Monday, July 20, 2009
Tour de France, Lance Armstrong, Cake, and Mortality
I used to race bicycles a very long time ago. Campagnolo still used friction shifting, the shifters themselves lived on the down tube, and didn't have anything to do with the brake levers. Racers shaved their legs and attached tires to the rims with glue, not wire (or kevlar?) beads.
It was 1988 or '89, and Lance Armstrong was making his move from junior triathlete to road cyclist. I raced for a scrappy bike shop team in the Dallas area, and on Tuesday evenings teams from around the area would gather in a park and race criterium-style around a 1 kilometer loop course. As a then category-3 racer, I held on with the big boys in the 1-2-3-pro category each week. Lance, newer to the sport and the culture of road racing, was kicking our butts. Everyone else was kicking mine, too, mind you. There were some strong guys out there who raced for big teams, and Lance readily smoked them each time he bothered to show up.
I have distinct memories of Lance muscling his way to the start line at the head of the field just seconds before the start. I can also remember him riding off the front of the bunch like we were sitting still. I could often look across the course and see a lone rider - going at it pursuit-style - who would eventually catch up and lap the main field. Clearly this guy was different.
Fast forward twenty years (yikes) and here we are today. Lance is still instructing lesser riders on how to properly race bikes.
On stage 15 of Le Tour, however, on the ride up to Verbier, Lance did not attack. Lance soldiered on with the lead group, on purpose, or not, and maintained.
Is this the end of the Lance Armstrong era? Again?
While my racing career ended long ago, I must admit I always held out a little glimmer of hope. Guys "my age" were still kicking butts and taking names, right?
Funny, I have let the Tour de France create an existential issue for me. I see just a little bit of my old self in Lance.
This whole internal argument kind of reminds me of the Mr. Mastodon Farm song by Cake:
You see birds fall from the window ledge above mine.
Then they flap their wings at the last second.
I can see their dead weight
Just dropping like stones
For small loaves of bread
Past my window all the time.
But unless I get up,
Walk across the room
And peer down below,
I don't see their last second curves
Toward a horizontal flight.
All these birds just falling from the ledge like stones.
Now due to a construct in my mind
That makes their falling and their flight
Symbolic of my entire existence,
It becomes important for me
To get up and see
Their last second curves toward flight.
It's almost as if my life will fall
Unless I see their ascent.
I don't know about the birds, but for the next five days I will be glued to the Tour de France. I will be cheering on Lance has he works it out in the Alps for his team, himself, cancer survivors, and...existentially-challenged 37-year old former bike racers.
Go Lance...put the hammer down, buddy, and show those kids how it's done.
Saturday, July 18, 2009
The Vegetarian, The Cowboy Ribeye and Fresh Ricotta
An unlikely combination for sure...but rounded out with a salad of quinoa, arugula, tomatoes in a caramelized onion/balsamic dressing, a few sauteed mushrooms, and the dessert containing the home made ricotta with berries, honey and mint? An unlikely, but enjoyable combination none the less.
I rubbed the big rib eye with coffee, New Mexico red chile powder, cumin, salt, and brown sugar. Grilled to medium-rare (more medium unfortunately), the steak had a lovely char on the outside yielding to a nice red (or pink) center. Tender, juicy and infused with the slightly smoky flavor of the rub, the steak was a carnivore's delight.
To work with our vegetarian friend, we made a quick salad dressed with the balsamic onion spread we picked up from All Things Italian and some olive oil - and a bit more good balsamic vinegar.
The star of the evening however, was the last minute dessert of fresh ricotta - which we made to prove how simple this process was - with fresh berries, honey and a few slivers of mint leaves. The dish was pretty in a red-white-and-blue kind of way and it tasted fresh and AWESOME.
Thursday, July 16, 2009
WeeBees Cafe
Bozeman's WeeBees Cafe is an attractive alternative to the downtown scene with their creative American cuisine and focus on local and fresh ingredients. Summertime diners are rewarded with great views of the Bridgers (and the neighborhoods of NW Bozeman) from the second floor deck.
