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Hot Dogs

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Hot Dogs Hot dogs with mustard. Or with ketchup. With relish. Same old, same  old. Let’s get exotic, and make hot dog tikka masala. I like it that “hot puppies” (as my mother used to call them) are pre-cooked; so I shouldn’t have to worry about salmonella, or E-coli. It also means I don’t have to cook the mixture until the onions are soft, in order to be sure that the “franks” are fully cooked. I prefer the onions to have a bit of crunch. I wish that little video had better sound quality. My voice keeps fading out, but I hope my instructions are clear. I also wish I could try more things from The Feed Zone Cookbook. The trouble is that many of the recipes seem high in fat to me. I’m not a pro cyclist who can burn off those fat calories during a long day of training or racing. In addition, my kitchen isn’t that well equipped. Hot dog tikka masala, of course, isn’t for every day. In fact, I make it only every three or four weeks. If I’m feeling ambitious, I’ll cook up a pot of brown rice and have the tikka masala over rice. It’s good over toast, too; and I like it with a bit of cheese on top. Naturally it’s good all by itself. Or if it all sounds like too much work, there’s nothing wrong with hot dogs with mustard, or ketchup, or sauerkraut…

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HAPPY FOURTH

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Happy Fourth of July! Oh, how nice it was to not have to get up until past 7:00! And to be able to take the time for a longer ride. Oddly, it felt like I had a headwind, even though the breeze was only about 3 mph. It\’s not as though I were blasting along at 20 mph, either. I don\’t know what was going on there. Back home, I mixed up a batch of hot dog tikka masala* and set it in the fridge to marinate. I\’ll have some for lunch. Yesterday morning I saw a weird sight. I\’ve gotten used to seeing the gleam of alligator eyes in my headlight\’s beam, but never before have I seen  a gator\’s eyes reflecting in the water as well as gleaming. That would have been great for a Hallowe\’en post, but Hallowe\’en is months away! If hot dogs are the standard Fourth of July fare, my Fourth of July musical fare of choice is Sousa marches. I especially love Hands across the Sea. Happy Fourth of July! *Hot Dog Tikka Masala (a variation on Chicken Tikka Masala, from The Feed Zone Cookbook) 1 cup plain, low-fat yogurt 1 cup tomato sauce 1 cup thinly sliced onion 12 oz hot dogs, thinly sliced crosswise 1 tsp salt 2 Tbsp curry powder Mix all ingredients well (adjust salt and curry powder to your liking). Marinate in fridge at least one hour. Bring to bubbling over medium heat, turn heat down to a simmer, and let cook until onions are tender, stirring occasionally. Good over toast or brown rice or potatoes — or just on its own. Enjoy!    

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Eating Again!

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Eating again! That\’s something I do only too often, even when I know I\’m not truly hungry. My sweet tooth is no help. The argument over what and when cyclists should eat seems endless. Or possibly even whether they should eat! By that I mean fasted riding. I\’m extremely wary of trying fasted it. Supposedly it trains the body to be a better fat burner. Sure, I\’d like to be a better fat burner; who wouldn\’t? I don\’t have anybody to monitor me during such training, however, so perhaps I should leave fasted riding to cyclists in serious training. I\’d say that, if you do want to try it, be sure to bring along something to eat in case you feel the bonk coming on. That\’s why I keep several GU-Gels with me whenever I ride, even if it\’s only the commute between home and work. I don\’t need anybody to tell me that I don\’t need to eat like a pro rider doing a multi-day stage race. If I tried, I\’d gain weight like a house afire. It is often said that Tour de France riders burn 5000-8000 calories per stage. That\’s about what I need over two, three, or even four days! Yes, I like to try recipes from The Feed Zone Cookbook, but I don\’t need to eat as much of such foods as I would if I trained and raced like a pro. In the end, it comes down to common sense; the good old Do What Works For You. And now, if you\’ll excuse me, it\’s time for me to be eating again.

