Cycling Foodie

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We have finally been getting some rain here in Northern California and I am loving it! It does interfere a bit with cycling, but the air is cleaner, fresher, and far more breathable. I am fortunate enough to have access to a fancy Compu-Trainer, elliptical, and treadmill so I am getting at least some exercise.

The rain has held off this weekend, so I was able to get a short ride in yesterday and a longer ride in this morning. Cool temperatures and very little breeze made for a pleasant ride on the American River Bike Trail.

The rainy weather is calling for some serious comfort food.

Cream of Tomato Soup

Grilled Cheese Sandwich

Probably not the healthiest dinner, but sometimes comfort wins out and that’s OK. It’s not entirely unhealthy, though. I always add my little touches that help ease the guilt a bit … organic, lower-sodium cream of tomato soup … whole grain bread … just a touch of butter in the pan, mixed with a touch of olive oil to give a nice, flavorful crisp the the bread … a combination of cheese that included at least half reduced fat cheese.The trick is to use just enough full fat cheese to give a touch of the ooey-gooey melty cheese thing that people love about a grilled cheese sandwich.

So, that was Friday night’s dinner … after what felt like an unusually long week.

Saturday … the sale I’ve waited all year for! The Meyer Factory Outlet Sale!! I haven’t been to this in years and I had planned to go last year, but I missed it. It’s running until December 15th – if you need any kitchen stuff, now is the time to stock up. Check out their website and you can download a coupon for an extra 30% off. Go ahead – splurge on your inner foodie.

After some shopping and errands, I grabbed a quick late afternoon ride yesterday. The weather cleared up and it was gorgeous!

Tower Bridge

River heading towards Downtown Sacramento

Last night’s dinner was a bit healthier – a spicy beef stir fry with asparagus, green beans, and mushrooms, served over brown rice.

Spicy Beef with Asparagus, Green Beans, & Mushrooms with a little extra chili garlic sauce

This was super easy to make. Simply marinate some thinly sliced beef in a bit of soy sauce, white white (or dry sherry), fresh minced garlic, Tiger Sauce, a little honey, and a little sesame oil. I didn’t measure … just go by taste. Whisk together these ingredients and then taste before adding the raw meat. Next time I make this, I will add some chili garlic sauce or Sriracha sauce. I wanted it spicier!

Clean and trim your vegetables. Be sure to cut them into consistently sized pieces so that they’ll cook evenly. Heat up your wok with a little avocado (or peanut) oil. Quickly stir fry the mushrooms, then set aside. Next cook the asparagus, then green beans, setting aside. Remove the meat from the sauce and set the sauce aside. Cook the beef a few pieces at a time so that they’ll cook quickly. Remove from the heat and set aside, repeat until you’ve cooked all the meat. Pour the reserved sauce into the pan and heat quickly, bringing to a boil. Reduce heat, add the meat and vegetables and toss to combine. Cover for just a few moments to heat through. You want the vegetables to be crisp-tender, so be careful to not overcook.

Serve over brown rice and if desired, add a splash more hot sauce.

Be sure you make a BIG batch, because it makes for terrific and easy leftovers. Enjoy!

Now it’s time to turn the Christmas lights on and enjoy a Christmas movie to get in the spirit. This week I’ve got to get started on my holiday baking.

Suggestions? Requests?

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Just a quick HAPPY THANKSGIVING – I have a house full of guests and have been busy, busy, busy helping to get things ready.

I hope you have the chance to get out on your bike today and enjoy this glorious Northern California weather today! I got in two short rides – one right as the sun came up and another a few hours later (after the turkey went in the oven!).

Photos later!

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These are based on an Ina Garten recipe. The only modification I made was to use olive oil in place of the butter. They are positively wonderful! I am looking forward to serving these tomorrow – I am taking care of the appetizers for Thanksgiving this year.

This is a must try recipe! Sweet, salty, spicy, and delicious!

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This year’s Bake Off was on Wednesday. Here are a few photos of some of my submissions.

Chocolate Overload Brownies ... won "Best in Chocolate"

Almond Macaroons with Dark Chocolate Ganache

Lemon, White Chocolate Chip & Chia Seed Cookies ... won "Best in Fruit"

Peanut Butter Maple Oat Bites with Dried Cherries ... won "Best in Health"

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Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

We had a terrific weekend for cycling in Davis – loads of sunshine and warm temperatures, and just a bit o’breeze. The 2014 Napa Valley Tour de Cure is just 7 weeks away, so it’s time to start getting some longer rides in. March Madness is in full swing and I’m now about 2/3 of the way to my goal.