We dined here for two reasons tonight: a co-worker was also going here and I was fixating on good food all afternoon -and- we were feeling lazy and grocery-challenged at home.
It was a good "special" day for me...LaTinga's enchiladas at lunch and now: Local Wagyu sirloin with morels and bacon/cheddar mashed potatoes for dinner.
For the record, I was going to get a salad.
Now I was having fresh gazpacho with a tasty Domaine de Fontsainte rose; and the aforementioned special with a nicely acidic Rioja...and a bite of Jen's strawberry rhubarb shortcake.
To top it all off, I was wearing flip-flops. Indulgent!
Before we head out, I take a moment to bump into my now dining co-worker and her friends to annoy them with bad jokes and weak metaphors.
The low-angle light makes their lettuce wraps look extra good. Next time....
We dined here for two reasons tonight: a co-worker was also going here and I was fixating on good food all afternoon -and- we were feeling lazy and grocery-challenged at home.
It was a good "special" day for me...LaTinga's enchiladas at lunch and now: Local Wagyu sirloin with morels and bacon/cheddar mashed potatoes for dinner.
For the record, I was going to get a salad.
Now I was having fresh gazpacho with a tasty Domaine de Fontsainte rose; and the aforementioned special with a nicely acidic Rioja...and a bite of Jen's strawberry rhubarb shortcake.
To top it all off, I was wearing flip-flops. Indulgent!
Before we head out, I take a moment to bump into my now dining co-worker and her friends to annoy them with bad jokes and weak metaphors.
The low-angle light makes their lettuce wraps look extra good. Next time....
Posted via email from SubstantialSandwich's posterous
LaTinga: Enchiladas With Tuna, Potatoes, Olives and Yellow Chile
I *love* Bozeman's LaTinga. They know your name. They make fresh corn tortillas. They make me happy; and judging from the line out the door on most days, they make many others happy too.
Whether I go for the indulgent Tex-Mex-y nachos (with home-made chips and scorching hot salsa) or one of their more authentic tingas, moles, or rellenos I am almost always glad I did.
Today's lunch special was a bit more exotic than usual: Enchiladas with tuna, potatoes, olives, and yellow chile.
A enchilada version of the classic salad Nicoise?
Salty olives, chunks of tuna and potatoes produced a savory filling to the fresh corn tortillas that did their best to hold together the goodness within. A few bits of cilantro and onion brighten up the flavor.
....All of this glugged down with an extremely refreshing cantaloupe juice drink.
Whether I go for the indulgent Tex-Mex-y nachos (with home-made chips and scorching hot salsa) or one of their more authentic tingas, moles, or rellenos I am almost always glad I did.
Today's lunch special was a bit more exotic than usual: Enchiladas with tuna, potatoes, olives, and yellow chile.
A enchilada version of the classic salad Nicoise?
Salty olives, chunks of tuna and potatoes produced a savory filling to the fresh corn tortillas that did their best to hold together the goodness within. A few bits of cilantro and onion brighten up the flavor.
....All of this glugged down with an extremely refreshing cantaloupe juice drink.
Monday, July 13, 2009
"Grilled" Pizzas with Teleme cheese, Balsamic Onioin Spread and More...
Not wanting to heat up the house by pre-heating a 550-degree oven for an hour or so has spawned an innovation in our home: using the grill as pizza oven.
Initial attempts at grilling pizzas destroyed several "pizza stones". As it turns out, these common items don't like high heat, and actually break apart rather violently with a nice "pingk!" when over heated.
Subsequent attempts at the cousin of the pizza, the calzone, were more successful. These could be slid directly onto the grates and flipped.
Which is exactly what we did with our pizza tonight - flip it.
Sliding a bare rolled out crust onto the grates - and flipped a couple of minutes later - then topped and finished - worked pretty well. Hot (and cool) spots on the grill must be known and accounted for.
