organic – VeggHead BeerCyclist

Ⓥanana Cream Waffles w/ Bluberries

Posted on December 8, 2019 by jeffreylatty

Fruit is not in my food preparation routines, usually. However, these Vegan Belgian waffles have been making my mouth water at the local Sprouts, my home away from home (away from work:), every time they are spotted. A savory waffle sandwich will not be ruled out, in the future.

Organic Bananas were blended with Daiya ‘cream cheese’, Non Dairy ‘creamer’, Vanilla & light Sugar. After blending so cool, refrigeration was utilized while Waffle preparing took place. Keep Cool.

Three pre-made frozen Waffles were thawed in the oven before panfrying in Earth Balance. Quick & easy, the Waffles were plated, creamed and berried.

Cheers.

FunFoodPhotoFun

Posted on May 14, 2016May 14, 2016 by jeffreylatty

Ⓥloggings

Posted on August 25, 2015August 25, 2015 by jeffreylatty

I had some horrible news last night. After deciding to ride my only day off this week, I wanted to attempt another live blog. I’m not too sure if I’m totally feeling it today. I’m gonna go about this as a draft. And then let my blog explode on everyones face at once, if it works out alright.

It’s 10:00 am central time and I’ve missed my original departure time of 10:00. I’m ready to go, though. Apologies for that unconscious rhyme breeze from me’s. It’s 10:15 and I’ll be on the bike by 10:30.

It’s 10:52 and I’m in a great small town of Utica, Illinois and it’s getting hot, my feet are going numb again, and my back is sore. Ever since I switched to clipless peddles, my feet get numb and hurt. To counter those effects, breaks are needed with walking and stretching. It could very well be the cleat position.

Due to a poor state and incorrect priorities, a washout has been ruining the I & M Canal for years. And because of that washout, I just had to basically almost commit suicide taking a busy Dee Bennett speedway to surpass the stupid washout. I’m talking cars going 60-70 mph in a 55. There’s sometimes a small shoulder, but usually not.

After murderous Dee Bennett Rd, I decided to not ride as big as I had dreamed. I also swallowed a bug while on Dee Bennett Rd. It is never fun riding 30 ish km/h and confusing yourself with regurgitating or swallowing this damn bug in your throat while pedaling and trying not to swerve and get hit by a speeding vehicle. I washed it down with water and rode on. #RideOn

In 2011, I was traveling home via Amtrak and read that my last grandfather had passed two days before christmas…. In 2015, i found out my paralyzed uncle who is a doctor of psychology passed by reading also on Facebook. I hate Facebook. I hate most of my asshole Facebook friends and they probably hate me. I was convinced to delete Facebook until my cousin added me today, throwing my plans completely. My new plan is eventually unfollow everyone. I’d like Facebook more if I could decide more what I have to view. I do not wanna see 100 kids before their first day of school. I do not wanna see lame jokes that people find super hilarious. I want Facebook to go back to my early twenties. Be funny, be crazy, be sexy.

I rode to Ottawa, Illinois. I decided to pickup a couple of beers and attempt to go through the washout. The Dee Bennett Rd completely destroyed my ride as it almost does my life every time that I am on it. I picked up a Fresh HopWired IPA by 8 Wired Brewing Co. out of New Zealand. I’ve had a few of their beers in the past and all have been better than good. And same deal with this one. Unfortunately, other countries cannot top most of the USA’s IPAs. We have it figured out. I also picked up a Trade Winds Tripel by The Bruery. Trying to get back onto the I&M Canal, I was going to make a left turn, so I was awaiting my turn in the middle of the road (my lane) and a truck behind me started honking at me.. A bicycle trying to go left on the left hand side of the lane?

I flipped that asshole off. When riding on the right side of the road especially turning left with traffic behind you, is an accident waiting to happen. Cars try and hurry by cyclists instead of slowing down. It is our duty as cyclists to put ourselves in danger in trying to get vehicles to notice us and slow down. THEY DO NOT LIKE IT, usually.

Passing Buffalo Rock, basically the last point of upkeep and civilization moreover, was a feat on its own without even talking of the washout. One, it was muddy. Two, the bushes and grass were overgrown. And three, there were numerous trees down. Trying to ride through those conditions are almost impossible, confusing and tedious. I say confusing because I’d rather ride than walk my bike. Having clipless peddles and shoes on are not very convenient in that situation. I had my left unclipped basically the entire time to be ready to stop because of all of the debris. I found a stretch of clear path and itching to peddle hard, I fully clipped in and rode for a good minute. It was 12:44 and I ran into another downed tree and I slowed almost completely, went to put my left foot down and climb over probably the 20th downed tree and BOOM, I was still clipped in.

I walked through the washout and continued on. I was all muddy, bloody and thirsty. I cracked open the IPA and continued walking, tree hurdling and drinking. A jogger passed me and said, “maybe they’ll fix it one day”, I replied “I doubt it….” That was most of my riding experience. I did BYOL!