Saturday 80 miles, Davis, Winters, Vacaville, Winters, Davis. We rolled out to Winters on Road 29, out to Vacaville through English Hills and Gibson Canyon, then back to Winters via Pleasants Valley Road, and to Davis by way of Putah Creek Road and the Russell Bike Trail. That was about 68 miles, but I also did about a 12 mile warm up loop.

It was absolutely gorgeous out there, but I did not take a single picture. We got a little bit of a late start and I didn’t want to risk not getting back before dark.

We had a nice rest stop at Steady Eddy’s on our homestretch.

By the time we got home, we were pretty hungry. We had started talking dinner while we were still on the road. Salmon. Asparagus. Salad. That sounded like an awesome plan.

Wild King Salmon.

Roasted Asparagus.

Salad.

Never send me to the store to buy salmon when I am this hungry. I came back with enough salmon to feed an army. Though I bought only two filets, they were huge. As hungry as we were, we could eat only one! We nibbled on the leftovers throughout the day yesterday. For dinner last night, I simply crumbled the last bit on top of a light green salad. It was amazing.

Roasted Avocado

I was craving avocado, but none of my avocados were ripe. At $2.49 each at my local market, there was no way I was going to buy one. I have grilled avocados before, so I wondered about roasting one. It was interesting. Simply cut it in half, remove the pit, drizzle with a little avocado (or olive) oil, season with a little salt, and roast until softened.

This avocado was a little dark on the inside to begin with, so this is not the best photo, but it was very interesting and an idea I’ll try again.

Sunday 44.1 miles, Davis, Winters, Davis … easy spin, recovery ride. It’s a really good thing I didn’t venture further than that …

I stopped at Steady Eddy’s for water and a quick stretch and rest. As I was doing my usual Facebook check in there was a loud BANG! That all too familiar sound of a bike tire exploding just as a large group of cyclists was leaving. They checked their bikes, no flats. Then they started looking at everyone else’s bike to see who the lucky one was. They kept looking at my bike and futzing with it. I walked over to see what was going on and asked why they were looking at my bike, but then they found the exploded tire. Mystery solved. They left happy quite it wasn’t one of theirs.

Oh, dear ... not good.

I stayed a few more minutes, then saw the “lucky” cyclist. I was heading out, but wanted to let him know there’s a bike shop just down the block who could fix him up if he needed it. He wasn’t feeling so lucky.

Well, the luck of the Irish was with me because another cyclist happened to be there when all of the commotion happened and he stopped to tell me that on his way in he noticed this …

I am profoundly grateful that he pointed this out to me. I don’t think this tire would have made it home.

Funny. As I was leaving for my ride, I realized that I did not have my debit card with me, but I didn’t want to turn around and get it. “I’ll be fine! It’s just a quick ride.” I thought. So off I rode with just $39 in my pocket.

The Best Bike Shop in Winters!

So I walked my bike down to Mike’s Velo City Bike Shop in Winters. A while back I had to replace a tire mid-ride and it cost me more than $100. Now wishing I had turned around to get my debit card, I thought I might have to walk my bike home 20+ miles to Davis.

The luck of the Irish was with me. Mike’s Velo City Bike Shop fixed me up with a used tire and got me back on the road for $15.75. I was so, so thankful! I love this bike shop. They’ve helped me out before with minor mid-ride adjustments, flat tires, and other basics like this. I took my Trek in there for a full tune-up a while back and they did an awesome job.

So, a HUGE shout out to Mike’s Velo City Bike Shop in Winters!

Here’s wishing you and yours a very Happy Saint Patrick’s Day! May the luck of the Irish be with you!

Wishing you a rainbow
For sunlight after showers—
Miles and miles of Irish smiles
For golden happy hours—
Shamrocks at your doorway
For luck and laughter too,
And a host of friends that never ends
Each day your whole life through!

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“If you can’t fly then run, if you can’t run then walk, if you can’t walk then crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward.”

~ Martin Luther King, Jr.

