Things That Can Be Carried On A Bike (#246)

A partial set of ratchet wrenches (aka socket wrenches) that I recycled (salvaged) on my way to church this morning…and yes, I’ll even pick things out of people’s trash on my way to church (if it’s something really good).


Things That Can Be Carried On A Bike (#245)

Two plastic crates containing all the ingredients to make two batches of soup (except for the turkey broth, which I made from the turkey carcass leftover from Thanksgiving).

The soups: Curried Vegetable (which is more like a ragout than a soup), and Split Pea with Linguica.

 

>Things That Can Be Carried On A Bike (#245)

>

Two plastic crates containing all the ingredients to make two batches of soup (except for the turkey broth, which I made from the turkey carcass leftover from Thanksgiving).

The soups: Curried Vegetable (which is more like a ragout than a soup), and Split Pea with Linguica.

 

First of the Season

It snowed yesterday for the first time this season, this is a picture of it last night. There are only a couple inches of snow, which in this area of the world is nothing to get worried about. But it seems so magical to me…those first few times it snows. I love the different seasons…it changes things. No longer is my small wood burner a novelty (as it is in early fall) but a necessity to keep this old uninsulated house warm, and when traveling by bike you really have to consider things–dress, route, distance–before leaving the front door. None-the-less, I still find it beautiful and invigorating at first, unlike the harsh temperatures and heavy snows that often accompany January and February, which can just seem barren and bleak. I have to run some errands today and am looking forward to my first snowy ride of the season.

>First of the Season

>

It snowed yesterday for the first time this season, this is a picture of it last night. There are only a couple inches of snow, which in this area of the world is nothing to get worried about. But it seems so magical to me…those first few times it snows. I love the different seasons…it changes things. No longer is my small wood burner a novelty (as it is in early fall) but a necessity to keep this old uninsulated house warm, and when traveling by bike you really have to consider things–dress, route, distance–before leaving the front door. None-the-less, I still find it beautiful and invigorating at first, unlike the harsh temperatures and heavy snows that often accompany January and February, which can just seem barren and bleak. I have to run some errands today and am looking forward to my first snowy ride of the season.

Honey-Sweet Potato Bread (recipe & photos)

I made this bread for our Thanksgiving dinner yesterday…it’s simple to make, subtly sweet, the dough is soft, and it is delicious. It’s basically like making any other bread, or more specifically like making a rich potato bread. First you peel, dice, and boil the sweet potato, reserving the cooking liquid because that will be part of the dough. I add the potato directly to the preferment for flavor. There’s a recipe included after the pictures, and the only differences in that recipe and the one prepared in these pictures is that the liquid in the recipe is plain water (I roasted the potato in that recipe…click here to see that batch being prepared), whereas in this recipe I boiled the potato and the liquid became part of the dough; the written recipe also adds the cooked potato to the preferment afterwords, in this recipe I add it in the beginning….either way it’s easy and delicious. 





Sweet Potato Sandwich Bread
Makes 2 or 3 loaves
   2 cups water                         
   2 packages active dry yeast
   2 cups whole wheat flour
   2 medium sweet potatoes, cooked and peeled
1/4 cup honey
   2 large eggs
   3 tablespoons olive oil
4-5 cups bread flour 
   3 teaspoons kosher salt

Combine the water, yeast, and 2 cups whole wheat flour; stir to form a batter. Allow to ferment for 1 hour. Add the sweet potatoes and mash them into the ferment with a spoon or fork. Stir in the honey, eggs and olive oil, then add 4 cups bread flour along with the salt. Mix then knead the dough for 10 minutes (if it is too soft add an additional cup flour). Place the dough in a bowl at room temperature, cover it with plastic wrap, and allow it to ferment for 1 – 1 1/2 hours. Divide the risen dough into two pieces, shape them into loaves, and place them in oiled loaf pans. Allow the bread to rise for 45 minutes; meanwhile, preheat an oven to 425F. Bake the bread for about 30 minutes, rotating it twice for even baking. Remove the loaves from their pans and place them on a wire rack or towel to cool before slicing.

