deseeded
Pepper John Celery ingredients:
-Pepper John Cheese Stuffing
-Additional Sunflower seeds
-Organic Celery, rinsed and cut into thirds
Only two steps:
-Spread the Pepper John Cheese Stuffing onto the celery as if it were peanut butter.
-Slightly push sunflower seeds on Pepper John for looks, protein and texture.
While we’re on the topic of Habanero again, I had a Ballast Point Sculpin IPA this month that was outstanding. It wasn’t the regular Sculpin, but the Habanero Sculpin. It was very well balanced with the habanero and hops with some nice citrus notes. I might have a small tolerance to heat, but it was a delicious Hopanero IPA. I recommend it with a meal. 
Veggie Tempeh Baked Sandwich 
This sandwich was Dry. No oil or butter was used. The wonderful parchment paper offers a peaceful nonstick surface for all of your cheffing needs. I hope no one thought I meant dry like prohibition Dry. 
Homemade Bleu Cheese ingredients:
-Veganaise
-Gorgonzola 
-Soy Sauce
-Sriracha
-Sour Cream
-Butter
-Milk
-Apple Cider Vinegar 
-Sea Salt/Pepper
-Fresh Dill
>Mix 
Vegan Thousand Island:
-Veganaise
-Sriracha
-Celery Seed
-Garlic, caramelized 
-Sea Salt/Pepper/Sugar
-Paprika/Garlic/Onion Powder
-Balsamic Vinegar
-Diced Hot Peppers (I used Habanero)
-Deseeded Cucumber, diced
>Mix while listening to good tunes
I used leftover marinaded Tempeh from Vegan Reuben’s that I made last week.
Marinaded Tempeh ingredients:
-Tempeh, sliced
-Water or Veggie Broth
-Garlic, halved
-Onion, sloppy choppy
-Soy Sauce
-Sriracha
-Sea Salt/Pepper
-Thyme/Savory
Step One, Step One, Two, Three:
-Add Water or Broth and heat
-Add everything else and create boilage
-Cover and extinguish fire. Let cool completely and save your Tempeh. Depending on how thin you sliced it, it might be flimsy.
Save the remaining liquid if you’d like as it has a decent start to being Homemade Veggie Broth. Discard veggies or eat them. Use your imagination.
Ingredients for sandwich:
-Cucumber, deseeded and sliced
-Radish, rinsed and sliced
-Cheddar, not rinsed and sliced from block
-Mozzarella, sliced from block
-Homemade Bleu Cheese 
-Roasted Onion slices, raw if preferred 
-Avocado, Californian and extra large, sliced
-Thousand Island, made at home
-North American Cheese, I split one slice into equal quantities for three sandwiches
-Tempeh, pre marinaded 
-Rye Bread
Steps: 
-Take two slices of good Rye. I always go the seeded route. On one side spread the Vegan Thousand Island and on the other slice, spread the Homemade Bleu Cheese. And broil for a couple of minutes infusing the inside of your sandwich.
-Get your veggies and Cheese all ready to assemble your sandwich
-I started with Thousand Island side and put down a layer of Cheese including the small amount of American
-I generously put the Tempeh on top of the cheese layer
-More Cheese (I don’t put a lot of cheese just layers of Cheese spottiness)
-Cucumber and Radish
-More Cheese
-Onion and Avocado
-Remaining Cheese and Finish with Bleu Cheese slice, Bleu Cheese side down/inside
-Put on parchment paper
-Bake each side of sandwich at 350* F for 12-15 minutes (implement visual check intervals)
-Cut diagonally and plate
-Grab a good Beer, take a pic and enjoy!
I did not ride yesterday as something came up. Today is the last day for me to reach my February goal of 250 km’s. All being outside in a cold winter month. Strava does a MTS challenge, Monthly Training Series, that I always participate in. I need 30 plus km’s today. The route is depending on the wind, but it’s super sunny! Thanks for reading. Tomorrow, it is March! #RideOn



Angry Stuffed Habaneros 

Posted on by jeffreylatty

VeggHead BeerCyclist 2.26

I love having a snow blower and having a shovel as my weapon of choice no matter how much snow. 



I had a few beers in me at the grocery store last night. My sister drove. And I bought Greek yogurt to make a cheese concoction to stuff some habaneros today. And it says “Traditional” on the front in bold red lettering which in my tipsy mind-sense was like, “Sweet, here’s the plain Greek yogurt I need! I rock.” and this morning I opened it up to mix with some other awesome ingredients and it was PINK. I looked a little closer at the container and it had raspberry in little writing off to the side without a single picture of any raspberries. So, I went out to shovel some snow and eventually get the correct yogurt. I’m not a yogurt buff, but that was a little misleading even if I was high on confidence after drinking two Dark Horse Rain In Blood’s. 



