>Unplugged Earth

>I read somewhere recently (though I can’t remember where) that up to forty percent of your household electricity usage can be accredited to things that aren’t even turned on…you know, all those little blinky lights and clocks on your electronics that you don’t even notice. With that said, imagine how much electricity consumption we would reduce if we unplugged these things, and on a larger scale, think of the enormous cities that have their lights on 24/7.

I was in Toronto last year for Earth Hour (by coincidence, not intentional); Toronto was a participating city. I was in a pub just off Toronto Life Square, and went out at the time it was to begin (9:00pm…I think). It was, to say the least, incredible. Standing in the center of this enormous city (Canada’s largest, I believe) and watching the skyscrapers one-by-one being shut down. The billboards went dark, as did everything else. The hotel I was staying in had notices alerting the guests that they were participating in the event, and while it was optional, they encouraged the guests to comply…from where I was standing I could see the hotel; it went dark, too, save for a few spare rooms. It was truly a profound experience standing there in urban darkness with many other people who also stood there to witness it. Anyhow, here’s a short clip of Earth Hour 2009; It’s what jogged my memory. Apparently Earth Hour is catching on (though I don’t believe Buffalo participated)…too bad we don’t practice this monthly, or even weekly, instead of yearly. Or better yet, encourage people not to drive their cars and ride bikes that day. Alright, I’ll get off my little soapbox…here’s the clip. Earth Hour, by the way, originated in Sydney, Australia.

Mini-Cargo Bike

I rode my Dahon today for the first time in a few months…it felt good. It was such an odd feeling after riding “the Mule” and the Yuba all winter. The Dahon, with it’s short wheel base and 20″ wheels, feels almost like a sports car (was I going thorough a mid-life crises when I purchased this bike?). Anyhow, like all the bikes I own, this one is fun to ride…and doing errands on them (with my bike rev trailer) is way more fun than in a car.

>Mini-Cargo Bike

>I rode my Dahon today for the first time in a few months…it felt good. It was such an odd feeling after riding “the Mule” and the Yuba all winter. The Dahon, with it’s short wheel base and 20″ wheels, feels almost like a sports car (was I going thorough a mid-life crises when I purchased this bike?). Anyhow, like all the bikes I own, this one is fun to ride…and doing errands on them (with my bike rev trailer) is way more fun than in a car.

First Day of Spring

It is the first day of Spring today…and that’s what I was thinking about as I rode my Yuba home from work today (it has been a long cold winter). As I approached my house the little dot of yellow in this photo literally stopped me in my tracks. It’s in the front yard of my next door neighbors house.

It has been such a cold, cold winter…frigidly cold (did I mention how cold it was?). Yet this little flower, which burrowed itself down in the frozen soil for the last 6 months or so, knew just when to push itself up through the still-cold soil and reach for the sun. What’s even more amazing is that it does it every year. Year after year. It reinforces my knowing that there is something much greater than our teeny little material lives at work here…it’s interesting how this little flower can make me feel so puny.

My neighbors must think I’m a little nuts (this is just one of many reasons, I’m sure)…as I squatted on the sidewalk with my camera. When I looked at it closely this quote by Henry Thoreau came to mind:

“My profession is to always find God in nature.”

Keep in mind this is not a photo of a flower on the edge of Walden Pond, or some other pristine local. This is a teeny plot of land (I’m guessing 10ft. by 8ft.) yet it is still able to produce flowers in an urban environment beautiful enough to make a person stop and contemplate them. A job well done. If memory serves me correctly purple flowers will follow shortly. Thank you Mother Nature, it made my day.

Anyhow, here’s a closer view (click the image for a larger view if you’d like).

>First Day of Spring

>It is the first day of Spring today…and that’s what I was thinking about as I rode my Yuba home from work today (it has been a long cold winter). As I approached my house the little dot of yellow in this photo literally stopped me in my tracks. It’s in the front yard of my next door neighbors house.

It has been such a cold, cold winter…frigidly cold (did I mention how cold it was?). Yet this little flower, which burrowed itself down in the frozen soil for the last 6 months or so, knew just when to push itself up through the still-cold soil and reach for the sun. What’s even more amazing is that it does it every year. Year after year. It reinforces my knowing that there is something much greater than our teeny little material lives at work here…it’s interesting how this little flower can make me feel so puny.

My neighbors must think I’m a little nuts (this is just one of many reasons, I’m sure)…as I squatted on the sidewalk with my camera. When I looked at it closely this quote by Henry Thoreau came to mind:

“My profession is to always find God in nature.”

