9 speed creative

Now What?

2011-12-23T09:52:00.003-06:00

It's clean. Totally. Top to bottom, every single nook and cranny. All the stuff we wanted to do to the house before it goes on the market is DONE. It took an unbelievable amount of work, but we did it.

Now what?

Well, this past week has been a revolving door of inspectors, realtors, appraisers etc., and hopefully by sometime next week we will have the thing up on the market. We really need to get it moving because it will take THREE MONTHS for all our stuff to get to Brazil. We will be able to send some stuff via air freight, but even that will take four to six weeks. The stuff we really need will have to be carried in our luggage, but everything else will end up coming over in the ocean container. We also have a ton of stuff that will be stored. It's like a giant puzzle. We'll figure it out.

In the mean time, I should probably do some Christmas shopping. Or something...

REPOST: A Horribly Unfair Assessment of Local Drivers

2011-12-20T23:22:00.004-06:00

Note: This post was written as a rant a while back, and after my last outing on the bike, I find it to still be true. The warm(ish) December weather is encouraging us cyclists to get a few extra miles outside before we're driven inside for the winter. We're out there. Just a heads-up...

I've been out on the road a lot lately.

Out on the road, full of Gu, electrolytes, and water. With my typical "angry bike ridin' music" rattling around in my brain can, I've had a chance to notice things about the way people drive around here. I've made mental notes. Lots of them, in fact, and I feel it is my duty to myself and other cyclists to blurt out some horribly unfair generalizations about who is driving and how.

For those of you who don't know this sort of thing, Nebraska has a convenient way of coding their license plates. For the ones that start with a number and a dash, the first number denotes the county that the car is registered in, thus making it easy for me to judge entire cities at a glance. For Lincoln and Omaha, it's a little tougher. It's just a series of letters and numbers. But have no fear, my Lincoln-and-Omaha people - you will also be judged accordingly.

Here we go:

3 - Gage county. Beatrice is the biggest city there. You people are okay. You tend to give me a fair amount of space and wait until it's a sensible time to pass me. I've seen a few of you get a bit too close, but I'm ready to be magnanimous and chalk that up to drivers being either very young or very old. For the most part, you're doing what you should be doing and not making my life difficult. Keep it that way.

6 - Saunders county. Wahoo. "Wahooligans". You have earned your demeaning nickname for a reason. I suppose at this point you are actually even proud of it or something. For whatever reason, you feel the need to go around buzzing people on the side of the road just because it makes you feel better. This sucks. I have never NOT had my left shoulder nearly taken off by someone whose license plate starts with a number six. I will give you one thing though - you are consistent.

11 - Otoe county. Nebraska City. You are the second worst of the lot, next to the nut farms from Wilber (I will get to those people in a minute). You are a CONSTANT threat to my bike, my head, and my life. Even those of you who have bike racks on your cars and should know better feel the need to try to blow me into the ditch. I'm telling you now, if you manage to knock me off my bike and break my wheels you WILL be buying another set - and they will NOT be on your bike. Seriously. Put yourself in my shoes.

22 - Saline county. Wilber. What the hell is wrong with you? Okay, you are very proud of your Czech heritage. I get that. It's cool. But you live in Nebraska now. There is no need to gather people to help overthrow a despotic dictatorial system of government, fight for your homes, or keep your neighbors from stealing all your stuff. You may not know it, but that is what is in your head whenever you get behind the wheel of a car. It's not "defensive driving" for you, it's an all-out war for survival. When you see a biker going down the road, you actually AIM for the poor fool as though he or she were a cruise missile targeting your house. I've had no less than FOUR near-death experiences this season and all of them involved large trucks, high speeds, and a 22-county license plate. Holy scary sideswipe, Batman.

