Vegan Paddy’s Day

Posted on by jeffreylatty

VeggHead BeerCyclist      3.08

Began: Sat2025

Finished: Sun1020

•
Upload
ScrewUp:     Y     Edited:    Y
•
Tags: review, st, Patrick’s, day, paddy’s, Patty’s, food, recipe, vegan, craft, beer, cycling, 2015, Irish, whiskey
•
Title: VEGAN PADDY’S DAY
•
Daily Ride: Probably not today.
•
Man, it feels like I just blogged out a log.
•
Happy Daylight Savings Day!
•
I finally trekked on my first March ride yesterday. We (paid riding companions and myself) trekked 66 kilometers and had 380 meters of elevation gain. And yes I’m a metric-loving American. I will admit to being a geek, I am nowhere near a nerd. The accidental six day cycling hiatus did not do anything good for me. I vow to never take more than three days, 72 hours, off.
It was 6-8* Celcius and I barely overdressed, but felt it immensely in my head as I was sporting a damn balaclava. I failed an accent, but not too bad of a climb. For the first time in years, I had to walk. I only climbed like 4-6 meters before saving my head and brain from over steaming like mushy cauliflower mush from the sweat boiling balaclava and continued to ride. It pissed me off, but it will not happen again. It was the first decent ride of 2015 and I needed it. Because of a big thumb and iPhones lack of big thumb accessible phones issue, I barely caught two deer crossing the frozen Hennepin Canal.
The other day I was thinking to myself, and no animals were harmed, what my favorite beers of 2015 have been. I usually enjoy a crazy variety of different craft brews and I might as well pick some of my favorite types and then my favorite type of beer of that type. Get it? Me either.
Barleywine – Stone Old Guardian: Extra Hoppy
Imperial IPA (DIPA) – I’m a biased Colorado-born native, but from Boulder, Colorado Avery Brewing Company presents an Imperial India Pale Ale in The Maharaja. This is probably the best DIPA that I’ve ever snorted. Post 10% ABV and 100 dolla bill y’all IBU, this masterpiece is no joke. I’m already craving another.
IPA – All the damned way from Kalamazoo, Michigan, this beast of a DIPA brewed with honey is nowhere near light on the hops and will smack that smirk meters away from your face. It’s well known and people love it for a good reason.

Saison – I love a good Saison. I understand people not enjoying saisons, but it PISSES ME OFF. The style was founded on the Belgian farms. Where heaven and cute puppies were also founded. And so the best ever Saison that I’ve had comes from there in Brasserie DuPont’s Avec Les Bons Voeux from 2014. Lucky for me, I do not have to try and pronounce that.
Stout – Russian Imperial Stouts are the way I want to die. Use your imagination and if possible, I’d like that way of death to be barrel-aged. Thanks. This was actually my 1000 distinct check-in on Untappd and I saved it for a couple of weeks to savor it on that exact check-in. From the Fabulous Cali, inside North Coast Brewing Company, gave birth to a legend in the wonderful Old Rasputin. The beer I’m talking about is above that! It is the Barrel-Aged Old Rasputin XVII. It will take away your double chin, give ya a nice new hair cut and even throw some gel and style that dew of yo’s. It will give you an unbelievable confidence that you are the most important person on the moon Earth. This one is out of production, but next year or whenever, if you find one, buy two. #NeverSayDie
Porter – This porter just hit the spot like eight times. It’s not my fault it’s another Colorado beer. I wasn’t even born in Boulder, but from Boulder Beer Company brings this Shake Chocolate Porter. And it was outstanding when I found a 6-pack in the clearance cart after discovering it a few days earlier. Chin-up sad beer drinkers, this is a bottle full of happiness.
Sour – BOOM DESTIHL Brewery has always been outstanding and their Saint Dekkera Reserve Sour: Excommunie Trois was fabulous. Best sour ever!
Mead – Dansk Mjod Viking blod. Mead done right is the opposite of my cold heart. Warm this mead and it is awesome.