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Sunday night I just really needed to make some comfort food. Not having had a “traditional” Christmas turkey this year, I felt myself longing for roasted chicken. I stopped by my neighborhood market and picked up a free range chicken, some fresh lemons, mushrooms, herbs, and salad makings.

Roasting a whole chicken is actually pretty easy. You want to be very organized and tidy when working with any raw meat, especially chicken. It’s important to assemble all of your ingredients and equipment first and to keep your hands and work surfaces clean. You will need:

Ingredients:

Whole chicken
A few sprigs of fresh herbs (thyme, rosemary, parsley)
1-2 lemons
2 large carrots
2 large stalks celery
2 large crimini mushrooms
salt, pepper, or your favorite grinder seasoning

Equipment:

A large cutting board
A good knife
Roasting pan

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. There are different schools of thought on this – some like to start roasting chicken in a hotter oven (425), but I usually just stick with the 350 degree oven and have good results with this.

Wash and dry the lemons, carrots, celery, mushrooms, and herbs. You will want to prepare these and set them all aside before you start handling the raw chicken.

1. Slice one lemon into about 1/4-inch thick slices. Depending on the size of your bird, you’ll want 4-6 lemon slices. Cut the second lemon into halves. Remove and discard any seeds from the lemons.
2. Cut one of the carrots and a stalk of celery into 2-4 pieces, again depending on the size of your chicken. You want these pieces to fit inside the bird. Cut the remaining carrot and celery into about 1 or 2-inch chunks and scatter these in the bottom of the roasting pan.
3. Cut the mushrooms into quarters.
4. Leave the herbs whole – you don’t want to chop them for this step.

Ready to roast

To prepare the chicken, the first thing you want to do is to remove the packet of giblets and set these aside for now. Remove any excess fat and rinse the bird inside and out with cold water, then pat dry with paper towels. Season the bird inside and out with salt and pepper, or your favorite grinder seasoning (ex: Trader Joe’s “Everyday Seasoning” is my favorite). With your fingers, carefully loosen the skin on the breast, then work 2-3 slices of lemon on each side, gently working the slices as far down towards the legs as you can. You’ll want to do this gently so you don’t tear the skin. Then, place a sprig of each herb under the skin.

Some recipes call for butter under and/or over the skin, but I did not do this and this chicken came out beautifully moist and delicious. Maybe it wasn’t as shiny and pretty as it would have been with some butter, but I prefer it without the added fat and calories.

The bird is now ready to roast. This was about a 4-pound chicken and it took about an hour and 15 minutes to cook. You’ll want to cook to an internal temperature of at least 165 degrees Fahrenheit.

My mother always made giblet gravy, so of course this was a must to truly satisfy that comfort food craving. Mom would always place the giblets in a little water with some carrot, celery, onion, and herbs, and simmer gently to make a little broth. You don’t want to cook the liver in here or the resulting broth will be bitter. Save the liver for another use, if you like.

While the chicken is roasting, prepare your giblet stock, side dishes, salad, etc.. We had roasted potatoes and a light, refreshing salad of baby spring greens, heirloom tomato, kalamata olives, and a drizzle of balsamic glaze and extra virgin olive oil.

Herbed Roasted Potatoes

Baby Spring Greens Salad

After I put the chicken in the oven, I got things cleaned up and started on the side dishes. I scrubbed, rinsed, and dried the potatoes. Simply drizzle with a little olive oil, sprinkle on some fresh herbs, a little salt and pepper, and put them in the oven. These were about 1 1/2-inch diameter gold, red, and purple potatoes, and the timing was just right. They took about 1 hour to roast to perfection, so by the time I got them in the oven, they finished about the same time as the chicken.

If you want mushroom gravy, prepare your mushrooms while the chicken is roasting. I used about 5 ounces of crimini mushrooms for my gravy.

Prepare any side dishes while the chicken is cooking. We had a light, refreshing, and simple salad of baby spring greens, heirloom tomato, kalamata olives, with a drizzle of balsamic glaze and extra virgin olive oil.

Roast the chicken to an internal temperature of 165-degrees Fahrenheit. Remove from the oven, place chicken on a large dish, cover with foil, and set aside. Check the juices in the roasting pan. Depending on your chicken, you may want to pour the pan juices into a separator and pour off excess fat. The chicken I roasted had so little fat that I did not have to do this, which made me very happy! You will want to let the roasted chicken rest for 10 minutes before cutting.

