Take The Poll.

If you’ve previously visited this blog you know that as the name suggests it is my feeble attempt at recording my thoughts and promoting living simply in the city…using a bicycle as a serious and viable form of transportation is a large component of this (I think). Anyhow, the month of May is National Bike Month and I began to wonder if this will effect anyone in their transportation habits, or if it will have any effect at all. In response to these thoughts I posted a poll (in the sidebar on the left) and would love to have your input…bikers and non-bikers alike. Feel free, also, to leave a comment.

The bicycle is the most civilized conveyance known to man.  Other forms of transport grow daily more nightmarish.  Only the bicycle remains pure in heart.  

>Take The Poll.

>

If you’ve previously visited this blog you know that as the name suggests it is my feeble attempt at recording my thoughts and promoting living simply in the city…using a bicycle as a serious and viable form of transportation is a large component of this (I think). Anyhow, the month of May is National Bike Month and I began to wonder if this will effect anyone in their transportation habits, or if it will have any effect at all. In response to these thoughts I posted a poll (in the sidebar on the left) and would love to have your input…bikers and non-bikers alike. Feel free, also, to leave a comment.

The bicycle is the most civilized conveyance known to man.  Other forms of transport grow daily more nightmarish.  Only the bicycle remains pure in heart.  

May Is National Bike Month

Yup..the advent of fair weather makes riding a bike easy, and this of course coincides with National Bike Month. National Bike To Work Week is May 17-21, and National Bike To Work Day is May 21st. My thought is this: Try it you may like it, you may feel more free than you have in years (and yes, fellow everyday bikers who are readers of this blog, I realize that I am preaching to the choir…my apologies). But no one could sum it up better than Freddy Mercury in one sentence: Get on your bikes and ride!

To read about National Bicycle month at the website of the League of American bicyclists, click here.

Urban Simplicity.

>May Is National Bike Month

>

Yup..the advent of fair weather makes riding a bike easy, and this of course coincides with National Bike Month. National Bike To Work Week is May 17-21, and National Bike To Work Day is May 21st. My thought is this: Try it you may like it, you may feel more free than you have in years (and yes, fellow everyday bikers who are readers of this blog, I realize that I am preaching to the choir…my apologies). But no one could sum it up better than Freddy Mercury in one sentence: Get on your bikes and ride!

To read about National Bicycle month at the website of the League of American bicyclists, click here.

Urban Simplicity.

Party, err…Bake Bread Like It’s 1999

After not using it in nearly nine months I recently resurrected my sourdough starter. I’ve had plenty of starters but this is the original, named 799 as in July 1999, the month and year it was conceived. When it is bubbling and fully a live it is truly a beautiful thing to behold…yup it’s that gooey mess below.

Bread made with a natural sourdough starter (and absolutely no store-bought yeast) is unparalleled by other breads…the flavor and textures are so multi-layered you’ll swear on first bite that you’ll never buy a flabby and bland loaf at the supermarket again.

It’s also a very old technique, the original actually. It takes a while but it’s not complicated. This loaf, for example, took 6 hours to fully rise (but it was worth the wait). And when you make bread in this fashion you are in fact making it the same way as it was done for millennium (OK, so now we use electric mixers and gas stoves, but you get the picture). Sourdough baking, like wine and beer making, is a form of controlled fermentation. The beer making process so closely resembles that of bread making that some refer to it as “liquid bread.” To read more about fermentation and it’s health benefits with recipes, click here.

Anyhow, here it is in photos (I wish they could make smells come through the internet…its aroma is intoxicating).

Urban Simplicity.

>Party, err…Bake Bread Like It’s 1999

>

After not using it in nearly nine months I recently resurrected my sourdough starter. I’ve had plenty of starters but this is the original, named 799 as in July 1999, the month and year it was conceived. When it is bubbling and fully a live it is truly a beautiful thing to behold…yup it’s that gooey mess below.

Bread made with a natural sourdough starter (and absolutely no store-bought yeast) is unparalleled by other breads…the flavor and textures are so multi-layered you’ll swear on first bite that you’ll never buy a flabby and bland loaf at the supermarket again.

It’s also a very old technique, the original actually. It takes a while but it’s not complicated. This loaf, for example, took 6 hours to fully rise (but it was worth the wait). And when you make bread in this fashion you are in fact making it the same way as it was done for millennium (OK, so now we use electric mixers and gas stoves, but you get the picture). Sourdough baking, like wine and beer making, is a form of controlled fermentation. The beer making process so closely resembles that of bread making that some refer to it as “liquid bread.” To read more about fermentation and it’s health benefits with recipes, click here.