Keep in mind this is not a photo of a flower on the edge of Walden Pond, or some other pristine local. This is a teeny plot of land (I’m guessing 10ft. by 8ft.) yet it is still able to produce flowers in an urban environment beautiful enough to make a person stop and contemplate them. A job well done. If memory serves me correctly purple flowers will follow shortly. Thank you Mother Nature, it made my day.

Anyhow, here’s a closer view (click the image for a larger view if you’d like).

Put It In A Pot And Boil It

Soup to me is the ultimate one-pot meal…simplicity at its best. It’s a method that has been used to cook foods for eons…since we humans first figured out how to cook food in a leak-proof/fire-proof vessel over a live fire (some of the earliest vessels were dried hollowed-out gourds, and even dried animal’s stomachs). In its most basic form it is simply a matter of putting food in a pot with liquid and boiling it. I am fully convinced that virtually any foodstuff can be turned into a delicious and healthy soup in very little time and with minimal effort (granting you follow a few basic culinary techniques). And the best part is the leftovers…I like to make more than needed and the flavors taste better the next day. Anyhow, this is how I made mine.

Here’s some of the ingredients I had in my fridge.

I diced them to relatively the same size. Then I sweat them in a little olive oil (meaning I cooked them over low heat with a lid on to bring out their natural flavors…a sort of vegetable steam bath). The seasoning opportunities are almost endless for a soup like this…I added garlic and hot peppers (of course), but also whole fennel, ground turmeric, smoked paprika, and a little gray sea salt.

I then added broth. You can use water in place of the broth, but I wanted a meaty flavor without adding actual meat, so I used a combination of chicken and lamb broth (which I had in the freezer…otherwise I probably would have used water). Anyhow, it simmered for about 1/2 hour and tastes delicious. It was really hearty and more of a vegetable stew; I could have added more broth or a little water to thin it, but it was delicious as it was. With a few slices of homemade bread and a pear it was a complete meal (click on the below photo for a larger image…but be forewarned, it may make you salivate).

>Put It In A Pot And Boil It

>Soup to me is the ultimate one-pot meal…simplicity at its best. It’s a method that has been used to cook foods for eons…since we humans first figured out how to cook food in a leak-proof/fire-proof vessel over a live fire (some of the earliest vessels were dried hollowed-out gourds, and even dried animal’s stomachs). In its most basic form it is simply a matter of putting food in a pot with liquid and boiling it. I am fully convinced that virtually any foodstuff can be turned into a delicious and healthy soup in very little time and with minimal effort (granting you follow a few basic culinary techniques). And the best part is the leftovers…I like to make more than needed and the flavors taste better the next day. Anyhow, this is how I made mine.

Here’s some of the ingredients I had in my fridge.

I diced them to relatively the same size. Then I sweat them in a little olive oil (meaning I cooked them over low heat with a lid on to bring out their natural flavors…a sort of vegetable steam bath). The seasoning opportunities are almost endless for a soup like this…I added garlic and hot peppers (of course), but also whole fennel, ground turmeric, smoked paprika, and a little gray sea salt.

I then added broth. You can use water in place of the broth, but I wanted a meaty flavor without adding actual meat, so I used a combination of chicken and lamb broth (which I had in the freezer…otherwise I probably would have used water). Anyhow, it simmered for about 1/2 hour and tastes delicious. It was really hearty and more of a vegetable stew; I could have added more broth or a little water to thin it, but it was delicious as it was. With a few slices of homemade bread and a pear it was a complete meal (click on the below photo for a larger image…but be forewarned, it may make you salivate).

Pasta Fra Diavolo (variation)

Pasta Fra Diavolo is one of my all-time favorite pasta dishes…probably because I love any type of pasta with tomato and seafood. The name, fra diavolo, translates from Italian as “brother devil.” There are numerous theories on it’s origin, but the two most common are that it was named after an Italian monk who “went astray” (a life of crime or found sleeping with a prostitute, depending on the story). Two ingredients that are essential for this dish, and which set it apart just slightly from other seafood/tomato/pasta dishes are wine and hot peppers. The wine, some say, is in the dish to represent the downfall of the monk in question, and the pepper, of course, is said to be there to represent the devil. While many believe this to be Italian by origin, others claim that it was invented in New York City. To learn more about that debate you can read an archived New York Times article by clicking here. Classic recipes for Fra Diavolo usually use either shrimp or lobster; I used tilapia (because that’s what I had in my freezer). If you want a recipe for shrimp fra diavolo click here.