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Day 27

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Day 27 of Love to Ride! How time flies. Just a few more days left, but it\’s not too late to sign up and log your rides! This morning I hitched up the trailer and rode to the salvage store.  I got a pretty good haul for under $29; all this stuff plus a loaf of bread. If only this pic showed the things better! Sometimes, as today, the store has special sales, with the stuff outdoors. It\’s lucky I had the trailer! The trailer, in fact, is good for any trip to the salvage store. I never know when I might run across good stuff. There were six-packs of those ramen noodles-in-a-cup. While they aren\’t heavy, they\’re bulky. If I\’d had only the bike trunk and panniers, I couldn\’t have brought them home because they\’d have taken up too much space. Naturally I headed for the make-your-own-grab-bag bins once I got inside the store; and made up a small grab bag, and a large one. I try to pack my grab bags so as to get in as many things as possible. I brought home an assortment of candy bars, cookies, and things I can use for on-bike food. All for eight bucks 🙂 I found a can of Progresso® soup for 97 cents. The store is beginning to stock little fresh produce, and I got a couple of zucchini and some red onions. I\’m in the mood for Simple Biryani! (See The Feed Zone Cookbook, pg. 224). And so forth. I can get pretty boring with my litany of bargains from the salvage store, so I\’d better stop now, and think about tomorrow\’s ride. After all, Love to Ride isn\’t over yet; it\’s only Day 27!

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Longevity

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Longevity. Who doesn\’t want to live a long, happy, healthy life? Exercise is an important part of that. Even if we aren\’t pro cyclist caliber,  riding is still good for us. I know that I could do a lot more for healthful living. My diet is a mess. I\’ve long been interested in meatless diet and nutrition, because I\’ve never enjoyed handling raw meat, poultry, or fish. I like even less cleaning up after having cooked such items. Unfortunately I\’ve been so busy the last year or so with my web site and blogging that I get home from work and just grab whatever is easiest, instead of preparing a decent meal. That means far too much junk food! The Feed Zone Cookbook and Feed Zone Portables are full of recipes for \”fast and flavorful food for athletes\”. I\’ve browsed through both books a good bit, and notice that the recipes in general tend to run high in fat. They are, however, designed with the pro cyclist in mind. A pro cyclist in training and racing would burn it off, I guess. OK, exercise (aka cycling), proper diet — what else? Get enough sleep (I wish my sleep disorder would let me!); and keep your mind active. Longevity is not rare. It seems that more and more people are living to become centenarians. As long as I can stay healthy, active, and independent, I\’ll go for it!

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Back to the Lab

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It\’s time to head back to the lab! I want something new to eat! I don\’t wear a white lab coat, and test tubes and Bunsen burners are lacking. All the same, the kitchen is a laboratory of sorts. Think about it. Wouldn\’t you get rather bored with making the same dish over and over, the exact same way? Sooner or later you\’d start to experiment, wouldn\’t you? You\’d try a different seasoning, or a different vegetable; pasta instead of rice, and so on. A couple of weeks ago, I did that yet again. I hauled out The Feed Zone Cookbook, and turned to the recipe for Angel Hair with Bacon and Sweet Corn (pg. 140-141). I didn\’t have any bacon, so I substituted 1/2 cup of cooked black beans, Note: next time, use a full cup. I also didn\’t have angel hair pasta; but I did have an 8-oz box of elbow macaroni, purchased at the salvage store for 50 cents. It was exactly the right amount, so I used it. I don\’t know how much two ears of corn make when the kernels are cut from the cobs. I gambled on 1/2 cup. Another note: Next time, use more corn. I didn\’t have any fresh tomatoes, and forgot to open a can of tomatoes. No big deal. Just remember it next time! With no fresh basil on hand, I used 1 tsp parsley flakes and 1/2 tsp dried basil. I cut the olive oil back to 1 Tbsp, and used freshly ground black pepper and salt to taste. Pretty good! I declared the experiment a success. Soon I\’ll be heading back to the lab, trying something else new!

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Bringing Home the Bacon

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Bringing home the bacon isn\’t only about being a breadwinner. Bacon seems to be very popular these days. There\’s just plain bacon. I\’ve seen doughnuts with maple frosting and crumbled bacon on top. I\’ve even found chocolate with bacon! What, then,  happened to Maple & Bacon GU-Gel? I tried it last year, and thought it was pretty good; but now I can\’t find it. Maybe it wasn\’t popular enough; and I hope that Salted Caramel and Chocolate Outrage don\’t suffer the same fate! It may sound as if I\’m a big-time bacon fan. I\’ll get a side serving of bacon in the cafeteria at work now and then; but I don\’t cook bacon at home. I remember frying it as a kid, and wasn\’t really much fun. It meant hot fat spitting all over the place; and at the time I was puzzled at how sticky the bacon pan felt when I cleaned it; but I know now that sugar is used to cure bacon. I\’ve never enjoyed cleaning up grease, so I almost never cook meat. The Feed Zone Cookbook includes some recipes that use bacon, such as Angel Hair with Bacon and Sweet Corn (p. 140-141). If you happen to be vegetarian or vegan, I see no reason why you couldn\’t make this recipe and omit the bacon. Or perhaps substitute a half-cup or so of some kind of legume. I bet black beans would be good. Maybe I\’ll try it some day. Meanwhile, I hope GU brings back Maple & Bacon; then I\’ll be bringing home the bacon again.

