Quadruple Beefsteak 

Posted on 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 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 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 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 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 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

Saturday CookFest

Posted on by jeffreylatty

VeggHead BeerCyclist    3.29

Began:   0800   Finished:  1013

Upload              
ScrewUp:   Y    Edited:   Y
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! 
  

Untitled

Posted on by jeffreylatty

VeggHead BeerCyclist      3.24

Began: 0359      Finished: 0429

Upload              
ScrewUp:    Y    Edited:   Y
Tags: Apple, technology, music, food, recipe, vegan, vegetarian, Strava, food, beer, craft, amc
Title: 
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. 
  

Birthday Bloggy Business

Posted on by jeffreylatty

VeggHead BeerCyclist        π

Began:  0852    Finished:  0922

Upload              
ScrewUp:   Y    Edited:  Y
Tags: pi, day, birthday, strava, membership, beer, craft, blood, pics, brewery, VeggHead BeerCyclist      3.14
Began:  0852    Finished:  0922

Upload              
ScrewUp:   Y    Edited:  Y
Tags: pi, day, birthday, strava, membership, beer, craft, blood, pics, brewery, cooking, vegan, vegetarian, quote, funny
Title: Birthday Bloggy Business
Daily Ride: Hopefully
3.14159265358979323846264338327950288419716939937510
∭π {Ἦλρρϒ ρἷ  ∂λΨ} π≠∞

Happy Pi Day. Also, happy birthday to me. I am 30 years of age today. I feel fine. Secretly, I wanted to be in the 27 club, but I never became a musician. They would’ve kicked me out. I can party like a rockstar. That has to account for something. 

I had a knifing accident yesterday. No worries, no animals were harmed. Really the only thing affected is my texting abilities as my left thumb is out-of-order. I was making Vegan Gyros completely from scratch and it was the romain being chopped that made me over confident and BOOM. I wish it could’ve been something cooler like somehow a pita making massacre. I will not be going over the Vegan Gyro Blood-ssacre because it will take me two days to text it out on my notes with only one thumb. I’m not sure who’s quote this is, but it is hilarious. I looked it up… “I am not vegetarian because I love animals; I am a vegetarian because I hate plants.” A. Whitney Brown. A writer and comedian, of course. 

The gyros were delicious. 

I do not know if I go for a ride, my thumb will start bleeding uncontrollably again. I might have to exercise a small bicycle hiatus again, unfortunately. Which isn’t much exercise. 

Rule of thumb is, don’t drink and knife. Or at least, don’t tell your mom. I did try a new (to me) Californian brewery yesterday. Out of Coronado, California comes the overly creative brewery name Coronado Brewing Company. For the lack of creativity of the brewery name, their beers so far are creatively named and very good. 




I have to pay a bill today that I cannot make payment to because of Strava. I like Strava and what they’re about, but I chose to take a break from the premium membership before my membership renewal date and I’ve been charged three times. The first time, they refunded me. As of right now, I have two monthly premium membership fees pending on my banking app. So I am literally a few dollars short of paying my bill. They have been emailed and I received two emails (one as a free member and one as a premium member) confirming that I emailed them. Has Strava been drinking? I hope they are not chopping romain lettuce. Do they have injured thumbs? Explaining the dumbness going on with my debit card kind of like my current texting skills. Just wanted to vent. Thanks for reading and Happy Pi Day and Happy Weekend! 

Adventure Log 201501

Posted on by jeffreylatty

VeggHead BeerCyclist      3.10

Began: 0650   Finished: 

Upload              
ScrewUp:   Y    Edited:  Y
Tags: beer, craft, adventure, story, documentation, historic, places, vegan, pics, Strava, untappd, cycling, Illinois, spring, bureau, county, LaSalle, picnic
Title: Adventure Log 201501
Daily Ride: Definitely
•
This will be a live updated/edited blog. 
•
I somewhat spontaneously planned this adventure. This will be the first of many outside adventures this year. And I am super excited. 

My objectives:
•Ride my Trek HulkRip over a wooden bridge that was originally built in 1863
•I want to create and also enjoy a few Arcadia Ales Sky High Rye cans in some key placed check-ins. 
•I want to enjoy the weather as the high is claiming to be 14* C.
•I want to have a great ride, do a bit of elevation gain throughout, take some awesome pics and update this blog as much as possible. Which I always write on my Notes iPhone app and then copy and paste with magic.
•I also somewhat planned a Vegan lunch that I’ll pack and enjoy at The Red Covered Bridge Park.




-Due to heavy, dense and extremely wet airy fog, I’m going to depart via bicycle at 1100. 
•To Be Continued/Updated/Edited
RIDE CANCELLATION DUE TO FOG AND FEAR OF NOT BEING SEEN.






Those Vegan sandwiches I packed for lunch are amazing! 

I used:

-Leftover “Corned Beef” Seitan, charred, and diced

-Veganaise combined with celery seed, paprika, cayenne, mustard and garlic p. 

-Sliced onion, tomatoes and cucumber

-Kale

-On toasted Rye bread

•

I decided to try my luck doing a bit of hiking. I knew it was gonna be messy at Starved Rock State Park, so I brought a few beers. My goal was to hike to this cave/crevous that is roughly (muddy & icy) eight kilometers from the lodge. Nothing crazy, but a decent hike. I did not succeed in hiking to the crevously cave, due to an error in timing with my pickup ride. It was fun and challenging in a few spots that I chose to venture Lewis and Clarke style. I took a bunch of pics and here are a few.