SpokEasy

SpokEasy

Food

Sardines

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Sardines When I see pics of the Tour de France peloton, I think of sardines in a can. That’s how closely packed those riders are! One wrong move, and the result is a big pile-up. This morning I went to the salvage store; and sometimes I see sardines there. I’ve never bought any, though. I remember when an uncle visited us when I was about twelve; and he was eating anchovies. I thought they smelled horrible; and that turned me off to anchovies and sardines! Today I brought home a pretty light load; but even so, I took the trailer so I could bring the cooler along. It’s too hot now to take home things like yogurt without a bit of refrigeration. Can you believe I got only three small cans? I got two cans of Vienna sausages; and one of smoked ham. I want a break from chicken and tuna sometimes; and the sausages went into my box of hurricane supplies. Tomorrow’s forecast isn’t favorable for cycling; and I considered going for a short spin on the road bike today. But after I got home from my trip to the salvage store, I headed for the bike shop to get Chamois Butt’r; and then made a stop at the drug store to get masks. With the talk of another [!] COVID spike, I thought it was a good idea to stock up. As it happens, I chose my time well. The store had a special: buy one pack  of masks; get the second pack of the same or a lower price half off! By the time I was home from all those errands, it was 11:00 am; getting rather too hot to be starting a ride; and I was hungry. About noon it got drizzly; so I decided to stay home. As to tomorrow, I’ll have to hope for the best.

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With Flying Colors?

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With Flying Colors? Want to come through the kitchen with flying colors? I thought of flying colors when I named this dish, Go Red. It’s my umpteenth variation on Hoppin’ John; and it uses red lentils and red bell pepper. The funny thing about red lentils is that they turn yellow during cooking! Maybe I should have named this Go Yellow? And after all, today the Tour de France began; and that brings to mind the yellow jersey! It’s a wonderful feeling to get to the end of a big ride with flying colors — as in reaching the end of a century. Nothing matches that elation; but it’s about nine years since I last got to experience it. For several years I’ve worked up century training plans; and something always derails those plans. Last year it was Hurricane Ida; and I have persistent problems with fatigue, anyway. Maybe I need to forget about doing a century for the time being; namely, to strike the colors! I did my century rides mostly to see whether I could; and I found out than I can! Flying colors also makes me think of a hummingbird. Once I saw one when the sunlight was shining on it; and that bird positively glittered! Hummingbirds are amazing; and I wish I saw more of them. But back to the kitchen. I have to plan some cooking to do over the weekend. Garbage Soup might not seem exotic — and in fact, it isn’t — but the freezer is getting too crowded again.

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Bananas

BACK ISSUES, bicycling, Food, Uncategorized /

Bananas! Bananas are a popular food with cyclists! Today I finally got to the supermarket; and picked up some bananas. A favorite pre-ride snack of mine is a banana with peanut butter; and I was without bananas for something like two weeks! I didn’t have grapes, either; and grapes are another pre-ride favorite. They’re good with peanut butter; and also with — can you believe it? — hummus! This morning I discovered that there will be no more pre-work runs to the supermarket. I thought about going there first; then feeding the cat; and then heading out on the road bike. I decided to go take care of the kitty first; and when I got home from that, I changed into cycling shorts for the ride to the store. When I got there, I saw a sign posted at the entrance announcing new hours; and that new schedule began several days ago. They now open at 7:00 am; not 6:00 am. It’s a good thing I didn’t go to the store first thing! When I got home from the store, I put the groceries away; and got ready to go out on the road bike. The bananas I got aren’t as ripe as I like; but it was great to have one again. Then I filled the Camel-Bak; cut up a protein bar; and changed my blouse for a cycling jersey. It felt weird to start a ride so late: it was at least 8:30 by the time I got rolling. Maybe that’s why it seemed so hot; and that, in turn, was why the Propel tasted weird. I made this short for a Sunday ride; largely because I started so late; and because it was already getting hot. Besides, tomorrow is a holiday; and I can put in some more miles!