Bring Yo Own Lunch = #BYOL

I chose to bring Nuts and Ⓥurritos.

Last week I made a Mexican concoction and have been slacking to consume the massive pot. I’m going to try my best to remember what exactly is in it. It is very good, just haven’t been exactly in the mood for it lately. Tomorrow, I plan to make Vegan Burgers out of the remaining concoction. I have been totally listening to this band, Native, lately. They are so good.

Native (live)

I actually took this video on 10.19.12 in Dekalb, Illinois via iPhone 4S.

Yesterday I learned that “&” had a freaking name.

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

Things that PISS ME OFF:

Police patrolling a park via car/SUV
Vitamins that contain LACTOSE?? WTFFF? (What The Fucking Flying Fuck)
Dogs that uncontrollably bark, should not be allowed outside without owner presence.

I basically overcooked everything a bit because I knew I was gonna make Veggie Burgers. If police are going to enter a park where vehicles are not allowed, THEY NEED TO GET OFF OF THEIR FAT ASSES AND HOP ON A BICYCLE. And I would’ve never thought that I would have to check ingredients in Vitamin C in being Vegan.

Ⓥeggie Burger ingredients:

Mexican Concoction
SeaSalt/GarlicP/OnionP/Pepper
Sriracha/BalsamicVinegar/PeanutOil/Honey/Broth
Go Veggie! “Cheese”, non-dairy
Corn Starch

This time around I cooked these patties at 250 degrees F for 12-15 minutes before upping the temperature to 325 degrees F for another 10. I usually love the burnt flavor, but for these the texture is not good when overcooked.

As for these Ⓥurritos I made for BYOL Friday, here we go.

Ⓥurrito ingredients:

Mexican Concoction, heated with Seitan, Broth and Corn
Iceberg Lettuce, chopped
Cilantro, finely chopped
Scallions, finely chopped
Sunflower Seeds, shelled obviously
Guacamole
Sriracha
Tortilla Shells, Large

Easiness:

Mix everything up and wrap burrito-like. Grill both sides and wrap in foil and enjoy. Unfortunately, I did not capture any photos of the finished product. Not sure what I was thinking. (I actually just found a pic of a similar Ⓥurrito that I made)

This was the start of my Facebook status, letting people know that I was gonna be deleting. Not sure what I’m gonna do.

-Unfortunately, my love and respect for animals does not carry onto most humans. Most of you are fucking horrible people and complete assholes. Not to say that I am not in that same group. As a species overall, we fucking suck. I do not care for most of you and most of you do not care for me. I’ve finally got big enough balls to peace out of this Facebook world that is basically a disease anyway. Social media is great and I still love it, but Facebook is no longer for me. I am in no way suicidal, but Jesus fucking Christ, this feels like social media suicide.-

It’s almost September. Have a good Week! Enjoy life as best as possible while taking good pictures! And seriously, go for a bike ride:)

Whiskey Wine Edamame

Posted on May 25, 2015May 25, 2015 by jeffreylatty

VeggHead BeerCyclist 5.25.15
Began: 0824 Finished: 0907
Upload

ScrewUp: Y Edited: Y
Tags: vegan, vegetarian, food, beer, craft, recipe, story, cycling, pics, organic, wellness, lifestyle, pictures, fun, Netflix
Title: Whiskey Wine Edamame
Daily Ride: Yes

Happy Memorial Day to all and to all of my blog readers that I think I have, I hope you had a great weekend!

I don’t care for much attention here on my WordPress space.. I used to have a MySpace, but unfortunately I deleted it years ago. I was good at MySpace unlike this WordPress where I can’t even understand how to layout my page. Maybe it’s laziness, maybe it’s my stupidity. Maybe I don’t even care. Does this blog really need much attention for my dumb and mostly pointless rants and raves. Maybe with the rants and raves I should have black lights and glow-in-the-dark whistles and bow ties as the layout. Really it’s just a blog with improper English and grammar that openly proves that I have a drinking problem and even more expensively, a cycling problem.
I might not be the healthiest person out there, but I take pride in making healthy choices and occasionally upgrading my healthy lifestyle. I might have a healthy problem. I’ve been partaking and mostly successful being Vegan on every Friday since January 9th of this year.
I’ve been 100% Vegetarian since January 29th, 2013. I’ve overcome various different obstacles and challenges basically every #VeganVriday.

I’ve decided to participate in #VeganWeekend every weekend starting this week. The entire weekend, Friday at midnight through Sunday at 11:59, would be completely Vegan. Do I plan on being a full time Vegan, no. Will I, very possible. As long as beer is vegan, anything is possible.