Dessertyish- From St. Louis, Missouri. Home of the hated Cardinals and Blues. 4 Hands Brewing Company’s Peanut Butter Chocolate Milk Stout is the “Grade A” beverage it markets itself to be. Highly recommend a try and I am hopeful to see the Double Peanut Butter Chocolate Milk Stout they have also created.
ALRIGHT, Vegan St. Paddy’s Day, let’s enjoy some 12 year old Jameson with a sip of regular Jameson as a chaser?
We’ll need the Saison or Seitan started first. If someone is actually trying this, you’ll want to have the Colcannon done ahead of time and kept warm if possible as a completely separate side dish or appetizer. Shit, we Irish, have it for dessert!
CBS      “Corned Beef Seitan” ingredients:
-Vital Wheat Gluten (hopefully you’re not gluten-free :/)
-Garlic and Shallot, diced and roasted
-Sea Salt/Pepper/Paprika
-Veggie Broth
-Thyme powder
-Sage powder
-Caraway seeds
-Rosemary
-Sugar
-Tomato Paste
-Veggie Broth

Handstands:
-I started with the Tomato Paste and a little Broth just to turn that Paste into a saucy goodness.
-I broke out the mortal and pestle and no, that isn’t a medieval weapon that I want it to be.
-Threw in Caraway and Rosemary and ground a bit
-Threw in the rest of seasonings and infused
-Infused is sometimes a fancy word for simply mixing
-Roast your Garlic and Shallot dicemembers and throw into Sauciness
-Vital Wheat Gluten is vital and so is kneading.
RAP A TUNE
-Seriously, form your amazingly weird protein chunk into a loaf and hope you have a cheese cloth.
-Wet the cheese cloth, Vegan of course
-Lay out cheese cloth accordingly
-Put Seitan in and wrap, not rapping to much and when spelling “rapping” ALWAYS remember that second “P”
-You’ll need to gather a broth. And swing it to a boil, not using the broiler.
•
•
Broth ingredients:
-Broth
-Chewed garlic, spit out
-Bay leaves, with a very long pull string
-Season to enjoyment
•
•
-Bring broth to a quick broil and after placing you not harmed dead animal wrapped in vegan cheese cloth into a lasagna pan, pour broth over it. And do not exceed over halfway of the lasagna pan or (Luigi and I are tight) I’ll send a true Italian afta ya
BAKE 2 HOURS FLIP ONCE
Corned Tapenade ingredients:
-Oily Vinegar
-Onion
-Carrot
-Celery
-Garlic
-Shallot
-PLUM
-RHUBARB
-SeaSalt,Pepper,Coriander, Fennel, Thyme, Caraway, Rosemary, cayenne
-Brown Sugar
•
Super chop without bodily harm and mix and let marinade for a good hour at room temp. PLEASE take the rooms temp first because there are always many possibilities and I am curious only if you talk about the log I blogged earlier.
•
So satanish cheese clothes vegan? Protein is ready?
•
As you might conclude, I was a bit tipsy. I diagnosed myself with legally insanity and went to bed.
•
Vegan Gravy ingredients:
-Vegg Broth
-Bay Leaves
-Oil
-Vinegar
-Sea Salt/Pepper/Savory/ Cayenne
-Garlic, super diced
-Onion, super diced
-Celery, super diced
-Carrot, super diced
-Mushroom, super diced
-Corn Starch
-Do not parch, save some broth or water
Steps!
-Heat oil
-Caramelize Garlic and then onion, Celery and super diced Carrot
-Add Vinegar
-Add Broth, add Mushroom and simmer for 60 minutes or longer
-Add Starch close to the time when you’ll need it and get to a good groovy gravy consistency
•
VEGGIES ingredients:
-Potatoes, cut into ¼s
-Turnip, cut into ¼s
-Carrot, cut in half
-Onion, I only used ½ left alone
-Cabbage, cut in wedges with core intact for holdage purposes
-Oil/Vinegar
-Sea Salt/Pepper
-Fesh Dill, chopped
•
I was going to leave the turnip skin on, but this Turnip was waxed… I’ve never seen that before. I tried removing the way, but eventually had to peel it off.
Backstrokes:
-Get all of these amazing veggies readily cut
-Place Cabbage and Onion on parchment paper on a pan
-Toss Potatoes, Turnips and Carrots in mixture of seasonings and lay on parchment paper on a pan
-Use remaining liquid/oil to drip on Cabbage
-Roast with the next satan steps. I meant satanly great Seitan
•
•
-Set out a large piece of aluminum foil and spray lightly with cooking spray
-After Seitan has cooked and cooled a bit, remove from cheese cloth and place on aluminum foil
-Now put Tapenade on entire surface of Seitan and wrap
-I placed on a pan and baked for 60 minutes with Veggies at 350*F
-Then remove Seitan and slice and broil lightly to attain that meaty texture and look
•
•
For the record, I sometimes do not wash my balls… Of spuds!
•
•
Vegan ColCannon
Ingredients:
-Potatoes, cut in half and heavily heavily oven roasted
-Almond Milk
-Go Veggie! “Cheese”, shredded or block
-Sunflower Seeds, lightly oven roasted
Kale, frozen and fresh
-Turnip, diced
-Shallot, diced
-Garlic, diced
-Celery, super diced
-Carrot, super diced
-Apple Cider Vinegar
-SeaSalt/Pepper/Cayenne
-Dill, chopped