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Ancient History

BACK ISSUES, bicycling, Food /

Ancient History 🏟️ Ancient history isn’t limited to Rome. The tricycle is ancient history, you might say. It seems like an eternity since the day I ordered it from the bike shop; and I didn’t expect to get into cycling as much as I did. I hope I never have to give up riding! The trike rode off into the sunset, as they say, almost nine years ago; and I did my best to give it a second life. It was about worn out by then; but I figured somebody could use it for something. Some ride foods are ancient history, too. I’m always watching for new things to try; and sometimes I don’t find a certain product again. That’s a drawback to shopping at the salvage store. They have what they have; and the merchandise is unpredictable. I love chocolate; and I love cherries! I remember my early days with the hybrid. At first it seemed like I’d never get going; and that, too, seems like an eon ago. If I might say so, I wish I had had something like this to help me through that frustrating beginning on two wheels. History repeats itself; and I had to adjust all over again when I got the road bike. At first the road bike felt very twitchy. It’s much lighter than the hybrid; and even the riding posture is very different. But it wasn’t long before the hybrid began to feel slow and heavy; and I realized that the road bike had spoiled me for the hybrid! All that is ancient history now; and I can’t imagine not being able to ride a bicycle!

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What the Doctor Ordered

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What the Doctor Ordered Is this what the doctor ordered? Pills might be just what the doctor ordered. Or increased exercise; or maybe a change in diet. Helpful if you’ve got prediabetes hanging over your head I’m not elated at having to take any medication long-term; but if an ℞ is what the doctor ordered, what else can I do? But today I rode to the salvage store; and to my delight, the grab-bag bins were well stocked. It took some digging; but I found a dozen — yes, that’s right, twelve — RXBars! I found me some ride food today! Some were Peanut Butter Chocolate; some were Chocolate Sea Salt; and some were Blueberry. If this is what the doctor ordered, then the doc should be very happy with me! I also found a half-dozen Special K Protein bars; and five or six junky snack items. I sat down after I was home to calculate my savings; and the grab bag meant major savings: it boiled down to about 13¢ per item; and at the drug store RXBars are usually 2/$5.00. Multiplied by 12, I saved over $26 right there! I don’t want to bore my readers by elaborating on what I saved on everything I got at the salvage store; but suffice it to say that I saved something on just about every item, even if was only three pennies. Pennies add up, though! Today I took the trailer; and what a welcome relief it was to have almost no wind! Even so I stayed on my granny gear most of the time. I just didn’t feel like working hard; and I didn’t need to. There was no need to hurry; and why not take it easy now and then? Sometimes rest is just what the doctor ordered!

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Dang It

BACK ISSUES, bicycling, Food /

Dang It! My latest ride-food experiment! Dang it, I was actually rather disappointed in Dang bars. I found a coconut one in the salvage store day before yesterday; and got it to try as on-bike food. Eating the same old thing Sunday after Sunday gets a bit wearisome; and I can’t know what will be a great taste sensation if I don’t try it. The Dang bar that I found was coconut; and I tried it during my long ride yesterday. Taste-wise, it was OK; but to me it seemed a bit too dry and crumbly. And to be honest, the Dang bar is smaller than I like for ride-food bars. So dang it, I don’t have a new ride food, after all! Weather Our weather is heating up; and “the muggies” are setting in, too. All too soon hurricane season will begin; and I hope no storm comes along and keeps me from riding for several weeks. I’m working towards my Super Commuter badge; and to get it I must ride to work 200 times this year. So far, I’m 26% there; so I have about 150 days of riding to work to go! Before I worry too much about hurricanes, I have to get through tomorrow’s weather. At present, there’s a T-storm in progress at the airport, 11-12 miles from here; and as weather typically moves West to East, it might be headed our way. I’m glad I’m not trying to go for a ride right now; and I hope tomorrow morning’s “slight chance” of T-storms doesn’t materialize. I want to get in some more miles for Love to Ride! What if it is raining at ride time tomorrow? That depends on whether there’s lightning; and if there is, I can hitch the hybrid into the trainer. But dang it, “riding” in the trainer is very boring! Better than no ride at all!