I’ve been without Netflix since April, 20th of this year. And Netflix actually cancelled my membership after a month. I like Netflix, I just don’t want to pay for it and I want to watch it less. I am human and have been streaming freely with Crackle and Tubi TV. There is a very nice and large selection between them both, you just have to deal with commercials… I hate commercials, but I’m doing just fine.
I’ve finally decided to move to the next cycling level and ordered cycling shoes and eggbeater pedals. I’m excited to see the difference and it better be a huge difference as I’m attempting the Strava Mt. Everest Napal climbing challenge in June of climbing 8,848 m, which is the height of Everest, in the month of June. I hate climbing… It is for a good cause.

Whiskey Wine Edamame:

I made this OILFREE 🙂
Ingredients:

-Red Wine

-Whiskey

-Lemon juiced no seeds,no stem

-Balsamic Vinegar

-Dill Weed

-Fresh Garlic, sliced

-Lentils, cooked

-Edamame, shelled & cooked

-Potatoes, largely chopped

-Turnip, largely chopped

-Carrot, largely sliced

-Tomato paste

-Parsley, for garnish

-Onion, chopped

-Fresh Kale, chopped

-Celery, largely sliced

-SeaSalt/Pepper/Cayenne/GarP

-Water or Broth

The Voyage:
I started by chopping the Potatoes, Turnip & Carrots and placing them on parchment paper on a larger baking sheet. I turned on the oven to 415*F and threw that pan in and continued to chop the veggies. I chopped the Onion, Celery & Garlic and set a side for a few minutes. I started the water for Lentils at some point. I also had a few beers. I decided to use these frozen shelled Edamame that happens to be #NonGMOProjectVerified. I threw the Edamame in with the lentils towards the very end for a few minutes. I then put the other veggies in with the already roasting oil-free veggies and stirred them up making them super crazy. They had a very sexy aroma. I put the Lentils and Edamame in a colander and drained the water while putting the pan back on the stovetop heat adding Red Wine (Cab), Whiskey, Seasonings, Balsamic Vinegar and Tomato Paste and brought almost to a boil. I timed the Booze to get hot as the Veggies were good to go and first added the Lentils and Edamame and then the Veggies to the Booze. If you add the Veggies before the Protein, the world will end. I then added the Lemon Juice and Kale and basically steamed the Kale while stirring. It is basically done whenever your desired doneness is achieved and the liquid has mostly vanished.

Enjoy if you try. No well wishes if ya don’t try. KIDDING! Have fun and take pics in whatever drives you!

Quadruple Beefsteak

Posted on May 20, 2015May 20, 2015 by jeffreylatty

VeggHead BeerCyclist 5.19.15

Began: 2110 Finished: 2218

Upload

ScrewUp: Y Edited: Y

Tags: vegan, vegetarian, food, beer, craft, recipe, story, cycling, pics, organic, wellness, lifestyle, pictures, fun

Title: Quadruple Beefsteak

Daily Ride: Yes

A man walks into a bank with two things in his hands. Actually it’s one thing in his two hands and one thing in his one mouth. He walks into this bank with a paper sack full of change and he has this paper sack in both hands to keep it from tearing and making a mess. Not so much to prevent a mess, but to prevent tedious pickup work. In his mouth is a check to be deposited.

He heads straight to the change machine with an idea to keep the change as cash and deposit the check into his checking account and all would be sane. The bank teller asked the man if he was going to use the change machine and He responded “yes” and she helped him with the numerous steps involved in using the way to complicated change machine.

The machine started counting the change and all of a sudden ($2.94, to be exact) the machine jammed or crashed. It completely stopped with an error alert on the screen. The bank teller was there to try and fix it, but had no luck. The machine spits out the receipt of the $2.94 value of change taken. The bank teller tries to call the janitor, the bank machine manager, who was on lunch and suggests to the customer that he collect his change still awaiting change machine consumption.

The man asked the bank teller if she would do a manual exchange giving me cash for the change. She explained how they don’t do that anymore and how it could be possible to use another bank. The man continued to collect his change and became annoyed. He mentioned an idea of getting cash from the check he was hopefully eventually going to deposit and then deposit the change as the cash that it is. The bank teller heavily relied on the machine for any type of counting. She said they would need to fix the machine and then could cash in the change once the change machine technician (aka janitor) came back from lunch. Which would mean for the man to leave his change in the hands of a bank teller who cannot count.

Also, in the hands of a janitor who probably collects vast dollars of change left in urinals. The man agreed and later checked his checking account online where the deposit for the change has not fully processed because it was deposited after the cutoff time because the janitor was on lunch and the bank tellers couldn’t count.

Anyways, that’s my small vent blown out of proportion for the day. I guess change is technically not legal tender in some banks. I have a strong urge to somehow have this happen again and make a huge stink of the situation and have the teller deposit my damn change. I guess in the back of my mind I know that money is tight with the purchases I need to make in the near future. The biggest being a new fat bike.

