A quick shout out to my new favorite bike shop, Fluidride, underneath the University Bridge in the U-District. They fixed the bike up for real cheap ($38 for rear derailleur adjustment, caliper removal and adjustment, removing the chain protector, and adjusting the alignment on the handle bars). They also caught the misalignment of the handle bars, which I hadn’t noticed. I’ll definitely return the next time I need a repair.
Archive for July, 2009
Bike is Back
July 29, 2009Grilling Salmon the Right Way
July 29, 2009For a long time I’d been grilling Salmon skin side down in the middle of my gas grill with the outer two burners on. The effect was a convection cook that kept you from needing to cook your salmon flesh side down. I always assumed this was the best and most convenient way to do it.
Well I learned last night that it definitely is the most convenient, but it definitely ain’t the best. I applied two quick changes to my cooking process that resulted in a much tastier piece of fish. First, I applied a small amount of extra virgin olive oil to the top of the fish and massaged it in. Second, I convection cooked the fish for the first 90% of the cook time, and then I cooked it flesh side down (on the evoo covered flesh) for the last 10%. This resulted in a simple crisping of the fish that produced a tastier fish with more unique texture elements.
Post Collonade – Bike Maintenance Required
July 22, 2009As I often say, F balls. My bike was making some weird noises today at the Collonade and when I went to inspect it I noticed about 4 different things that were busted. Rear disc is not aligned properly, front derailleur is clicking, rear derailleur won’t shift to the highest gear, and the chain slap protector hanging off the front chain ring is misaligned. If I knew how to fix any of them I would, but unfortunately I don’t. So there goes $100 at the local bike shop.
Tuna with thyme and cumin
July 21, 2009I’m a huge fan of canned tuna (I still surprise myself when I think of how much I like it), and I’m an even bigger fan of adding all kinds of unique spices and flavors to my tuna. I always start with a base of tuna and mayo and then work from there. My go-to is my mom’s curried tuna, which still makes my mouth water.
Today, however, I opened the fridge to discover I had one of those expensive (sorta) containers of organic herbs (thyme in this case) from Whole Foods. Always frustrated that I let things like that go bad, I decided to use that with my tuna. But I needed something else. I gave the thyme a long smell and tried to let my mind wander. I chose cumin because it just seemed right to my inexperienced nose. So I sprinkled the fresh thyme and cumin on top and called it a dinner.
Now I’m not saying this recipe will blow your socks off or anything. But I found that thyme and cumin worked nicely together, and I’d like to think of other dishes where I could apply it. Mostly, though, I’m pleased that I had the courage to completely wing my dinner and play with flavors not usually combined.
Tiger’s Milk
July 20, 2009The last time I road the Tiger Mountain Preston Railroad trail felt like I was riding down a river. I’d never been as wet and cold on a ride in my life. The ride today couldn’t have been different. It was a gorgeous, cloudless 75 degree day on one of Seattle’s most famous rides.
A smoother section of trail on Tiger Mountain courtesy of http://www.trekearth.com/gallery/photo282988.htm
The ride begins with a grueling 3 mile climb up a forest road. Once over, you enter the main part of the Tiger trail. It consists of about 4 long and straight segments (perhaps 7 or 8 minutes each) broken up by 3 or 4 switchbacks. The thing that makes Tiger so fun, besides being able to let loose on the straights, is the amount of gnarly rocks and roots through that hammer you throughout the ride. I’ve honestly never ridden anything like it. Two things are a must on the trail: a burly full suspension bike and a strong belief in the mountain biking adage that you are safer in dangerous terrain when you are going faster.
I felt good on the ride today, and it’s been great in my last couple rides as I’ve constantly noticed improvement in my riding. But watching my friend Adam create a 1 minute lead on me during an 8 minute segment of trail still reminds me of the amateur I am.
It’s nice to see you again St. Edward
July 17, 2009St. Edwards State Park in Kirkland, WA was the first place I rode when I moved to Washington, and it is still on of my favorites. It has the right balance between technical logs, tight trees, sharp turns, steep switchbacks, and any other variety of mountain bike terrain you can think of. In the end, it’s got an amazing flow that I never get sick of. I rode the trail well today, and I credit it to my time at the I5 collonade (see my previous post regarding my theory on practice).