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Move over, BK

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Move over BK; and let those racing cyclists grab their musettes! I don\’t really have anything against Burger King, although I rarely go there. If there were one nearby, I\’d probably go more often. In the cycling world, \”fast food\” has a different meaning. Pro cyclists participating in a race need to get their food in a hurry, while zipping through a designated feed zone; and their food must something that goes down easily and quickly. They say that those riders need 5000-8000 calories per day during an event such as the Tour de France. They\’re eating practically all the time when they aren\’t sleeping! It makes me think that most of us who push the pedals are actually lucky not to be pro-tour riders! By all accounts, during an event like the Tour de France, riders are likely to get tired of eating; and towards the end of such an event, eating starts to feel like force-feeding! It\’s hard to imagine getting tired of eating, isn\’t it? Especially when you\’re being very active, when you would think you\’d become voracious! I think like that until I\’m doing a long ride of several hours. Then I do start to lose my appetite about halfway through the ride. I get tired of munching bite-sized pieces of Clif Bars. My stomach says, I\’m not hungry. I don\’t feel like eating; yet I know that I have to keep the fuel supply going. Maybe it\’s time to make rice cakes again, as in The Feed Zone Cookbook. Apparently my gut needs more training. Then, when I\’m back home from the long ride, maybe I can cruise on over to Burger King? Or maybe I\’ll say, move over BK; and cook up something from the Feed Zone!    

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Always Thinking of Food!

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Always Thinking of Food! Cyclists are always hungry! Why would we be always thinking of food? A true cyclist, it’s been said, is a bottomless pit. (See “The Cyclist Hunger and Eating Style”). Riding for hours certainly can work up an appetite, even if it isn’t apparent immediately after the ride ends. When I finished my tricycle century, I wasn’t hungry at all. The next day, it was another story. But that was AFTER the ride. What about DURING the ride? Many a web site discusses how much a pro tour rider must eat during a stage race, both on bike and off, to keep the “engine” going. I’ll bet they’re always thinking of food! Most of us don’t need nearly that much, but we do have to keep fueled during a long ride. The next question is what to eat. There are the questions: How long will you be riding? At what intensity? Do certain foods/drinks cause you gastric distress? What are your food preferences? Do you have any dietary restrictions? For the weekly long ride I mostly use Gatorade Whey Protein Bars, cut in pieces for easier handling. I always have a couple of GU-Gels with me, even on the shortest rides. Those gels are my emergency rations for riding to and from work; and running errands. I find that I’m getting a bit weary of Gatorade Bars, though. If you, too, are tired of commercially-produced ride food, I suggest these books: The Feed Zone Cookbook Feed Zone Portables There are many recipes in the above books that I haven’t been able to try because I don’t have the necessary equipment. But I hope that someday I can. As the song in Oliver! goes, “Food, glorious food!”

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More Culinary Adventures

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I\’ve been up to more culinary adventures. Every few weeks I get a hankering for macaroni and cheese; and here is what I like to do. I fill a 2-quart pot about halfway with water; and put it on the stove over a very low flame. The water heats while I get the other ingredients ready. I drain and flake the tuna.  I open the can of peas; drain it; and measure out 1/2 cup. I put the peas with the tuna until it\’s time to add them to the macaroni. The directions on the box say to use 4 tablespoons of margarine or butter; and 1/4 cup milk. I use 1 tablespoon of olive oil; and 1/4 cup plain, low-fat yogurt. I also prepare some freshly-ground white pepper and parsley flakes. When the \”mac\” is cooked to my liking, I remove the pot from the stove; but leave the burner on very low. I drain the macaroni in a colander and return it to the pot. Then I add the olive oil; pepper and parsley; the yogurt; and the contents of the cheese-powder packet. I return the pot to the stove, stir until the cheese powder is well mixed in, and stir in the peas and tuna. When I have olives on hand, I like to slice up about six of them and add them to the mix. Voila! A cheapskate version of Pasta with Smoked Salmon (The Feed Zone Cookbook, pg. 227). When I\’m hungry after a long Sunday ride, this makes a nice lunch; with enough left over for lunch (or breakfast!) the next day. And there are always more culinary adventures out there! Note: this isn\’t an endorsement of the brands shown here; it\’s what I have on hand at the moment.

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