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Haute Cuisine?

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Haute cuisine – not! On my budget, I can’t expect to have gourmet dining anywhere; and especially not on the bike! Not that I care gourmet food. The important thing is to be properly fueled; and I’ve tried many different things as ride food. Feed Zone Portables presents recipes for many easy-to-carry snacks; and I’ve tried making my own rice cakes. They tended to be too soft; and I guess I cooked the rice with a little too much water. I was always afraid the rice would be too dry; and if it was, the rice cakes would be too crumbly! I’m always on the lookout for new bar-style foods; and when I find one, I try it, such as this one: That holds true for any store: the salvage store; the regular supermarket; Whole Foods; and so on. Thanks to the salvage store, FitCrunch Birthday Cake has become a favorite. For a while, the grab-bag bins had plenty of them; but since the pandemic began, I haven’t found any. For a month or so, the salvage store has had Gatorade Whey Protein bars. They’re much cheaper than similar bars in the drug store; and while supplies last, I’m buying those Gatorade bars like crazy! These protein bars are far from haute cuisine; but that’s OK. I’m not quite “eatibus anythingus“; but I guess I come pretty close sometimes. These protein bars are far from haute cuisine; but that’s OK. I’m not quite “eatibus anythingus“; but I guess I come pretty close sometimes. Just look at my “garbage” soups — I just throw it all in the pot; and I get what I get.

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Spare Us the Obscenity

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Spare us the obscenity! What\’s all this about Tastefully NUDE? This variety of GU-Gel is unflavored; and uncolored as well. Hence the designation \”nude\”. It can be a nice change from flavored gels, especially if you eat a lot of them. Eating \”goos\” is something that I generally reserve for my Sunday long rides; but I always have a couple of them my road bike\’s top tube pouch. Occasionally I need one while out on a weekday morning ride; and I also keep a couple of them in my bike trunk\’s pocket. Now and then I need one as emergency rations. GU-Gel comes in many other flavors; including one for the coffee lover. A great favorite of mine is Chocolate Outrage; and I like Salted Caramel a lot, too. As for going nude, please spare us the obscenity.

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Hoppin’ John

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Hoppin’ John Hoppin’ John? Who on earth is that? To be honest, I have no idea who Hoppin’ John is; nor where he comes from; nor why he’s hopping. Maybe he’s a jackrabbit. Jack is a nickname for John; and what do jackrabbits do? They hop! Whatever the explanation may be, that Hoppin’ John character was famous enough to have a recipe named after him. I found it in the course of reading What Do I Eat Now? (page 151) and thought it looked interesting. Yesterday evening I tried it; taking liberties, of course. This dish is meant to be layered in a pan, but I don’t have the pan. I mixed it all up in a five-quart pot. I needed that big pot to cook the rice, anyway. One of the ingredients in the recipe is green bell pepper. I’ve never cared much for bell peppers; especially not the green kind! I substituted chopped celery; and a small amount of red bell pepper. Hoppin’ John also uses red onion. Fortunately that’s my favorite kind of onion. Raw celery can take quite a bit of chewing, so I cooked the onion and celery with the (canned) black-eyed peas while I was waiting for the rice to cook. The celery still had some crunch in it at the end; that’s fine with me. When the rice was done, I used my slotted cooking spoon to transfer the legume mix to the pot with the rice; I didn’t want too much liquid in the finished product. This recipe uses some cheese, too; I chopped up about 2.5 ounces of Monterrey Jack cheese and stirred it in. And diced canned tomatoes. “HJ” is pretty good. I began to think of variations on it right away. I think I need a chest freezer for all this stuff I keep cooking.

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