The Lettered Bunch - R, P. Lincoln and Omaha. You, like the good folks in Gage county, are pretty cool. You get it. When you see bikes and people, you move over. Sometimes you even wave. A few weeks ago, some nice person with the window rolled down let me hitch a ride up a hill because he could see that I was clearly struggling. That was cool. You also wait for us at intersections instead of bolting out in front. Keep it up.

The Lettered Bunch - O. Lincoln and Omaha. You are all dangers to peaceful and organized society. Every single one of you. If your license plate starts with the letter O you will not escape my stereotype. I know that I am your moving target. You tail us, swipe at us, bait us into intersections and then jump out in front of us at the last second. It sucks. It really sucks. I will avoid you if at all possible, but I swear, if you hit me (which seems inevitable at this point) I will milk your insurance company until it squeals. You name it, I will wring it out of 'em and make sure you pay. I have no moral or ethical hangups about doing that. I've given up trying to make peace with you, so just understand that if you hit me, it will be expensive.

Wait a minute...MY license plate starts with O...

See? I told you this would be unfair.

Maybe I Should Get My Blogging Shit Together...

2011-12-05T17:02:00.007-06:00

Oooookaaaay....

First: I have ignored my own blog for the better part of a year now. Oops. I will fix that. I'm going to have to fix that because well...upcoming events make things...different.

Second: for those of you who don't know yet, Evan and I are moving to Brazil. A small town 3 hours north of Rio, to be exact. The city is called Macae, (Say it with me: mock-eye-AY) and it is the home of the new Training Center that Evan is going to manage. It's not going to be totally permanent, since I doubt the Brazilian government will allow that sort of thing, but it is permanent enough to require the selling of our house and moving and/or storing all of our stuff (By the way, holy crap we have a lot of stuff - that's another post for another time, but WOW).

Macae is a very cool place. For the second time in my life, I am moving (along with all my stuff) to go and live on another continent. I like it. Things are very different here than they are in the US, and that is a good thing. Everyone needs to get out and experience culture shock, even just a little bit. I don't speak Portuguese, yet, but I have already picked up a surprising amount of it in the week that I have been here. There is a three hour drive from the airport in Rio up to Macae, and it is nice to see the mountains that jut up at crazy angles, so close to the ocean. I am also a realist. Brazil is an emerging country, and there will be cultural and economical things that we simply must deal with here. It's all part of the the package.

There are trade-offs though.

The photo above was taken from what will be our living room - right on the beach in the quieter end of town. Where in the Lincoln am I supposed to find a few like that? Something that you can actually hear roaring and sloshing every day. Nice.

But there is a WalMart. In Brazil. And a McDonald's. Just when I want to hide a little from the culture I was born into, it follows me to South America. Seriously?

That again is another post for another time. Until then, mea culpa. I will blog more. Promise. I know I've said that before but this time I mean it....

Really....

Seriously....

Fall Favorites: Roasted Red Pepper & Gouda Soup

2010-10-13T09:05:00.002-05:00

This has to be one of my favorite soups in the universe. Seriously. Apparently, a lot of you out in inter-web-land like it too, because it gets more hits than any other post on my blog - hands down. I've made some significant changes to the recipe though so you may want to take a look again and try it out. We made some the other day and - oh boy.

Roasted Red Pepper & Gouda Soup

INGREDIENTS
2 tablespoons butter
12 red bell peppers, roasted and chopped
2 red onions, chopped
5 cloves garlic, minced
4 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
3.5 cups shredded smoked gouda cheese

DIRECTIONS
Cut peppers in half and roast 8-10 min on Broil until skins char and start to come off. Place in bowl of ice water as soon as you get them out of the oven. The temperature change makes the flesh shrink and it is easier to peel. Peel skins off peppers and chop into rough pieces.

Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Place the red bell pepper, onion and garlic in the saucepan and sauté for 10 to 15 minutes, or until tender. Don't let the onions carmelize or the soup will end up with a bitter flavor.

Pour in the chicken broth, stirring well, reduce heat to low and simmer for 30 minutes. Transfer to a blender and puree until smooth.