Tonight we made two pies using ingredients we picked up at the Bozeman's All Things Italian:
Teleme (an American rif on Tallegio) and The Gracious Gourmet Balsamic Four-Onion Spread
&
Fresh Mozzarella and a mix of thinly sliced hot and sweet sopresetta
First, the Teleme and four-onion spread pizza was basically inhaled. Crack junkies likely go through their stash slower than this pizza was consumed. Okay, we were hungry and this was the first one off of the grill, but...dude...that creamy oooey-gooey melty cheese and sweet onion spread were REALLY good buddies. Spread these two ingredients on just about anything and you will make new friends and influence any people you serve it to. Not to meniotn, Jen's dough was behaving nicely - and produced a very good product tonight.
The more traditional pie of sopresetta and mozzarella was quite good - although I over-charred one corner (again...know your hot spots, kids). As for the Mozzarella, it did pretty good - but the Teleme blew it away in terms of texture and flavor. Don't get me wrong, the mozz. was very fresh and good - just not the supreme melter that the Teleme (or the other mozzarella in the case at ATI) is. This mozzarella tonight would be perfect for a Caprese salad application with it's slightly firmer texture.
I should also mention the Fra’ Mani Gentile traditional salame that started the evening off. The creamy and chewy texture of this hard salami is true to the cause. Loaded up with the Teleme and onion spread it was deadly. Yum.
Thanks to the ever-helpful folks at All Things Italian for the hookup on the great new cheese and onion spread where the fully-stocked case of meats and cheeses is one of Bozeman's best.
Initial attempts at grilling pizzas destroyed several "pizza stones". As it turns out, these common items don't like high heat, and actually break apart rather violently with a nice "pingk!" when over heated.
Subsequent attempts at the cousin of the pizza, the calzone, were more successful. These could be slid directly onto the grates and flipped.
Which is exactly what we did with our pizza tonight - flip it.
Sliding a bare rolled out crust onto the grates - and flipped a couple of minutes later - then topped and finished - worked pretty well. Hot (and cool) spots on the grill must be known and accounted for.
Tonight we made two pies using ingredients we picked up at the Bozeman's All Things Italian:
Teleme (an American rif on Tallegio) and The Gracious Gourmet Balsamic Four-Onion Spread
&
Fresh Mozzarella and a mix of thinly sliced hot and sweet sopresetta
First, the Teleme and four-onion spread pizza was basically inhaled. Crack junkies likely go through their stash slower than this pizza was consumed. Okay, we were hungry and this was the first one off of the grill, but...dude...that creamy oooey-gooey melty cheese and sweet onion spread were REALLY good buddies. Spread these two ingredients on just about anything and you will make new friends and influence any people you serve it to. Not to meniotn, Jen's dough was behaving nicely - and produced a very good product tonight.
The more traditional pie of sopresetta and mozzarella was quite good - although I over-charred one corner (again...know your hot spots, kids). As for the Mozzarella, it did pretty good - but the Teleme blew it away in terms of texture and flavor. Don't get me wrong, the mozz. was very fresh and good - just not the supreme melter that the Teleme (or the other mozzarella in the case at ATI) is. This mozzarella tonight would be perfect for a Caprese salad application with it's slightly firmer texture.
I should also mention the Fra’ Mani Gentile traditional salame that started the evening off. The creamy and chewy texture of this hard salami is true to the cause. Loaded up with the Teleme and onion spread it was deadly. Yum.
Thanks to the ever-helpful folks at All Things Italian for the hookup on the great new cheese and onion spread where the fully-stocked case of meats and cheeses is one of Bozeman's best.
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Public Enemies and a New Posterous Feature
We just checked out the latest Johnny Depp film today, Public Enemies. It was fun, especially since I am not feeling that great and outdoor activities were out of the picture. As for the movie, Johnny Depp is pretty good as a smirking, bank-heisting-badass. Summary: if you like CSI-like scenes of sucking chest wounds and gurgling last breaths, wrapped up in 1930s machine-gun fire fights all while pegging the Depp-O-Meter, this flick is for you.
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