>Honey-Sweet Potato Bread (recipe & photos)

>

I made this bread for our Thanksgiving dinner yesterday…it’s simple to make, subtly sweet, the dough is soft, and it is delicious. It’s basically like making any other bread, or more specifically like making a rich potato bread. First you peel, dice, and boil the sweet potato, reserving the cooking liquid because that will be part of the dough. I add the potato directly to the preferment for flavor. There’s a recipe included after the pictures, and the only differences in that recipe and the one prepared in these pictures is that the liquid in the recipe is plain water (I roasted the potato in that recipe…click here to see that batch being prepared), whereas in this recipe I boiled the potato and the liquid became part of the dough; the written recipe also adds the cooked potato to the preferment afterwords, in this recipe I add it in the beginning….either way it’s easy and delicious. 





Sweet Potato Sandwich Bread
Makes 2 or 3 loaves
   2 cups water                         
   2 packages active dry yeast
   2 cups whole wheat flour
   2 medium sweet potatoes, cooked and peeled
1/4 cup honey
   2 large eggs
   3 tablespoons olive oil
4-5 cups bread flour 
   3 teaspoons kosher salt

Combine the water, yeast, and 2 cups whole wheat flour; stir to form a batter. Allow to ferment for 1 hour. Add the sweet potatoes and mash them into the ferment with a spoon or fork. Stir in the honey, eggs and olive oil, then add 4 cups bread flour along with the salt. Mix then knead the dough for 10 minutes (if it is too soft add an additional cup flour). Place the dough in a bowl at room temperature, cover it with plastic wrap, and allow it to ferment for 1 – 1 1/2 hours. Divide the risen dough into two pieces, shape them into loaves, and place them in oiled loaf pans. Allow the bread to rise for 45 minutes; meanwhile, preheat an oven to 425F. Bake the bread for about 30 minutes, rotating it twice for even baking. Remove the loaves from their pans and place them on a wire rack or towel to cool before slicing.

Buy Nothing Day

Image found here.

First off I would like to say that I am no scrooge when it comes to buying stuff, nor am I attempting to sit on my high horse…I in fact feel as though I have too much stuff. And I do really enjoy buying Christmas presents for people, especially my son. But, on the other hand, I also have to admit that the over-consumption on this day–the day after Thanksgiving, also known as Black Friday–really bothers me. The time from Thanksgiving-to-Christmas is no longer referred to by many as the Christmas Season, or even the Holiday Season, but as the Holiday Shopping Season…a time dedicated to buy stuff.

I’ve been celebrating Buy Nothing Day for about 5 years now–not spending a single cent for the entire day–but I really made a conscious commitment to do this after a man named Jdimytai Damour was trampled to death by shoppers at a Walmart store on Black Friday 2008; he was just 34 years old (click here to read the story).  As aforementioned, I sometimes feel as if I have too much stuff in my life, and I am certainly not immune to purchasing unnecessary junk, so today–at the very least–I’ll attempt to reflect and ascertain to what are my needs and what are my wants…because I know deep down that I already have more than I need.

Anyhow, to read more about Buy Nothing Day click here or here. And if you have a few minutes you may be interested in the below video; click here to go the the Story of Stuff website.

>Buy Nothing Day

>

Image found here.

First off I would like to say that I am no scrooge when it comes to buying stuff, nor am I attempting to sit on my high horse…I in fact feel as though I have too much stuff. And I do really enjoy buying Christmas presents for people, especially my son. But, on the other hand, I also have to admit that the over-consumption on this day–the day after Thanksgiving, also known as Black Friday–really bothers me. The time from Thanksgiving-to-Christmas is no longer referred to by many as the Christmas Season, or even the Holiday Season, but as the Holiday Shopping Season…a time dedicated to buy stuff.