Return the liquid to the saucepan over medium low heat. Stir in the heavy cream, the ground black pepper and cheese, and allow to heat through, about 5 to 10 minutes. Place in bowls- salt and pepper to taste.

New, Next, etc...

2010-09-29T23:25:00.007-05:00

Sooooo....

There are a lot of new things going on around here. Most notably, a new team for me for 2011. We've teamed up with the folks at Joyride Bicycles to create a new all-women team/club called Sheclismo. I'm excited to be involved with such a cool project, and I'm looking forward to racing next year. 2010 was kind of a "meh" year for racing, and I am full of new motivation for traning to race. Already. But track season is a full eight months away and I don't want to peak too early, so I'll be burning up the treadmill/weights at the gym this winter while rebuilding my sprinting power on the bike. Should be a good time. Head on over to our facebook page and say hi.

There have been some other things going on this last month. We lost one of our doggies, Fidley, a few weeks ago, and in order to keep her sister (and us) from getting too lonely we thought we would add two more puppies to our little pack. Enter Luna and Hera - Two weimaraner pups, seven weeks old.

These little guys are nothing but pure energy - until they completely crash and fall asleep. We're having fun. Widget (our other dog) is not sure why these fuzzy rabbit-looking things have invaded her space, but as soon as they quit chewing on her tail she'll be okay with it.

Blog Slacker = ME

2010-09-01T14:22:00.002-05:00

okay so it's been, well, a while.

A lot has been going on here, much of it has to do with yard work, basement renovations and the like. Not a lot of cycling lately but that will come later. Mostly this post is just to let you know that I am still alive.

I'm here today at home watching out my window as six very skilled chainsaw-type people take down the linden tree that has been threatening to eat our house. It's a pinch over 75 feet tall and the geniuses that planted it 50 years ago put it within ten feet of the house. Seriously? You can't plant a tree that close to anything you want to keep. Sigh... It's weird now though because we have actual light coming in through our windows. Straaaaaange. Of course now this means that for the first time in 50 years, the house is actually visible from the street. And it needs some love. Or paint. Preferably both. Suddenly the tilty-crappy mailbox doesn't look so hot...

Anyone out there want to help with a painting party? We pay in good food and wine. We've moved on from the pizza-and-beer bartering system into higher levels of currency. Either that or our projects are getting more complicated.

Before/After

2010-03-22T13:33:00.004-05:00

For any of you who have been following my Facebook/Twitter rants about how shitty our Windstream DSL service is, you will be happy to know I will now stop. I have a real internet connection.

Here's the speed test ping from before (with ShitStream):

And now, after we have our new TWC service up and humming:

I'd say all my whining was justified, no?

Mushroom Stock

2010-01-25T13:40:00.002-06:00

Okay... I've promised this recipe to a few people, and I'm finally getting around to posting it. This Mushroom stock recipe started with one from Cooking Light, but I've made changes based on what we can get around here. Enjoy.

Ingredients:
4 cups boiling water
1/2 ounce dried porcini mushrooms
1 oz mixed dried forest mushrooms (get them from Leon's Market)
1 whole garlic head, cloves peeled and crushed
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 medium white onions
1 large leek
2 lbs portabella mushrooms, cubed
8 parsley sprigs
8 thyme sprigs
25 whole black peppercorns
2 bay leaves
1/2 cup dry white wine (use a good, drinkable chardonnay, not "cooking wine")
15 cups water

Directions:
Combine 4 cups boiling water and dried mushrooms in a bowl. Cover and let stand 30 minutes or until tender. Strain through a fine sieve over another bowl; reserve 3 cups of liquid and set aside.