Over the past few weeks I’ve been working on a tomato sandwich. I have not tried a Vegan version yet. I do feel I’ve finally mastered the Vegetarian Beefsteak. The taste has always been great just the look and consistency is what needed improvement. The sandwich needs to stay intact as much as possible while consumption is taking place.

I took a few engineering/architecture courses in college and that is basically the approach taken in mastering this super basic sandwich. The tomatoes like to move faster than an avalanche, faster than a rock slide and faster than and more powerful than water. My thought process was to create an almost concrete base and structure using delicious cheese. Here are the pictures along the way

-Double Beefsteak Wheat

-Beefsteak w/ Kale Seitan Greek Omelet

-Beefsteak Sliders (literally)

-Quadruple Beefsteak

Quadruple Beefsteak ingredients:

-Hearty Bun, sliced in half

-Beefsteak tomato, sliced thick and both ends saved for something else

-Cheese or “Cheese” I used dairy cheese. I used a combination of Horseradish Cheddar, Sharp Cheddar, Swiss and American.

-SeaSalt

-Alfalfa Sprouts

I made a veggie stir-fry and topped with Gouda and Sharp Cheddar Cheese and through those babies on the side.

Hope this recipe inspires innovation to either cook or to quit eating meat. Take a pic, enjoy a good beer and have fun!

Go for a bike RIDE!

Kale-Seitan Greekwich

Posted on May 19, 2015May 19, 2015 by jeffreylatty

VeggHead BeerCyclist 5.19.15

Began: 1426 Finished: 1516

Upload

ScrewUp: Y Edited: Y

Tags: vegan, vegetarian, food, beer, craft, recipe, story, cycling, pics, organic, wellness, lifestyle, MLB

Title: Kale-Seitan Greekwich

Daily Ride: Commute

I have found another Big Muddy Brewery beer in the Pale Ale. And it is a bomber and was under $5. It’s a very good PA with a nicely well balanced 6% ABV.

Last week I tweeted Heidi Watney on how much I enjoy her baseball highlights on MLBN Quick Pitch. One, she’s good at her job and two, she is gorgeous! Anyways, she favorited my tweet! It was basically a kiss on the cheek and I can now die happily. Go CUBBIES!

I made this meal with leftover Mediterranean-Style Seaitan because when I make Seitan, I fucking make Seitan for a week.

Kale-Seitan Greekwich w/ Belgian Endive:

(Use ORGANICS, whenever possible)

Kale-Seitan Greekwich ingredients:

-Seitan, chopped (Scroll down)

-Fresh Kale, chopped dicely

-Hearty Bun, sliced in half

-Fresh Ginger, diced

-Fresh Garlic, diced

-Veggie Broth

-Spicy Mustard

-Kalamata Olives, diced

-Capers, halved

-Onion, diced

-Feta cheese

-Mozzarella cheese

-Sunflower Seeds

Obviously you’ll wanna already have your Seitan ready to go before continuing. I Chose to dry roast the diced Ginger, Garlic, Onion and Sunflower Seeds before combining all with the Feta Cheese to obtain a good, not bad, warmth. I used the Mozzarella with the bun only. I toasted the insides of Buns before adding a decent amount of Mozzarella cheese and then slightly toasted to melt that cheese. Combine. And. Take. A pic. Before enjoying.

ALSO, CHEESE IS NOT NECESSARY.

VEGAN AND NON ANIMAL IS ONLY FOR THE STRONG.

Chipotle Balsamic Belgian Endive ingredients:

-Belgian Endive

-Sriracha Cock Sauce

-Balsamic Vinegar

-Better Oil

-Chipotle seasoning

-SeaSalt/Pepper

-Belgian-Style Beer, consumed with a little set off to the side 😆

I combined everything and I used Ommegang Gnomegang with the Endive. I coated both sides of those Belgian bastards. And roasted face down ass up. Season again afterwards with at least Sea Salt.

Seitan ingredients:

-Corn Meal

-Tomato Sauce

-Vital Wheat Gluten

-Herbs/SeaSalt/Pepper

-BROTH

-Non Dairy Cheese Cloth

-Fennel Seeds

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 need a new FATBIKE and these are two candidates:

I rode today on the road. And know I am wriding about it because I was the wrider. It was super cold this morning and still feels like fall. I threw on some armwarmers and full finger cycling cloves. And wrote on. #RideOn

Vegan Fat Bike Packing

Posted on May 17, 2015May 17, 2015 by jeffreylatty

VeggHead BeerCyclist 05.11.15

Began: 2151 Finished:

Upload

ScrewUp: Y Edited: Y

Tags: vegan, vegetarian, food, beer, craft, recipe, story, cycling, pics, organic, wellness, lifestyle, Strava, fat, bike, packing, pictures, fun

Title: Vegan Fat Bike Packing

Daily Ride: Yes

I’ve been riding my commutes without my Garmin (Edge 100) for various reasons. The number one reason to commute without Garmin or Strava is just to have the pleasure of riding without stress of obtaining great numbers for a measly 10 km commute to work or the damn grocery store for some good beer. Along with stress free purposes, you can somewhat tie in that I ride much safer without saved data from my commutes. I stop and slow down much more. I’m still an asshole at times, but I’m not in the ride for results. I’m in the rides for transportation, fun and peace of mind.