I’ve been celebrating Buy Nothing Day for about 5 years now–not spending a single cent for the entire day–but I really made a conscious commitment to do this after a man named Jdimytai Damour was trampled to death by shoppers at a Walmart store on Black Friday 2008; he was just 34 years old (click here to read the story).  As aforementioned, I sometimes feel as if I have too much stuff in my life, and I am certainly not immune to purchasing unnecessary junk, so today–at the very least–I’ll attempt to reflect and ascertain to what are my needs and what are my wants…because I know deep down that I already have more than I need.

Anyhow, to read more about Buy Nothing Day click here or here. And if you have a few minutes you may be interested in the below video; click here to go the the Story of Stuff website.

10 Quotes On Being Thankful (Happy Thanksgiving!)

Most of the readers are probably aware this, but in the event you are reading this blog outside North America, today is our American Thanksgiving, which is similar but on a different date than the Canadian holiday by the same name (click here to read about the Thanksgiving Holiday). This has always been my favorite holiday because it is about family, friends, and most importantly, food. And as I’ve gotten older I’ve come to view this day as a day to–without trying too sound hokey–count my blessings; a day to be thankful.
Happy Thanksgiving!

“As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.”
John F. Kennedy

“Gratitude is the memory of the heart.”
Jean Baptiste Massieu

“I would maintain that thanks are the highest form of thought, and that gratitude is happiness doubled by wonder.”
G.K. Chesterton

“God gave you a gift of 86,400 seconds today. Have you used one to say “thank you?””
William Arthur Ward

“Thankfulness is the beginning of gratitude.Gratitude is the completion of thankfulness. Thankfulness may consist merely of words. Gratitude is shown in acts.”
David O. McKay

“We can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures.”
Thornton Wilder

“You simply will not be the same person two months from now after consciously giving thanks each day for the abundance that exists in your life. And you will have set in motion an ancient spiritual law: the more you have and are grateful for, the more will be given you.”
Sarah Ban Breathnach
 

“I awoke this morning with devout thanksgiving for my friends, the old and the new.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson

“A thankful heart is not only the greatest virtue, but the parent of all other virtues.”
Cicero
 
“The roots of all goodness lie in the soil of appreciation for goodness.” The Dalai Lama

>10 Quotes On Being Thankful (Happy Thanksgiving!)

>

Most of the readers are probably aware this, but in the event you are reading this blog outside North America, today is our American Thanksgiving, which is similar but on a different date than the Canadian holiday by the same name (click here to read about the Thanksgiving Holiday). This has always been my favorite holiday because it is about family, friends, and most importantly, food. And as I’ve gotten older I’ve come to view this day as a day to–without trying too sound hokey–count my blessings; a day to be thankful.
Happy Thanksgiving!

“As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.”
John F. Kennedy

“Gratitude is the memory of the heart.”
Jean Baptiste Massieu

“I would maintain that thanks are the highest form of thought, and that gratitude is happiness doubled by wonder.”
G.K. Chesterton

“God gave you a gift of 86,400 seconds today. Have you used one to say “thank you?””
William Arthur Ward

“Thankfulness is the beginning of gratitude.Gratitude is the completion of thankfulness. Thankfulness may consist merely of words. Gratitude is shown in acts.”
David O. McKay

“We can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures.”
Thornton Wilder

“You simply will not be the same person two months from now after consciously giving thanks each day for the abundance that exists in your life. And you will have set in motion an ancient spiritual law: the more you have and are grateful for, the more will be given you.”
Sarah Ban Breathnach
 

“I awoke this morning with devout thanksgiving for my friends, the old and the new.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson

“A thankful heart is not only the greatest virtue, but the parent of all other virtues.”
Cicero
 
“The roots of all goodness lie in the soil of appreciation for goodness.” The Dalai Lama

Things That Can Be Carried On A Bike (#244)…and a few thoughts.

More than $100 in groceries from two separate stores in a Bike Rev trailer and a cardboard box on a front rack.

First Thought
It was cold tonight…the first really cold night of the year, hovering around freezing. But in a month or so when it is really, really cold–when it hurts–I’ll be dreaming of a night like this.