Heat a large dutch oven or soup pot over medium high heat. Add oil to pan, swirl to coat. Add onion and leek; saute 5 minutes or until just tender, stirring occasionally. Add mushrooms, garlic, herbs, peppercorns, and bay leaves. Saute 10 minutes or until portabellas are tender, stirring occasionally. Add wine; cook until liquid evaporates (about 2 minutes). Add reserved 3 cups mushroom liquid and 15 cups water; bring to a slight boil. Reduce heat to simmer 50 minutes, covering pot for the first 25 minutes. Strain through cheesecloth over a bowl; discard solids. Pour into airtight containers. Keeps for a week in the refrigerator, much longer in the freezer.

Something Evil...

2010-01-07T21:31:00.002-06:00

In case any of you want to take a head-first dive off your diets, here's something that is absolutely worth it:

No-Bake Peanut Butter Cow Pies

INGREDIENTS:
* 4 ounces butter or margarine
* 1/2 cup milk
* 2 cups sugar
* 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
* 3 to 4 tablespoons peanut butter, optional
* 3 cups oats, quick or old-fashioned
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

PREPARATION:
Place chocolate chips, peanut butter (if used), oats, and vanilla in a Large mixing bowl. Combine the margarine, milk, and sugar in a saucepan; bring to a rolling boil. Boil for 1 minute. Combine the hot mixture with the oatmeal and chocolate chip mixture; stir well.
Drop by spoonfuls onto waxed paper.

More Soup - Roasted Red Pepper & Gouda

2010-01-06T10:25:00.003-06:00

It's cold, snowy and crappy out, and a few of you have been asking for this recipe as well. It's one of our favorites!

Roasted Red Pepper & Gouda Soup

INGREDIENTS
2 tablespoons butter
6-7 red bell peppers, roasted and chopped
1 onion, chopped
5 cloves garlic, minced
3 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 cups shredded smoked gouda cheese

DIRECTIONS
Cut peppers in half and roast 8-10 min on Broil until skins char and start to come off. Allow to cool. Peel skins off peppers and chop into rough pieces.

Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Place the red bell pepper, onion and garlic in the saucepan and sauté for 15 to 20 minutes, or until tender.

Pour in the chicken broth, stirring well, reduce heat to low and simmer for 30 minutes. Transfer to a blender and puree until smooth.

Return the liquid to the saucepan over medium low heat. Stir in the heavy cream, the ground black pepper and cheese, and allow to heat through, about 5 to 10 minutes.

Mulligatawny Soup

2009-12-26T09:56:00.003-06:00

I've been messing around with this recipe forever, and this is the best version yet. All of the ingredients are available here in Lincoln, so let me know if you need to know where to find them. I use my own chicken stock for this soup, since pre-made stock is so salty. Let me know if you want my recipe for that as well. I'll happily hand it over.

Mulligatawny Soup

* 1 tablespoon ghee (clarified butter)
* 1 onion, chopped
* 4 cloves garlic, minced
* 2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
* 3 green anaheim peppers, chopped
* 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
* 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
* 3 teaspoons ground coriander seed
* 2 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
* 1 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
* 8 pods cardamom, seeds removed and crushed (5 green pods, 2 black pods, 1 white pod)
* 2 carrot, chopped
* 1 apple (braeburns are best) - peeled, cored, and chopped
* 3 small red potatoes, peeled and diced
* 1 cup Masoor dhal (red lentils), rinsed, drained (soak dried lentils in water the night before)
* 4 cups chicken broth (Home made is best)
* 1 tablespoon lemon juice
* 1 1/2 Tbsp tamarind paste (See note below)**
* 2 cups coconut milk (1 15 oz. can is fine)

DIRECTIONS
1. Heat ghee in large pan (use low heat); cook onion, garlic, ginger, peppers, stirring lightly until mixture is fragrant. Do not over brown the onion or else it will give the soup a burnt taste.

2. Add carrot, apple, potato, dhal, chicken stock and spices to pan; simmer, covered, for about 15 minutes or until vegetables are just tender.