I have finally come to the conclusion that I do need cycling shoes with the correct pedals. I have never felt the urge to have them, but I do now for efficiency purposes. I want walking/hiking efficiency with cadence efficiency. Perhaps, I’m graduating to another level of the ‘School of Cycling’

I ride decently with tennis shoes… I am excited to see my results. I still plan on commuting tennis-style for the time being.

I know now exactly what it’s like to perform brain surgery on some asshole while nicking arteries and or other life detrimental organs and or brain damaging issues while trying to put everything back together again like the thrice wolves did. I rekeyed a lock while losing the pins and springs inside of the chamber. The procedure was intense and nerve wrecking. I survived and so did the lock!

A couple of weeks ago, I made the smart choice of handling my vast mass of bills after being a bit more than tipsy. I had the drunkish confidence going like crazy. As I am usually nuts when I drink. I also felt like being social with the crooks that rip me off and make millions off of poor poor Americans like myself. I basically thought I was rich and scheduled and made payments with money that while sober, I do not have. I am a damn millionaire while I’m buzzed. All is good in bank land.

(5.13.15)

Canal Grinder, a bikepacking event, is this weekend. Also, this Friday, Day one of the Canal Grinder, is my #VeganVriday! I’m all stocked up with Vegan cuisine. It’s basically an intro event to BikePacking because we are not traveling very far and civilization is never far away.

I’m gonna concentrate mostly on my food in packing for this bicycle camping trip. I’m only packing a day pack backpack and a hip slash ass fanny pack. I think that I’ll also pack my saddle bag on my fat bike.

(5.14.15)

Happy Thursday! I am almost done with work for the week. I have a decently long day today and then it is party time! I scouted out the I&M Canal towpath on Mother’s Day. I rode there and back with two detours (technically four) on road due to water. I rode 122 kms. I’d say 100 km were on towpath and 22 ish km were road. The washout is usually crossable, but over the winter our make-shift bridges were torn down by IDNR, those lovely people that will not fix the historic I&M Canal. The other detour was in an area where flooding is normal if it’s been rainy. I took a smaller stretch of a road into a town, Marseilles and was almost struck by a truck.

An asshole with a big truck (small fucking dick), we’ll just say no-dick, was coming up behind me just coming into Marseilles and the road had a few horrible potholes that I saw while I was approaching.

The pothole that I had to swerve to stay out of was the size of a damn sink. I saw no-dick behind me using peripherals and pointed to the left, stating that I would be moving left. And with the assurance of safety because of my hand gestures, I moved towards the center of the lane to dodge the massive blackhole. I soon realized that I used the incorrect hand gesture as no-dick either chose to ignore me or just plainly wasn’t paying any attention to the damn road. He did not show any signs of trying to move over. And there wasn’t ANY oncoming traffic. He almost ruined my day and then either saw me or just chose to be an asshole and he pointed or held up his hand like he was yelling or something and went on with his life as if nothing happened. It is not a good feeling at all to have an object go by you so close. I stopped and had lunch and I #RideOn. I should’ve used the hand gesture of a middle finger to that prick.

(5.17.15)

The Canal Grinder was a GRIND and is now complete. It overall went very well. We had a few issues that were resolved and everything was outstanding. I successfully accomplished another #VeganVriday, but this time on a much harder playing field. And on a day full of drinking just about to the max.

We had two broken Fat Bikes and a lost phone. The two Fat Bikes did survive and the phone was found after the Canal Grinder concluded. I broke my rear axel before to Canal Grinder was fully underway hopping off of a curb with mean airtime. The intense jump and mean airtime was due to being severely annoyed leaving the bank. I had an older gentleman that wouldn’t stop talking to me who was being super nice, I’m just a god damn asshole and was jacked up on energy and then when I was getting ready to get on the Fat Bike, someone bumped the bike with the door which was clearly see-through glass! We just kept tightening it as best as possible throughout the trip. It was literally snapped. I also acquired a slow leak in my rear tire. And we just changed the tube. Luckily, for me, my buddy brought a spare four inch tube and gave it to me. The same buddy lost his crank arm a couple of hours after that. He put it back on as best as possible and his Fat Bike held up fine.