Second Thought
As I was checking out at the second store tonight I mentioned to the clerk that I didn’t want any bags, and he looked at me and my items I was about to purchase, “You don’t want any bags for all that stuff?” No, I told him, I’ll carry these (store-owned) baskets out, load my bike, and bring the baskets back in. “You’re on a bike?” he says with wide eyes. My thought, and almost my initial response, was…aren’t you people used to me by now…I do this at east once a week? But I simply said, I have a trailer. This seemed to suffice him…but then he started to load the groceries into plastic bags. Umm…no bags, remember, I gently reminded him. “Sorry Mister, not many people carry their stuff out of the store like this.”

Third Thought
I’ve owned the Bike Rev trailer for about 5 years but don’t use it that often since purchasing the Mundo.  (I recommend this trailer if you’re in the market for one; it attaches/detaches very simply and it works really well.) But since having the Bread Platform I felt like putting this bike to the test. The trailer is really handy in that you can have multiple hitches on separate bikes, and it’s great during foul weather…your cargo stays dry even if you don’t. But I have to say that fully loaded the Mundo still handles better; when the trailer is full I am aware that I am pulling a trailer, but when the Mundo is loaded it rides the same as if it were empty (unless, of course it is a really heavy or bulky load). I am, though, trying to figure out how to attach a hitch to the Mundo just for fun…the way the bike is designed the sidebars would get in the way of the trailer.

Fourth and Final Thought for this Post
Hauling stuff by bike is really fun…and really easy to do. But the bikers reading this blog already know that. And if you are a skeptic saying…”well he has all that fancy bike stuff” (or something along those lines). My response is that you don’t need any fancy bike stuff—just a bike you enjoy riding–but it does help. And while it may seem financially exorbitant or a luxury to some…the Mundo is the equivalent of something like two or three car payments, and the trailer is one or two. And as I always say…it’s way more fun.

>Things That Can Be Carried On A Bike (#244)…and a few thoughts.

>

More than $100 in groceries from two separate stores in a Bike Rev trailer and a cardboard box on a front rack.

First Thought
It was cold tonight…the first really cold night of the year, hovering around freezing. But in a month or so when it is really, really cold–when it hurts–I’ll be dreaming of a night like this.

Second Thought
As I was checking out at the second store tonight I mentioned to the clerk that I didn’t want any bags, and he looked at me and my items I was about to purchase, “You don’t want any bags for all that stuff?” No, I told him, I’ll carry these (store-owned) baskets out, load my bike, and bring the baskets back in. “You’re on a bike?” he says with wide eyes. My thought, and almost my initial response, was…aren’t you people used to me by now…I do this at east once a week? But I simply said, I have a trailer. This seemed to suffice him…but then he started to load the groceries into plastic bags. Umm…no bags, remember, I gently reminded him. “Sorry Mister, not many people carry their stuff out of the store like this.”

Third Thought
I’ve owned the Bike Rev trailer for about 5 years but don’t use it that often since purchasing the Mundo.  (I recommend this trailer if you’re in the market for one; it attaches/detaches very simply and it works really well.) But since having the Bread Platform I felt like putting this bike to the test. The trailer is really handy in that you can have multiple hitches on separate bikes, and it’s great during foul weather…your cargo stays dry even if you don’t. But I have to say that fully loaded the Mundo still handles better; when the trailer is full I am aware that I am pulling a trailer, but when the Mundo is loaded it rides the same as if it were empty (unless, of course it is a really heavy or bulky load). I am, though, trying to figure out how to attach a hitch to the Mundo just for fun…the way the bike is designed the sidebars would get in the way of the trailer.

Fourth and Final Thought for this Post
Hauling stuff by bike is really fun…and really easy to do. But the bikers reading this blog already know that. And if you are a skeptic saying…”well he has all that fancy bike stuff” (or something along those lines). My response is that you don’t need any fancy bike stuff—just a bike you enjoy riding–but it does help. And while it may seem financially exorbitant or a luxury to some…the Mundo is the equivalent of something like two or three car payments, and the trailer is one or two. And as I always say…it’s way more fun.