Anyhow, here is how I made mine:

Dice the fish along with onions, peppers; mince a couple cloves garlic. Heat a pan with virgin olive oil, then saute the onions and peppers. Just when they begin to brown, add the fish, garlic, and a good pinch of crushed hot peppers (a couple anchovies would be good at this point, but I didn’t have any at the time). Cook the fish until it too begins to brown, taking care not to burn the garlic or break the fish into small pieces.

Add a little white wine and enough tomato sauce as you like. Believe-it-or-not, I still had a small pint of sauce in the freezer I made from tomatoes I grew last summer. To read that post, and see how I made the sauce, click here.

Simmer the sauce for 5 or 10 minutes, then toss it with a pasta of your choice. My favorite shaped pasta is penne rigate, or literally, ribbed pen; the ribs tend to hold the sauce better than smooth pasta. And my favorite brand pasta is Barilla, but more specifically their Barilla Plus line of pasta. These pastas (or more grammatically correct, I believe, pasti) are loaded with all kinds of good and healthy ingredients. To read an article about them click here.

Whether the lore about this dish is fact or fiction makes no difference to me, because what does matter in anything I cook is taste…and this is a truly delicious yet simple dish.

>Pasta Fra Diavolo (variation)

>Pasta Fra Diavolo is one of my all-time favorite pasta dishes…probably because I love any type of pasta with tomato and seafood. The name, fra diavolo, translates from Italian as “brother devil.” There are numerous theories on it’s origin, but the two most common are that it was named after an Italian monk who “went astray” (a life of crime or found sleeping with a prostitute, depending on the story). Two ingredients that are essential for this dish, and which set it apart just slightly from other seafood/tomato/pasta dishes are wine and hot peppers. The wine, some say, is in the dish to represent the downfall of the monk in question, and the pepper, of course, is said to be there to represent the devil. While many believe this to be Italian by origin, others claim that it was invented in New York City. To learn more about that debate you can read an archived New York Times article by clicking here. Classic recipes for Fra Diavolo usually use either shrimp or lobster; I used tilapia (because that’s what I had in my freezer). If you want a recipe for shrimp fra diavolo click here.

Anyhow, here is how I made mine:

Dice the fish along with onions, peppers; mince a couple cloves garlic. Heat a pan with virgin olive oil, then saute the onions and peppers. Just when they begin to brown, add the fish, garlic, and a good pinch of crushed hot peppers (a couple anchovies would be good at this point, but I didn’t have any at the time). Cook the fish until it too begins to brown, taking care not to burn the garlic or break the fish into small pieces.

Add a little white wine and enough tomato sauce as you like. Believe-it-or-not, I still had a small pint of sauce in the freezer I made from tomatoes I grew last summer. To read that post, and see how I made the sauce, click here.

Simmer the sauce for 5 or 10 minutes, then toss it with a pasta of your choice. My favorite shaped pasta is penne rigate, or literally, ribbed pen; the ribs tend to hold the sauce better than smooth pasta. And my favorite brand pasta is Barilla, but more specifically their Barilla Plus line of pasta. These pastas (or more grammatically correct, I believe, pasti) are loaded with all kinds of good and healthy ingredients. To read an article about them click here.

Whether the lore about this dish is fact or fiction makes no difference to me, because what does matter in anything I cook is taste…and this is a truly delicious yet simple dish.

The Awsomeness of Utility Bikes

It’s been relatively pleasant in Buffalo lately…by that I mean not much snow, though it has been bitterly cold for the past week again. Anyhow, it was a brilliantly sunny day and I rode my Yuba Mundo to work, and then rode my teenage son home on it…cutting the walk time down by at least half. The Mundo really is a hassle to get into the house because of it’s size and weight, so if I’m coming home and then leaving again I’ll lock it to this “hitching post,” which I installed a few summers ago (note the board leaning against the stair railing…I lay it down and use it as a ramp).

Just a mere 4 weeks ago the hitching post was unusable because it was literally buried under snow. You can see a photo of it in an earlier posting by clicking here.

Like many serious cyclists I have a problem…no I’m not talking about a mental problem (though that is debatable), I’m talking about my obsession with bikes…currently I own 7, which includes a small Chinese trike and a tandem. But the main three that I ride these days are the Mundo, the Mule (an old Trek I purchased at a flee market and refurbished…it’s the one pictured in the heading of this blog), and a Dahon Vitesse D5 folder. All these bikes are so much fun to ride, especially the Mundo.

When you have fun bikes to ride it really is about the journey and not necessarily the destination. And when you can carry stuff on them…a lot of stuff…it makes it even more fun, and also it gives you a sense of accomplishment (at least it does to me).

