Wild Blue - Blueberry Lager

RallyupNride!

This was AWESOME!  Had this beer with my homemade chicken tacos tonight.  The color was surprisingly ruby purple and the taste was wildly blue.  It is was extremely easy to drink since it had a higher than normal sugar content for beer.  Get it!  Found it at Albertsons.  Enjoy.

Team Poster - Borrego Springs Century 2009

RallyupNride!

2009 Completed Cycling Events!

I'm pretty happy with my participation in cycling events this year.  I began in August with Bike the Bay in San Diego over the Coronado bridge.  I remember being very nervous about climbing the bridge and even drove down there, just to test it with my car.  Shortly after, I cycled Chula Vista - in the heat, and up a 5 to 7% grade hill that kicked my butt.  I promised with my whole heart that I would never do another ride with hills.  But, given time to recoup, I realized I made it up the hill on my own accord and I quickly had an epiphany - I will do my first 100 mi century!  So, I upgraded my Trek 7.9 to a Pinarello FP3 and completed the Tour de Poway century in EIGHT long hours.  What was I thinking!  However, I was back on the saddle doing the Little Italy Festa in October and two Solvang rides in November.  My last ride was in Borrego Springs which ended in a nice slice of Julian pie in a tin topped with vanilla ice cream.  Perfect ending to a perfect year of pedaling.  My New Year's resolution includes completing four 100mi centuries with some of them out of state for some diversity and adventure.  Road trips!  Wishing everyone a wonderful year ending and a promising New Year to come.  See you on the rode.  RallyupNride!

Borrego Springs Ride!

Too exhausted to type.

Back On the Bike!

Today,  I went for my first ride in 3 weeks!  It felt a little weird in my cycling clothes and on the saddle, again.  But it didn't take that long for me to feel at one with the bike and road.  My friends and I rode along the San Gabriel river bed with clear skies and a slight chill in the air.  I wore my Little Italy jersey (shown below) and my new Louis Garneu Speed Tech bib shorts with Matrix 3 Gel chamois.  The shorts were very comfortable and had a unique shark skin texture - smooth in one direction and rough in the opposite.  After the ride, I felt sooo happy and psyched for the upcoming ride this Sunday in Borrego Springs that I am doing with two co-worker friends.  I will probably only do the metric century since I haven't ridden far in three weeks.  To get there I will be passing through Temecula and pick up some wine.  If anybody goes to Temecula, they should visit Ponte Winery and try the Beverino.  It's a red wine with that is too easy to drink and is just as good chilled as it is at room temp.  Trust me, you'll be addicted.  Happy Holidays every one! And get out on the rode & ride!

Little Italy Festa!

My jersey finally arrived.  I did this metric century ride last October in San Diego.  The ride went from the coast into Chula Vista and back.  Excellent weather, a few challenging hills, and nice scenery.  I will do it again next year.

Carlos' Tofu Stir Fry

Okay, this is my first attempt at making asian food, on the fly.  I was at Whole Foods market last Saturday after a great  60 mi ride and was famished.  This little lady behind an electric skillet was cooking "Tofu Steak" tofu.  I sampled the cajun tofu and fell in love with its spicy flavor and firm texture.  She strictly instructed me to brown the tofu first in a skillet and then add the soy and teriyaki sauce.  However, when I cooked this dish I sweated the carrots and celery first, and then added the tofu.  Needless to say, the tofu never browned and somewhat crumbled, but still tasty. When making this, I would brown the cut tofu first until somewhat crusty, remove from pan, cook the veggies and return tofu back to pan.

Ingredients:

2 carrots, julienned

1 celery

2 slices of ginger, cut into quarter inch strips

3 garlic cloves minced

hand full of snow peas

Tofu Steak - cajun

soy sauce

teriyaki sauce

cooked asian noodles

Preparation:

Start by cooking cut tofu in non-stick skillet until edges are browned and firm. Remove from pan.  Saute carrot & celery in canola oil for 3-4 minutes.  Dash with soy sauce. Add garlic, ginger and saute for 2-3 minutes more.  Add the snow peas and tofu. Add the teriyaki sauce to your liking and serve with noodles (pre-tossed with teriyaki sauce).  Enjoy.

Spaghetti a la Bolognese

Made this dish today and it's really good and very simple to prepare.  Using pancetta, mushrooms, and aromatics really gave the sauce a rich flavor without using the typical beef.  Hope you like it.

Ingredients:

1 large sweet onion, diced

6oz pancetta

1 carrot, diced

1 celery stalk, diced

2-3 cloves garlic, minced

6oz of mushrooms

italian seasoning

1lb of ground turkey (italian flavored)

24oz can san marzano tomatoes

1/2 cup red wine (I used sangiovese)

spaghetti

2-3 tbsp tomato paste

Saute onions in olive oil. Add salt & pepper - sweat onions until translucent.   Add carrots, celery, garlic, mushrooms, pancetta, & desired italian seasoning - saute 3-4 minutes.  Add turkey and break up into tiny pieces.  When turkey is fully cooked, add wine and tomatoes and simmer for 30 - 45 minutes.  Taste test for flavor and adjust. Add tomato paste for desired consistency.  Serve with pasta and parmesan cheese.

LA Car Show

Went to the LA car show this weekend after a nice ride on Saturday.  I woke up at 4:44 because my legs were aching and I was still excited from yesterday's endorphine high.  We started the day by going to our favorite breakfast dive - The ShoreHouse Cafe - on 2nd street in Belmont Shore.

Our friend, Shu, joined us for a fantastically sinful breakfast.  Needless to say, after eating here, there's no need to eat for about a day or two.

Huevos Rancheros

Mexican Scrambler

French Toast

This is how we felt after eating.

LA

Mini's new concept car.

"CAUTION PLEASE DO NOT FEED THE MINI."

BMW

Shu's future car!

Shu & the sexy showgirl!

Lincoln

sweet Porsche

Spyder

Lotus

Corona del Mar Ride

Woke up at 6:15 on Saturday morning and hit the road by 7:20. It was overcast and 47 degrees, so I used my new Catstelli Cardio Bib Tights layered with fleece.  They were very comfortable and I didn't overheat on the road.  Met up with the crew, Enrique, Alfonzo, & Henry at PCH & Marina Dr. in Long Beach.  But less than one mile out Enique's bike chain acted up and forced him to head back to his car.  Even though the day was overcast, we still were able to take some great pictures.

Huntington Beach

Newport Bay

Corona del Mar State Beach

Alfonzo, Henry, e Io.

Take a look at those beautiful road munchers.

An Italian photographer, Sabrina, took this pic for us.  Go here to see her work.

Sabrina graciously posing with me.

Bellisimo!