Rain In Blood is an okay beer. It is drinkable as long as Slayer is available to listen to. \m/. I like me some Slayer and they were actually my first concert where I was in the middle until slayer came on and it seemed like a million 6’5″ biker dudes bum rushed the stage, squashing me into the third/fourth row back like a bug. I don’t know how to describe general admission “rows” at a metal show. I was 17, a little drunk, a little high and geeked up on some amphetamines. I could not breathe and lasted for a while, but had to crowd surf out with the help of one of those 6’5″ biker dudes. I was pretty close to the actual band when I came out of the crowd and I totally flipped them off! Sorry to get into that, but it is the yogurts horrible labelings’ fault. 
The beer was not very orange flavored and kind of a letdown with the regularly awesome beers from dark horse. I think the six pack was a wapping $12, also. Way overpriced, but immediately had that sense of Slayer come over me when I first saw the beer on the shelf. It was a good feeling. I did make homemade Bleu Cheese Dressing before the yogurt destroyed my whole life. 



I quit measuring ingredients a long time ago. I also came to the conclusion 98% of recipes are just guidelines and are there for a reference. I do have a strong background of cooking on many different levels. My concept isn’t for everyone. Some people definitely need to follow recipes if the food is expected to be edible. I decided not to guess or try to even bullshit measurements to share. I apologize for the lack of recipe completion and for my yogurt in the last sentence. Use your imagination and have some fun! 



Caution:
When handling habaneros or hot peppers hotter than jalapeños, please use extreme caution if touching your face, using the restroom and/or showing a girlfriend/wife/pet/other any touchy feely affection. Your face is always itchy and your bladder is always out of control when handling habaneros. And I have a hilarious, yet painful, story involving my college girlfriend after I was making some awesome chili with various hot peppers that I do not want to get into at the moment. Again, use your imagination. I recommend washing your hands like ten times before the hotness and burning qualities of your hands do fade. 
Ingredients for Bleu Cheese:
-Veganaise
-Gorgonzola 
-Soy Sauce
-Sriracha
-Sour Cream
-Butter
-Milk
-Apple Cider Vinegar 
-Sea Salt/Pepper
-Fresh Dill
>Mix 



Ingredients for Cheese Mixture for stuffing:
-Cream Cheese at room temp
-PLAIN Greek yogurt
-Crushed Sunflower Seeds
-Garlic/Onion powder
-Sea Salt/Pepper
-Sugar
-Dry or Fresh Dill
-Deseeded Diced Cucumber 
-Super Diced Carrot
-Super Diced Sharp Cheddar
-Super Diced Habanero Scraps (if brave enough)



Stuffed Habaneros:
I used the remaining habaneros from a bunch I bought last weekend. I made 17, I believe. I sliced the top off manually ripped the stem off and diced and saved, deseeded and deveined them as much as possible with a pairing knife. It is very tedious and please do not forget to constantly wash your hands! I chose not to level at the bottom. I instead stuffed them all somewhat carefully, somewhat dangerously and turned them upside down onto parchment paper on a pizza pan in a tight circular shape. 



I then tore out approximately 18 inches of aluminum foil and folded into a strip to wrap around the angry mob of upside down stuffed habaneros, tying the ends together to secure this wild bunch and to tighten them up to make them angrier. 
I then put some parchment paper on yet another pizza pan and put it upside down on top the mob and flipped all of the gloriousness. See what I did there. I’m brilliant. I took the stuck parchment paper that was smothering this crazy dangerous mob and discarded. Preheated the oven to 225* F and mentally prepared myself for it to get even hotter in here. I baked them for 25 minutes and then immediately broiled them on low, rotating once halfly (if that even makes sense), for 4-6 minutes, and then turned the broil to high for one minute to add some color. 
Serve however you’d like. These babies are hot as hell. And I would dare/challenge Adam Richmond to eat 15 in his glory days. Good luck to any braves out there.
NOTES:
-I do not want the cheese mixture to get too hot and make a huge mess. 
-I first wanted to level the bottom as you would for stuffed green peppers, but habaneros are so small. I chose not to and created this make-shift aluminum foil contraption to keep the stuffed habaneros standing.
-I don’t really like mayo and I honestly think Veganaise is much better. 
-I’m a huge believer in organics and NonGMO Project Verified, but I am not rich and it isn’t always affordable for me, unfortunately. 
-I’ve seen recipes for Bleu Cheese that call for Worcestershire, but most are not even vegetarian as they have anchovy. 
-And it saddens me to learn last year that Guinness is not 100% vegetarian. 
Also, Slayer has a 1986 album, Reign In Blood, with track number 10 being the song Raining Blood. I doubt I got to listen to it when it first came out as I was only a one year-old and my parents were legitimate, graduated high school in ’69, hippies. That is why that beer made me super excited. 
Winter cycling is awesome and I love doing it, it’s just not as easy to do every day when it’s below freezing. You could follow me on Strava to see if I do ride today.
Athlete number 2678291
I do not do drugs and neither should you! “Good people drink good beer.” Hunter S. Thompson