I packed my back pack and fanny pack with my gear and rode. Everything fit well and stayed dry. It was super wet and soggy gravel/mud along the I & M Canal from lock 14 in LaSalle to Gebhard Woods in Morris and back. There was a stretch of 4-8 inch water flooding depending on the spot and day that we rode through. I swallowed a bug in the middle of that mess. Technically you could say that I wasn’t Vegan on Friday, because I ate that bastard.

Towards the end, my left leg started to have a sharp needle-like pain in the knee joint. It was definitely due to the broken rear axel and the tire rubbing against the left seat stay the entire way. I did completely finish the ride.

We all had an exhaustingly fun and overall outstandingly great time! My first Fat Bike Bike Packing experience was phenomenal. Even though my lower end Fat Bike is done for, I’m gonna buy a nicer Fat Bike eventually and take the vast greatness and virtue that came with the trip and continue on with this adventure that we call life.

The Vegan support that kept me fed and energized were Vegan bars, Roasted Almonds, In-Shell Peanuts, Tofurky sandwiches and Vegan Smart Dogs.

Tofurky sandwich ingredients:

-Tofurky

-Whole Wheat Bread, toasted

-“Cheese”, dairy free

-Wholly Guacamole

-Onion, sliced

I held my own by not eating out anywhere we went. I drank good beer and stayed on plan with my own food. I probably could’ve used more food, but everything was fine.

No one was hurt. Nothing was lost. All of us had great fun and I did bring home a Revolution beer that I’ve never heard of.

Notable CanalGrinder Beers consumed:

-Wicked Fist, Revolution

-Stache In The Wood, Finch’s

-Grapefruit Sculpin, Ballast Point

-Orange Avenue Wit, Coronado

-Blakkr, Surly/Real/3Floyds collaboration (Surly release)

-TV Party Rye IPA, Revolution

Other Beers that are recent notables:

-Three Philosophers (2013), Ommegang.

-Three Philosophers (2012), Ommegang

-Three Philosophers (2011), Ommegang

-16 Bit DPA, Tallgrass

-Brewhouse Coffee Stout, Central Waters

-Kentucky Old Fashioned Barrel Ale, Lexington

-Fist City, Revolution

I’ve never seen a packaged “Cellared” box until this week from Ommegang. I personally blow at cellaring beers. I always drink them. I need a time lock safe. The 2011 was the better year with the most age and wow, was it balanced and flavorful!

CHEERS IF YA CAN FIND IT

Vegan Italian “beef”

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

VeggHead BeerCyclist 05.02

Began: 2211 Finished: 0943

Upload

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!

Big Muddy Vegan Earth Day

Posted on April 22, 2015April 22, 2015 by jeffreylatty

VeggHead BeerCyclist 4.22

Began: 0802 Finished: 1120

Upload

ScrewUp: Y Edited: Y

Tags: vegan, vegetarian, food, beer, craft, recipe, story, cycling, pics, organic, Netflix, Chicago, Earth, day

Title: Big Muddy Vegan Earth Day

Daily Ride: Yes

It is Earth Day 2015 today. And also my day off. Might as well spend some time on a blogfulness post. To others, Earth Day, means to recycle and post things on social media about how they are “saving” earth. To me Earth Day is every day. Many others have the same approach and lifestyle, but I want to talk about our planets livestock production. I’ve gathered a few notes from reading a PETA and Times article.

Both articles state how livestock production may have a bigger impact on Earth than anything else. And by passively “May”, they truly arrogantly mean “IS”.

Here are some of the notes I took:

-5 lbs. of wild-caught fish fed to farmed fish to produce one lb. flesh

-30% of Earths ice-free surface is not for growing grains, fruits & veggies consumed by humans, but for chickens, pigs & cattle to consume before most humans eat the animals

-70% grain & cereals grown are fed to farmed animals

-13 lbs. grain to produce 1 lb. of meat

-Livestock production uses ⅓ Earths fresh water

-11 times the fossil fuels to make one calorie from animal protein to one calorie from plant protein

-It takes more than 2,400 gallons of water to produce one pound of beef to which one pound of wheat only takes 25 gallons

I’m a geek and watch numerous documentaries every week and even the science documentaries stress the destruction of factory farming inefficiency.

“You save more water by not eating a pound of beef than you do by not showering for six months!” PETA

I say Happy Earth Day and don’t eat meat or better yet don’t eat or use any animal based product.

I made Vegan Saison-Serrano CornDawgs that were Organic and NONGMO but also, oil-free and skewer-free. Technically maybe not 100% organic and NONGMO, but damn close.

Saison (French, “season,” French pronunciation: [sɛ.zɔ̃]) is a broadly defined pale ale that, in modern versions, is generally around 7% abv, highly carbonated, fruity, spicy (sometimes from the addition of spices), and is influenced by Saison Dupont Vieille Provision.^[1]Saisons are currently brewed in a range of countries, particularly the United States, and are often bottle conditioned.^[2]

^-WIKIPEDIA

^{Saison beers are usually amazing! I used two different Saisons for the batter. I used an Anchor Saison Spring Ale out of San Francisco and a Hennepin Farmhouse Saison from New York’s Ommegang Brewery. Both were very good. The Anchor Saison was very light for its ass-kicking ABV. I was impressed.}

^{Vegan Saison-Serrano CornDawg ingredients:}

-Organic Mustard

-Ketchup, high quality

-Spicy Mustard?