Gazpacho
July 17, 2009Even though I’m still not the hugest tomato guy, I’ve really come to enjoy gazpacho. As always, I hooked it up with an Alton Brown recipe. I followed the recipe pretty strictly (except for using canned tomatoes), and it wasn’t my favorite gazpacho. Here’s what I would have changed:
1. Use less salt. About half will do, especially if you use tomato juice. And then add if you need it.
2. Use a little bit less vinegar and worchestershire sauce. Their combined flavor was a touch overwhelming.
3. More onions, peppers, and cucumber. There was just too much tomato and not enough of everything else.
4. Less garlic. It also played too big of a roll.
I still love gazpacho and want to make the right recipe. I’ll try these tweaks above in my next batch.
Another day at the I5 Collonade
July 16, 2009The I5 Collonade Bike Park is about a five minute ride from my place in Eastlake. I try to make it down there once a week, at least, in addition to another ride at one of the many trails in the greater Seattle area. The Collonade is sick place to refine your skills. As I was explaining it to my buddy Eric today, the Collonade is the practice field; the trails are the game. Honing your balance, cornering, and whatever other skills you’re interested in developing at the Collonade makes trail riding so much more fun.
Every time I hit the Collonade I try to get better at something. This means I ride something more confident that normal, or I ride something I never have ridden before. Today I accomplished two things I hadn’t done before. First, I rode the switchbacks better than I ever have. I only came off my bike once (maybe twice) on the way up and again, once on the way down.
Switchbacks
Second, while I’ve done the cross board navigation feature before, I’ve never done it with the balance and confidence I had today. The move requires you be comfortable getting up onto the left board and then make a large but subtle and slow turn onto the cross board.
Cross board navigation
Today I rode it so well that I was able to ride up the left board, completely stop, turn my tire, and then get onto the cross board. From there, you’ll feel for a brief second that your back tire will drop out from underneath you. If you’ve made your turn onto the cross log wide enough, you’ll be fine. And here’s the part I usually screw up. You’ve focused so much on just making that simple right turn, but now you need to readjust your balance and get cleanly onto the right board. I usually lose my balance here and jump off. But today I rode it smoothly with a clean roll down the opposite side. When you nail a feature like that, it just feels money.
I shant be too quick to pat myself on the back, of course; there are still Collonade demons I need to exercise, like nemesis number 1.
Nemesis number 1: Looking down from above
Nemesis number 1: Profile
Jumbo Shrimp Stuffed with Cilantro and Chiles
July 15, 2009It seemed a festive summer dish, so I made a spicy cilantro shrimp dish tonight. Here’s what I learned:
1. Why take the time to “stuff” the shrimp with the cilantro paste when you could just serve it on the side? It took a lot of time, a lot fell out on the grill, and Anne wasn’t all that excited she couldn’t choose how much of the paste to put on each individual shrimp. So if there’s someone out there can explain why that paste should be put inside the shrimp and then cooked, I’m all ears.
2. Call me an idiot, for why do I always forget to use 1/2 the salt a recipe calls for and then add more as needed? This recipe would have been much better with a lot less salt.
3. Cooking shrimp on the grill is money. It leaves them hot with a nice smoky/grilled flavor and a juicy, plump texture.
4. Thyme, lime, and cilantro work very well together. (It reminds me of how well Thyme and goat cheese go together.)
I can’t say I would ever make this dish to recipe again, but I’ll definitely adopt some of the flavors and techniques for a future dish.
Mighty Duck
July 9, 2009I’ve been meaning to make this duck recipe for a long time. Not really a typical summer dish, but it was fun to finally make. While it kinda grosses me out to cut a whole duck into 2 legs and 2 breasts, I also find some primal satisfaction in it. Additionally, I’m saving the bones to make a stock, which I’ll write a post about sometime in the future.
As always, Alton Brown demonstrates a lot with this recipe:
1. The value of a good brine. The end result was a moist and perfectly salted piece of duck. The other flavors in the brine subtly came across as well. I don’t have enough experience to say whether it’s better than a marinade or not, but I’ll keep playing with it.
2. The unique combination of a few flavors results in a really unique dish. Unlike the Italian Baked Chicken Piccata which had a combination of fairly dull flavors, the thyme, orange juice, shallots, and chard all combined to make a distinct dish.
3. Combination cooking results in perfectly cooked meat. Starting with a steam and ending with a sear keeps the duck moist while providing it with a money crust. I’ll also note that genius of putting the duck skin side down so as to A) cook off the fat for the chard and shallots to cook into and B) leave a delicious golden brown crust.
In the end, I really enjoyed cooking and eating this meal. It was expensive ($25 for the duck), but I’ll make it sometime in the future.