Sometimes I tend to take life too seriously; I tend to carry the weight of the world on my shoulders. But I’ll tell you this: when I’m on one of my bikes cruising through traffic while people are stuck in their metal boxes it makes me feel good. And when I feel the cold wind of winter on my face, and my fingers and toes get a little cold, I feel alive.

I really feel that if more people would ride bikes the world would be a better place (on many levels). Non-bikers act as if it is such a chore, but to me it is a pleasure…I get excited when I have to go somewhere and pedal, rather than simply sitting sedentary…being out in the elements is enthralling to me. And I really feel that if I can do it most people can. After all, I’m not a spring chicken…I’m closer to 50 than I am 40 but I still manage to ride year round, even in the harsh Buffalo winters.

Lately I’ve consciously been trying to shift from seriousness (about life) to gratefulness, and I’ve found that I’m grateful for many things…one of them is my love of bikes and my appreciation for them. When I look at the above picture of the Yuba Mundo I don’t simply see a bike. I see a mode of transportation; I see a machine to haul stuff; I see a tool for stress relief and physical exercise (because you will huff and puff when pedaling that thing), but I also see a work of art…it’s shape and lines are beautiful…and for that I am grateful.

>The Awsomeness of Utility Bikes

>It’s been relatively pleasant in Buffalo lately…by that I mean not much snow, though it has been bitterly cold for the past week again. Anyhow, it was a brilliantly sunny day and I rode my Yuba Mundo to work, and then rode my teenage son home on it…cutting the walk time down by at least half. The Mundo really is a hassle to get into the house because of it’s size and weight, so if I’m coming home and then leaving again I’ll lock it to this “hitching post,” which I installed a few summers ago (note the board leaning against the stair railing…I lay it down and use it as a ramp).

Just a mere 4 weeks ago the hitching post was unusable because it was literally buried under snow. You can see a photo of it in an earlier posting by clicking here.

Like many serious cyclists I have a problem…no I’m not talking about a mental problem (though that is debatable), I’m talking about my obsession with bikes…currently I own 7, which includes a small Chinese trike and a tandem. But the main three that I ride these days are the Mundo, the Mule (an old Trek I purchased at a flee market and refurbished…it’s the one pictured in the heading of this blog), and a Dahon Vitesse D5 folder. All these bikes are so much fun to ride, especially the Mundo.

When you have fun bikes to ride it really is about the journey and not necessarily the destination. And when you can carry stuff on them…a lot of stuff…it makes it even more fun, and also it gives you a sense of accomplishment (at least it does to me).

Sometimes I tend to take life too seriously; I tend to carry the weight of the world on my shoulders. But I’ll tell you this: when I’m on one of my bikes cruising through traffic while people are stuck in their metal boxes it makes me feel good. And when I feel the cold wind of winter on my face, and my fingers and toes get a little cold, I feel alive.

I really feel that if more people would ride bikes the world would be a better place (on many levels). Non-bikers act as if it is such a chore, but to me it is a pleasure…I get excited when I have to go somewhere and pedal, rather than simply sitting sedentary…being out in the elements is enthralling to me. And I really feel that if I can do it most people can. After all, I’m not a spring chicken…I’m closer to 50 than I am 40 but I still manage to ride year round, even in the harsh Buffalo winters.

Lately I’ve consciously been trying to shift from seriousness (about life) to gratefulness, and I’ve found that I’m grateful for many things…one of them is my love of bikes and my appreciation for them. When I look at the above picture of the Yuba Mundo I don’t simply see a bike. I see a mode of transportation; I see a machine to haul stuff; I see a tool for stress relief and physical exercise (because you will huff and puff when pedaling that thing), but I also see a work of art…it’s shape and lines are beautiful…and for that I am grateful.

Friday Night Fish Fry

Some readers of this blog may already know that I cook professionally; I’m the chef of a private women’s club. Normally, I don’t present photos or recipes from my work life on this blog because this is about my (sometimes inept) attempts of simplicity in my personal life; but like many people, my work and personal life often mesh.

Anyhow, it is Lent and Friday night fish fry is a common tradition in the area in which I live. Last night we had a traditional Lenten fish fry where I fried about 90 pieces of fish, which is really not that many compared to some restaurants. Nonetheless, it’s such a simple meal, yet a truly delicious one. And when done correctly (and eaten in moderation, of course), deep-fried fish, I think, can be a healthy meal as well.

Hot, clean fat, and superbly fresh fish are really key. Take a look at these photos (click them on for a larger view); even now my mouth waters when I see them.

Click here for a basic recipe for beer battered haddock, and click here if you need instruction on deep-frying.