-Lightlife Smart Dogs, jumbo

-Saison, your choice as is anything

-Corn Meal, quality over quantity

-Baking Powder

-Sugar/SeaSalt/Pepper/Garlic P

-Roasted Corn

-Serrano, deseeded and finely chopped

-Flour

-Parchment Paper

The Voyage:

-Create your batter to the thick consistency and add your Smart Dogs.

-I let it all sit for a bit. Not sure how long. It probably doesn’t matter either way.

-Turn on oven, preheat is a joke unless you’re baking.

-I battered the dog generously and put onto the parchment paper and then rolled the parchment paper to keep the CornDawg intact and then I baked it.

I will have to remaster it, but it turned out very good.

The crazy thing is that the Meat Industry and large scale farming is destroying our Earth and I always thought vehicles were the biggest destroyer, never thought of the Pig (Beef) Destroyer until recent years.

I’ve mentioned in past Blog Fog that I used to go to SIUC and live in Carbondale, IL for almost four years. There is a brewery 5-10 miles west of Carbondale in Murphysboro, IL called Big Muddy Brewing after the Big Muddy River that flows through there. I used to drink various beers of theirs before my Untappd days. And have recently enjoyed many Big Muddy Brews in northern Illinois 300 miles north of this smallish brewery.

The only Big Muddy Brewing beer that I do not approve of is their Sour Du Shawnee. It was horrible unless it was meant to obtain an age, they failed horribly. It was vinegary and not sour. It did have a good nose to it. The Big Muddy Brewing brews I’ve had post Untappd days:

-Saluki DunkelDog

-Sour Du Shawnee

-Vanilla Stout

-Blueberry Blonde

-Galaxy IPA

-Backwoods Monster

-Pumpkin Smasher

-Big Muddy Monster

It is Earth Day and y’all should go ride a bicycle at least. I’m not always a fan of road rides, but often partake. You can ride defensively to a point, but you cannot control everything vehicles do. I often ride on Canals near me. They are not in great shape and continue to fall apart without correct fixes. It sucks. IDNR does not give a fucking shit. Illinois Department of Natural Resources.

HOW ABOUT THOSE CHICAGO CUBBIES!?!?

THE DYNASTY HAS BEGUN 🙂

#VeganVriday

Posted on April 11, 2015April 11, 2015 by jeffreylatty

VeggHead BeerCyclist 4.11

Began: 0147 Finished: 0325

Upload

ScrewUp: Y Edited: Y

Tags: vegan, vegetarian, food, beer, craft, recipe, story, cycling, pics, organic, tornado, lifestyle, healthy

Title: #VeganVriday

Daily Ride: Goal failed, but yes

Every Friday I attempt to be Vegan. I have failed mostly because of forgetfulness, but I’ve been consecutively successful for quite some time. It’s not hard to be Vegan for one day a week. I am Vegan on other days by accident and sometimes for fun.

My intake of dairy has dropped significantly since last year. I have made a pact to myself to only eat pizza on the first of every month. Do I wish to be Vegan eventually? Not really. Will I? Probably.

I love preparing Vegan food for the challenge and for the fun. I do enjoy food muchly.

I often overthink my dishes. The one that I made yesterday seemed unbelievable in my head, but didn’t turn out that great. It was still very delicious, just not 110% perfect.

I took two drug tests this week for two different companies. Pending results on the second, I passed both! Party on, dude!

I also took a break from my Garmin Edge 1000 all week. Perhaps as an experiment. Perhaps to relax. The conclusion is that I ride the same way mostly without the Garmin, but I do not ride as far. I ride the bare minimum along my commutes. Where with the Garmin with me, I ride extra kms.

I did, however, have to ride with my Strava phone app with 45 km/h tailwind on Friday. Not far from where I party, we had, I think, a few tornados touch and destroy materials and two lives. The one was an EF4.

I saw a tornado at the age of 3-4 in a suburb of Denver, CO, but haven’t seen one since. I’ve tried. Oh, how I’ve tried.

I’ve coined myself as the anti-tornado. And I stand by it. I did witness an “Inland Hurricane” in Carbondale, IL in 2009.

I occasionally try and sell things on Craigslist. It’s all spam nowadays.

Today, I planned to try and reach a goal of 200 km. Also, there is the world premiere streaming of Inspired To Ride tonight and it would’ve been great to fit both into the same day. Inspired To Ride is another Mike Dion / Hunter Weeks film about adventure, pushing limits & self-sustained cycling.