Anyhow, here it is in photos (I wish they could make smells come through the internet…its aroma is intoxicating).

Urban Simplicity.

A Quick Note On The Mundo Side-Stand

Stands for cargo bikes are an essential component. And if I had to sum up my thoughts about this side-stand (or kick-stand) I could say it in one simple statement: I am impressed.

On my v1 Mundo I had a bi-pod stand, which worked good but not great…the bike could sometimes fall over if fully loaded. The side-stand comes as a standard component with the v3 Mundo, and for this reason I thought I would order a stand alone kickstand. Well, the stand alone kickstand is (still) not available, and I will most likely purchase one when it is…but I gotta say the single side stand is working pretty well for the time being (but it is a little awkward at times loading the bike while it is at a slight angle).

Any other Mundo owners out there with thoughts on this…do you own another type of stand?

>A Quick Note On The Mundo Side-Stand

>Stands for cargo bikes are an essential component. And if I had to sum up my thoughts about this side-stand (or kick-stand) I could say it in one simple statement: I am impressed.

On my v1 Mundo I had a bi-pod stand, which worked good but not great…the bike could sometimes fall over if fully loaded. The side-stand comes as a standard component with the v3 Mundo, and for this reason I thought I would order a stand alone kickstand. Well, the stand alone kickstand is (still) not available, and I will most likely purchase one when it is…but I gotta say the single side stand is working pretty well for the time being (but it is a little awkward at times loading the bike while it is at a slight angle).

Any other Mundo owners out there with thoughts on this…do you own another type of stand?

What A Difference A Day Makes

These flowers are in the front yard next door to mine; they grow next to the hitching post where I lock up my bikes (click here to see it last winter). Yesterday these flowers were closed, not tightly but definitely not open like they are in the photos. Anyhow, after a crazy-busy day at work today I arrived home and bent to lock my bike when I saw them…they’re beauty literally stopped me in my tracks. Though it was chilly they still reached for the sun like it was their main mission (and it may be). With the backdrop of the not-yet-lushness of summer, they seemed almost illuminated…like they were lit up; plugged in.

Urban Simplicity.



>What A Difference A Day Makes

>These flowers are in the front yard next door to mine; they grow next to the hitching post where I lock up my bikes (click here to see it last winter). Yesterday these flowers were closed, not tightly but definitely not open like they are in the photos. Anyhow, after a crazy-busy day at work today I arrived home and bent to lock my bike when I saw them…they’re beauty literally stopped me in my tracks. Though it was chilly they still reached for the sun like it was their main mission (and it may be). With the backdrop of the not-yet-lushness of summer, they seemed almost illuminated…like they were lit up; plugged in.

Urban Simplicity.



Baklawa Recipe

I served this with orange sherbet and fresh raspberry sauce. The recipe is simple to make and it’s as delicious as it looks.

Baklawa

Yield: 12 by 16 inch pan

2 cups granulated sugar

1-1/4 cups water

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 tablespoon rose water or orange blossom water

2 egg whites

2/3 cup powdered sugar

4 cups chopped nuts (walnuts, pistachios or almonds)

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 pound unsalted butter

1 pound phyllo dough (approximately 20 sheets)

Combine the granulated sugar, water and lemon juice in a small sauce pan. Bring the mixture to a boil, lower the heat and simmer it for 10-15 minutes or until slightly thickened. Stir in the rose water or orange water and refrigerate the syrup. Beat the egg whites until they form soft peaks, slowly beat in the powdered sugar, then fold in the nuts and cinnamon. Heat the butter in a small sauce pan over low heat until just melted. Lay the phyllo dough on a cool table and loosely cover it with a clean cloth that has been sprinkled with cool water. Brush the sides and bottom of a 12 by 16 inch baking pan with melted butter. layer half the sheets of phyllo dough into the pan, one by one, brushing each sheet with melted butter. Spread the nut filling across the buttered dough in the pan. Layer the remaining dough across the filling, repeating the process of buttering each sheet of phyllo as it is fitted into the pan. Using a sharp knife, cut the baklawa into diamond shapes taking care not to rip the dough. Bake the pastry in a preheated 400 degree Fahrenheit oven for 20-30 minutes, or until it is golden brown. Remove the pan from the oven and drizzle the chilled syrup directly onto the hot pastry, allowing the syrup to run into all of the slices and crevices in the pastry. Allow the baklawa to cool to room temperature before serving.