This is a good time to strain your giblet stock. Discard the vegetables and herbs, and if you desire, chop the giblets to add to the gravy.

Mushroom Gravy

To make the gravy, set the roasting pan on the stove over medium heat. If you want, you can remove and discard the carrot and celery that was in the roasting pan, but I chose to leave them in this time just to try that. Add the mushrooms and saute a few minutes to cook out some of their moisture. Sprinkle about 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour in the roasting pan and whisk to eliminate any lumps of flour. Let this cook for a bit, then whisk in your giblet stock. You will probably need to add additional liquid, so be sure to have some prepared stock available, or if you have steamed any vegetables, you can use this liquid, also. Growing up, we always had some sort of steamed (or boiled, ugh!) vegetables with roasted chicken, and my mom always used this liquid in her gravy. Continue whisking and cooking your gravy until you reach the desired consistency. If you like, add the giblet meat. Adjust seasonings with fresh herbs, salt and pepper to taste.  As you can see, my gravy had a lot of texture because I kept the roasted celery and carrot, and it wasn’t necessarily the prettiest gravy I have ever made, but it was loaded with flavor, but also very light for a gravy.

I hope you have a wonderful day! It is now time for me to get off the computer and get outside for a ride! Happy New Year!

Roasted Chicken

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Hi Everyone!

It’s that time of year again – can you believe it is New Year’s Eve already?!

If you find yourself out and about and not in condition to get yourself (and your friends) home safely, please remember that The American Automobile Association (AAA) is again running their holiday Free Tipsy Tow Home service for New Year’s Eve to New Year’s Day morning (December 31, 2013 – January 1, 2014) for anyone in Northern California, Nevada, and Utah. If you’re drinking and don’t think you should drive, give them a call.

Write the number down and keep it in your car’s glove box:

800-222-4357 (AAA-HELP)

Just tell the AAA operator, “I need a Tipsy Tow,” and a truck will be on its way.

You (or your friends) do not need to be AAA members – this service is available to anyone in Northern California, Nevada, and Utah. For full information, please click here. For those of you outside of Norther California, Nevada, or Utah, here is a list of available Holiday Safe Ride Programs available in other areas.

Please take a moment to check this out before you head out for the evening and keep the relevant numbers with you – if not for yourself, for someone else you may encounter who may need a ride.

Here’s wishing everyone a happy, joyous, fun, safe, delicious, and healthy New Year! Let’s get lots of cycling in 2014!

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This year a heart-healthier Christmas menu was in order for Mom.

Herb Marinated Pork Tenderloin with Port-Cherry Sauce
Twice-Baked Yam
Roasted Herbed Potatoes
Sautéed Baby Kale with Mushrooms
Fresh Blackberries with Light Orange Curd

Sadly, this is best photo of this meal.

Herb Marinated Pork Tenderloin

1 to 1 ½ pound pork tenderloin
1 ½ teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary
1 ½ teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
A few grinds of fresh ground pepper
About ¹/₈ to ¼ teaspoon kosher salt

1. Measure herbs, olive oil and seasonings in a large zip top bag. Stir or whisk to combine.
2. Trim any excess fat from the pork tenderloin and place in the zip top bag. Squeeze any excess air out of the bag, seal it, and with your fingers work the marinade around the meat.
3. Place the sealed bag in the refrigerator and allow to marinade at least a few hours or overnight.
4. Preheat the oven to 350° Fahrenheit.
5. Remove tenderloin from the marinade, place in a roasting pan, and roast in the preheated oven for 35 to 45 minutes until it reaches an internal temperature of 145° Fahrenheit.
6. Remove from oven, cover with foil, and allow to rest for about 10 minutes before slicing.

Port-Cherry Sauce

Ever so slightly modified version of Port and Dried Cherry Sauce, p. 58, Williams-Sonoma SAUCE  

1 cup ruby port
2/3 cup dried cherries, soaked in water for 20 minutes and drained
½ cup chicken stock or prepared broth
¼ teaspoon red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Optional: 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces

In a heavy bottomed non-reactive saucier pan, bring the port and cherries to a simmer over medium. Cook until the liquid is reduced by half (2 or minutes). Add the stock, vinegar, rosemary, ¼ teaspoon of salt, and a grind or two of fresh pepper. Simmer until the sauce is syrupy (about 2 minutes). Taste and adjust the seasoning. Remove pan from heat. If desired, whisk in the butter, one piece at a time. This will help to slightly thicken the sauce.