Summersaults:
-For comedic purposes, roast your Potatoes on parchment paper on a pan, at 420*F for 90 minutes-Giving them a nice burnt char
-In large saucepan, heat oil and Caramelize Garlic and then Veggies that are super diced
-Add Turnip and diced Potato (why not?)
-Rinse in saucepan with refreshing Vinegar
-Add Almond Milk & seasonings
-Simmer and add potatoes while stirring and chopping/crushing heavy roasted Potatoes
-I like my potatoes the same way I like my peanut butter, Chunky. Feel free to mix with a mixer or jackhammer
-When at the optimal consistency, add “Cheese” sunflower seeds and kale and let sit on the lowest of heat, stirring occasionally, until ya need it. I Garnished with fresh Kale.
•
Plate and serve with gravy! Live a bit and enjoy with some 12 year old Jameson. Have a great St Paddy’s Day! Cheers!

Winter Conclusion

Posted on by jeffreylatty

VeggHead BeerCyclist    3.06

Began: 0650     Finished: 0737

Upload              
ScrewUp:   Y       Edited:   Y
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

Began: 0030   Finished: 0730

Upload              
ScrewUp: Y      Edited: Y
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!

DIPA 

Posted on by jeffreylatty

VeggHead BeerCyclist 3.02

DIPA
I have had the best (DIPA) Imperial India Pale Ale ever. 102 IBU 
AVERY BREWING CO
The Maharaja 

If I were rich, I would pre bathe and post bathe in this DIPA with nothing but smiles in a long, long swimming session in a Olympic sized pool of The Maharaja until, of course, I would drink it all.

My grandma left town with two of my aunts and I volunteered last night to check on her new cat, Mel. Before I cracked (The Skye) open a Big Sky Brewing Co. Camp Robber, a seasonal coffee porter, I could not find my awesome bottle opener. Enjoying good beers helps me to write ridiculous sentences. So, the bottle opener is essential. It’s a decently good beer. It has a nice balance of coffee and porterness. Meeting Mel for the first time, he was shy at first and seemed like an active cat, but the first thing I noticed was his fur. I’ve seen plenty of calico cats as I do attend cat watching with my two friends every Sunday after church with big hats, sunscreen noses and binoculars. Occasionally we see cats attacking and eating birds. We call those episodes, “Jeff’s made-up story out of his ass”. I don’t have any friends.
This cat is mostly white with enormous patches of like grey and black striped cat and red/orange with tan spots cat. Next time, I’ll snap a pic. I was too busy enjoying an Arcadia Ales Hop Rocket and getting the cat water and food. Very hopolicious beer by the way. 

WordPress likes to erase pics I’ve uploaded. Or am I that idiot who screws up his pic uploads and uploads his post and then because his MacBook is dead and his iPhone space is limited he deletes “finished” pics. 
Crack The Skye is a 2009 Mastodon album. I already consider it a classic.

I very much dislike Walmart. I rarely step foot into that voyage of annoyance. My reasoning for abusing myself through a visit was that I needed parchment paper and these cheap energy shots, B12 made by Stacker 2, that I’ve seen there once and always an empty fucking shelf since. They are less than a dollar and better than 5-Hour Energy.
Customers at Walmart seem to be out to get me. Or maybe it’s Walmart. Probably the combination that perseveres toward driving me towards suicide. Why are aisles congregated talk zones, mostly end-aisles taking up two paths? Why do you have to defensively block an entire aisle while slowly determining if you need to further down the aisle? Why isn’t there painted center lines for the lawlessness of cart traffic? 
Usually when I go to Walmart, I always try and disguise myself with shades on and antisocial myself with my earbuds and tunes. I walk fast and I do not excuse myself. 
I should have worn my heart rate monitor to document my Walmart suffer score. 

I took the day off from cycling. My legs are sore from the 35 km ride and the FatBike ride I took over the weekend. I hope to ride after work today. 
Also at Walmart, I picked up some cheese, rigatoni, jumbo russet potatoes and garlic powder. I plan on making a unique pasta today after work. It involves Brussels sprouts. 
A newly discovered liked food in my palate arsenal. I only like them when I make them. This was the dish I made on thanksgiving that was ontrial with my jury of tastebuds.




Cauliflower is also in that category. And I plan to include cauliflower in the pasta. Let’s hope I have time and motivation for both a ride and a little cheffing. 

Try either one of the DIPAs that I mentioned and go for a bike ride.

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.