3. Blend or process soup mixture, in batches, until pureed; return to pan. Add tamarind, lemon juice, coconut milk; stir until heated through. Salt and pepper to taste.

NOTES:
- You can substitute 1 SMALL serrano pepper for the anaheim peppers, but the soup will be EXTREMELY hot.
- Make sure you chop everything in to very small pieces. Even though the soup gets pureed in the end, if the pieces are uneven, they cook unevenly, and the soup will have an off flavor.
- The tamarind paste is a pain in the butt to make, but it is very important. Don't be tempted to leave it out of the recipe. You may be able to find pre-made tamarind paste in middle eastern stores, but there will be a LOT of extra salt in it. It's worth the trouble to make your own.
- The red lentils are important. Don't substitute green lentils more common in grocery stores. The flavor is wrong for mulligatawny.

** TO MAKE TAMARIND PASTE: Buy whole tamarind (can be found in the ethnic aisle, sometimes with ingredients for mexican foods) Remove the outer skin. The fruit inside is sticky and stringy. Remove seeds and strings from two large tamarinds. Place in small plastic dish and add just enough hot water to cover the fruits. Microwave for 3 minutes. Crush fruit with whisk or fork. Return to microwave for 2 more minutes or until most of the water is evaporated, leaving behind a paste. Force the paste through a sieve into a clean dish. Add 1/2 tsp sea salt and 1/4 teaspoon turmeric to the paste. Store extra paste in the refrigerator for up to three months, or in the freezer, well, forever.

Holiday Hell #2

2009-11-25T22:58:00.001-06:00

At The Office

2009-11-25T13:25:00.000-06:00

Holiday Hell #1

2009-11-24T20:59:00.001-06:00

Okay, so my angst is running loose again. If found, drop in any mailbox. Return postage guaranteed.

Until then, enjoy my latest:

A Good Way to Kill Time...

2009-11-24T09:15:00.003-06:00

If you're one of those people who is in total "non-productive" mode this week and you're looking for something to do with the time you have to spend in the office, I can help. Head on over to www.xtranormal.com and play.

You simply pick your characters and scene and start typing. Oh my god it's fun. I'm going to do a whole series about bikes...then I might take some of my better blog posts and put them in there too. It's just funny as shit to hear the computerized voices say things like "You fucking idiot". Here's my latest creation:

We Are Getting Dumber...Part 1

2009-11-10T22:07:00.003-06:00

We are getting dumber as a species. I can prove it.

Example #1 of what I'm sure will be many:

Evan and I are going to make pumpkin risotto as a part of our tasty lamb dinner. We need pumpkin. Easy, right? Um, no.

I went to the store to buy a pumpkin (should be plentiful, given the season) and couldn't see any in the produce section. I went to ask one of the employees in said produce section (they are using twelve-year-olds now, by the way) where they were. Here's how the conversation went:

ME: Hi. Do you have any pumpkins?

GroceryStoreKid: Sure

ME: Cool. Can you tell me where they are?

GroceryStoreKid: Yeah. Aisle five.

ME: [thinking: wait a minute, that's where the canned stuff is...] No, not canned. Whole pumpkins.

GroceryStoreKid: Oh. It's after Halloween. We don't keep those. Why would you want one after Halloween?

ME: Um...to cook with.

GroceryStoreKid: You can eat pumpkins?

ME: Yeah. How the hell do you think it ends up in the cans?

GroceryStoreKid: Oh that stuff is just orange potatoes and sugar.

ME: [blink, blink, blink...is this kid fucking with me???]

At this point, I realize he's serious. He really does think pumpkins are inedible, and that canned pumpkin is just orange potatoes and sugar. Oh god. Time to back away and find "Plan B".

Unfortunately, this risotto recipe looks hellishly good and I really want - no, NEED pumpkin for it. Fresh, yummy pumpkin. I am actually contemplating swiping the uncarved pumpkins off my neighbor's porch, but it's not dark yet so that won't work.

Hmmmmm......