Twice Baked Yam

On a recent shopping trip to one of my favorite local markets, I found the largest yam I have ever seen. I sit here now wondering why in the heck I did not take a photo of it before cooking it. It was HUGE. You’ll just have to take my word for it.

Scrub the yam(s) and trim the ends. Pierce them a few times with a sharp knife. You can bake these all the way in the oven, or get a jumpstart by par cooking them in a microwave. When the yams are fully cooked and soft, remove from the oven and cut lengthwise in half. You may need to let them cool a little before handling them. Scoop the flesh out of the skins, leaving about a ¼ inch shell in the potato skin. Place the skins in a baking pan. Place the cooked yam into a large bowl and add about 1 tablespoon shredded reduced fat cheddar per serving. Stir to combine well and then return the mixture to the skins. You can use a piping bag and fancy tip, if you desire, or you can just scoop them in with a spoon and smooth the top. Return these to the oven to heat through and melt the cheese.

Roasted Herbed Potatoes

These are so delicious and simple once you make them you may wonder why you don’t make these every day.

Use your favorite waxy potatoes (red, golden, purple) or fingerling potatoes. Scrub and dry, place in a baking dish, drizzle with extra virgin olive oil, fresh herbs (rosemary, thyme, sage, etc.. whatever you like!), and season to taste with salt and freshly ground pepper. Roast at 350° Fahrenheit for about 1 hour. The size of the potatoes will determine the actual baking time.

They make great leftovers, too. You can just reheat them for an easy side dish, or add them to a frittata for a simple and comforting breakfast, brunch, or dinner!

Sautéed Baby Kale with Mushrooms

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
4 to 6 ounces of shiitake mushrooms, rinsed, trimmed, and sliced into ¼ inch slices
8 to 12 ounces of baby kale, rinsed and spun dry

On medium-high, heat oil in a large cast iron skillet or other heavy bottomed skillet. Add mushrooms, stir frequently. You want them to brown a bit, but not burn. Place greens on top, cover, reduce heat to medium-low and allow to steam until tender. Season to taste with salt and pepper, if desired. Watch carefully – these can quickly go from tender and perfect to bitter and overcooked.

You can cook almost any cooking green this way – spinach, chard, collards, kale, or any combination of them.

Light Orange Curd

This recipe is in development and not ready to post yet. It needs work! I am not sure about the Monk Fruit In The Raw. I haven’t quite figured it out and I am not sure how much I like the taste. It is expensive, so I need to do a bit of recipe research before I just try to substitute it like this. I don’t know if it’s the corn dextrose filler they use in the Monk Fruit, or the egg whites from a carton, but the consistency was off.

I might try this orange curd with the C&H ½ & ½. It’s half stevia and half cane sugar. I liked that much better in the low-sugar version of lemon curd I made a few weeks ago.

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Here’s a very basic outline of what to expect … I’ll have to do a full post later with recipes and photos. The menu will be along these lines, but I’m going to have to sort of “wing it” a little on some things:

Smoked Wild Salmon with Organic Light Cream Cheese on Rye Toasts
Roasted Pork Tenderloin with Cherry-Port Sauce
Roasted Brussel Sprouts
Roasted Yams
Baby Kale Salad with Granny Smith Apples, Candied Pecans, and Honey-Mustard Vinaigrette
Low-Fat & Low-Sugar Orange Curd with Fresh Blackberries

The curd turned out a bit looser than I had hoped, but it will work nicely as a sauce for the big beautiful fresh blackberries I found this week at the store. I don’t think this curd would work well in a tart, though, because it’s not quite thick enough. Perhaps next time I’ll try 1/2 whole eggs and 1/2 egg whites, and I need to play a bit more with the Monk Fruit. I guess I could also use some corn starch, but that seems like cheating, but we’ll see. I think this recipe has promise, but it’s not just right yet.

I also wanted to make meringues to serve with this, but there is just so much going on right now that I did not have time to do so.

I will have limited Internet access over the next few days, so it may be the weekend before I get a chance to post any pictures or follow-up.

Merry Christmas! May your hearts be filled with the joy and warmth of the season, and your bellies be nourished by delicious and wholesome food!