I hate riding with traffic. I still do, just not all the time. I chose to ride the I & M (Illinois & Michigan) Canal, which I’ve done hundreds of times. I was going to ride until just short/south of Joliet and turn around and eventually get picked up when I reached the goal. It sounded great in my head. We had numerous severe storms on Thursday and I wasn’t sure what to expect. Aim high when purposing a goal to yourself. Floods and downed trees consumed the path. Not to mention the detour I took. My parents were in a town visiting family where I actually was picked up. Basically perfect timing. I rode hard and captured decent pictures.

I planned this ride while enjoying vast beers. Two of which were Big Muddy Brewing beers from Murphysboro, IL. Just a few clicks west of Carbondale, IL aka SIUC aka Southern Illinois. Before my untappd days, I enjoyed many of Big Muddy brews and am always ecstatic when finding them 300 miles north.

The Blueberry Blonde was good. I expected too much blueberry, but instead was surprised with a subtle hint of blueberry flavor and more of an explosive smell of blueberry which works out very well.

The Saluki Dunkeldog, which I’ve had many of times, is always enjoyable.

I have an awesome pic of myself with four Saluki’s.

What the hell do you call a century ride when you ride kms?

I’ve always used “century” with miles. I’ve heard “metric century”…

Today out of my 200 km goal, I only actually rode 36 km. I averaged 24.3 km/h after putting up with a lot of crap.

The washout has been there for years with a crossable man made bridge, but right now it’s basically uncrossable without stepping in water.

I decided to fight weeds and pedal bites to find the railroad 20 ish M north of the towpath. Instead of a little water, I chose thorns, probable poison ivy, water still and strange noises. Good one, dude. I took my earbuds out of my waxy ears and used nature to transition my loneliness from my buds. I heard some interesting noises. The railroad tracks that aren’t used very often were making strange noises. The only way I can compare is to the movie Cast Away when Tom Hanks keeps hearing noises and finally concludes it’s falling coconuts. The tracks were popping, almost zapping and creaking as if they were moving. Very weird. Also, I was daydreaming about the whisky that I packed. Jameson. That I wanted to wait to start enjoying when a loud swoosh happened. It almost sounded like a car and train speeding by. It was rather close and hurried and grabbed my phone and snapped a pic.

It was a Bald Eagle either attacking or playing with a Hawk. I couldn’t grab a great picture, but I could clearly see the difference between the Eagles (there were two) and Hawks. It was very cool to witness that sound. It was either from their wings or like hissing or something. Awesomeness! No animals were harmed 🙂 I do respect the food chain.

I finally found a path that looked dry to get back to the towpath. It wasn’t dry. I stepped in water. I continued on and climbed fallen tree after ridden through flood. Good times.

I’ve come to think of myself as more of an adventurist grinder type cyclist. I do not have the cycling gear problem some people have of being a damn shoppoholic. I have the necessities and always try to get nice necessities, but soon I’m gonna make a list of different types of cyclists and even an equation of how much money you should spend based on your hours of ride time.

FOOOOOOOOOOOOD

Along with being Vegan, most ingredients are Organic and all is oil-free. The Veggies didn’t turn out exactly like I wanted them too because of my laziness/hunger, but it was good.

Oil-Free MexVegg:

Ingredients:

-Chipotle Rice

-SeaSalt/Pepper/Cayenne/ Chipotle P/Garlic P

-Veggies, I used steaks from a massive Parsnip, Turnip filet, half an Onion, ⅓ beefsteak Tomato, diced Sweet Potato, Zucchini, Yellow Squash

I wanted to obtain nice color to the veggies, but approached it wrongly. Doesn’t this Strava km/h look like a middle finger!

VEGGIES DIPPED IN WAX ARE NOT COOL

Chipotle Rice ingredients:

-Dried Chipotle peppers, rehydrated while saving water

-Veggie Broth

-Japonica Rice

-Brown Rice

-Pearled Barley

-Lentils

SeaSalt/Pepper/ Garlic&Chipotle P

-Balsamic Vinegar

-Fresh Parsley, chopped

-Fresh Cilantro, chopped

Hydrate the Dried Chipotles and remove seeds however motivated and dice while keeping the warm/hot water. Add Barley and Japonica Rice, bring to a boil and cover bringing heat to a generous simmer for 20 minutes. Add balsamic and seasonings and then add Lentils and Brown Rice and simmer for 20 more minutes adding Broth whenever needed. NOT TOO MUCH. Add herbs when finished and set to side. Add Vegan “Cheese” if ya wish!

Roast Veggies and steam Broccolette and season and create a pretty plate. I garnished with sliced garlic, Avocado and more freshly chopped herbs.

Have a beer pat yourself on the back, but only if you finished reading this entire blog. I’ve been typing for a while. And have lots of pics to upload. Yay