George's Weblog

This is a vegan dish that is gluten free. The flour is from lentils and rice rather than traditional grains. It's pretty healthy because it also has zucchini in it and some spices.

These cook much like pancakes but they don't rise at all. I set the temperature on my griddle to 400F. They take longer to cook than pancakes and you should flip them a few times to get them golden brown on both sides. I found that they cooked best with a little oil on the grill to help the heat conduct.

I followed the recipe on Manjula's Kitchen almost exactly. The only thing that needed a little change was that the batter seemed too thick. It was sticking to the spoon when I tried to spread it on the griddle. I added just a touch more water and it worked much better. These pudas smell so good it filled the whole house with the odor of pancakes cooking.

I was hoping to make dosas with these and fill them with a potato stuffing. But they came out fairly brittle and didn't fold easily with the zucchini shreds in there. I could probably have put the filling between two pudas instead instead of trying to fold them. I noticed that Manjula had hers folded, maybe the ones with the thinner batter would have been okay for dosas.

A traditional accompaniment to these would be a sambar, alas I didn't have any toor dal so didn't make any this time. I guess it's back to Patel Market to pick some up.

Today I made Palak Paneer. The recipe was much different than the last palak dish I made. This recipe did not use any onion or garlic. The main spices were cumin seed, turmeric and coriander.

It's not the healthiest dish, the paneer cheese is made from milk curd. There is also heavy cream used to make it smooth. It is very tasty though.

The recipe came from Manjula's Kitchen. I followed the recipe very closely except that I made a triple batch. Now I have enough to eat tomorrow and some to put in the freezer too.

I made the paneer a few days ago and put it in the fridge. It was nice and solid and turned out great. I used chopped frozen spinach which was fine. Fresh spinach would have been a little better maybe but I'm not sure you could really tell the difference.

Today's dish is Aloo Methi. The potatoes have lots of starch but they are so good. I guess I'll have to bike a few extra miles to burn the calories off.

The recipe I used came from Sailu's Kitchen. I modified it a little to taste and also made a much larger batch than the recipe called for. I like to make extra and put some in the freezer and/or fridge for later. If I'm going to spend lots of time cooking I might as well make plenty.

I used 15 potatoes instead of 3 so my ingredients were all multiplied by 5 roughly. I had to guess at the onions since I had a few large and a few small ones. I think I ended up with about 3 to 3-1/2 cups diced.

The recipe neglected to tell us when to add the cumin seeds. In other recipes I have added them to the hot oil in the beginning so that's what I did. It brings out the flavor in the cumin.

Also, I didn't add any additional salt to the recipe other than what the methi soaked up. Although I love salt I didn't think it needed it.

Here is my ingredient list:

15 potatoes (5 lbs), peeled, boiled for 15 minutes, cut into large chunks
1 bunch fresh methi leaves, washed, leaves and small stems picked, large stems discarded
1 tsp. cane sugar
1 tsp. salt
2-1/2 tsp. cumin seeds
1/2 tsp. asafoetida
3-1/2 cups diced yellow onions
2 Tbs. grated fresh ginger
2 tsp. red chili powder
2-1/2 tsp. coriander powder
2 tsp. garam masala
5 Tbs. canola oil
Fresh coriander leaves for garnish 

Pick methi and put leaves in a bowl with 1 tsp. sugar and 1 tsp. salt, cover with water and mix with hand. Let it sit while you prepare other ingredients.

 Boil potatoes for 15 minutes. Don't overcook and make them too mushy. They should be like they would be for potato salad, still a little firm. Rinse them in cold water and then cut into chunks.

Use a big pot for the rest so you have room to add the potatoes later. Heat the oil, toss in the cumin seeds and let them sizzle for a minute. Then add the ginger and asafoetida, and saute for another 30 seconds to 1 minute (don't burn the ginger).

Now add the onions and cook until almost translucent. They cook a little more later on but you want them mostly cooked and tender. Then add the coriander powder and the red chili powder and mix it in. Saute for another minute. Drain the methi leaves and toss them in. Cook until wilted, about 10 minutes.

Add the cubed potatoes. Turn the mixture over carefully so you don't mush them up, instead coating them with the spice and methi mixture. When heated, sprinkle the garam masala on and turn again. Cook just a few minutes longer to let the garam flavors sink in.

Serve with fresh coriander leaves for garnish.

It's finally time for a new pair of road shoes. When I got back on my bike in the Fall of 2011 I bought a pair of Specialized Expert shoes. I've replaced the cleats a few times and recently replaced the Boa laces (under warranty. Structurally the shoes are still okay and they fit me well. But they have gotten quite beat up with about 20,000 miles on them. So I decided to get a new pair and use the Experts as backup shoes.

Of course I considered different shoes before settling on the Specialized S-Works. I looked the Sidi Wire. Everyone says they are made very well, possibly better than the S-Works. I always rode Sidi in the early days of leather shoes and old-style cleats with toe clips. I'm sure the fit has changed over the years but they used to be a little narrow for my foot and they would take quite a few miles to conform to my foot and become comfortable. The toe box was usually the part that bothered me. I know they make a wider version now as well. Also, I looked at Diadora. They make some really comfortable shoes and of course they are Italian. The only problem is that there aren't any dealers near me that stock them and I hesitate to buy them online. Searching the web for people who could compare sizes was difficult.

So I finally looked in the S-Works. Keswick Cycle didn't have a 43 in stock in any color. I tried on a 42 and 44 but they were missing the mark. Luckily they had a pair of 43s at another location and had them sent over. I brought a pair of socks that were the right thickness with me so I could make sure they were right. They felt like a pair of slippers when I put them on.

While I was in the shop I also used their thermal footbed tool. I found I needed the blue footbeds instead of the red ones that came with the shoes. So I tried on the shoes with the blue footbeds. They were very solid and supportive. If I feel too much pressure on the arch I can always fall back to the red ones which came with the shoes.

Keswick made me a pretty good deal, I got my 10% SCU club discount and I had a $10 gift certificate. Adding in the Look Keo cleats and the footbeds came to $425 with my discount. Not too bad for a top-of-the-line shoe. I'll post a better  review once I get the cleat position dialed in and do a few miles.

By the way, the S-Works shoes weighed in at 580 grams including the Look cleats. My Specialized Expert shoes weigh 620 grams. so that's a 40 gram weight savings. Not that significant but compared to Sidi which weighs about 1/2 pound more it is a lot.

I'll be writing again once the weather warms up a bit and I have the chance to try riding with these shoes.

There are several things I consider when I'm dressing to cycle in cold weather:

Temperature (now and expected temperature change during the ride)
Wind expected
Level of effort estimated to be maintained during the ride
Whether it is sunny, cloudy or nighttime
The length of time I will be riding 
If precipitation (snow or sleet) is likely 

Considering all of these is important in choosing the correct clothing. When there is an unknown, I usually err on the side of being a bit overdressed. You can always take something off but you can't put it on if you don't have it.

First of all you can get the most flexibility by using layers. On the bottom I wear tights. When the temperature will be in the 30's throughout the ride I will usually wear two pair, perhaps with one pair being the windfront type. I don't mind wearing tights at all and I like to keep my knees warm with knickers up to 70 degrees F. The only bad thing about wearing two pairs of tights is that it limits the flexibility of your legs so you end up working a bit harder. This isn't necessarily a big negative if you are just doing base miles but it can affect your speed somewhat so if you are on a faster ride you may want to forgo the second pair if you will be riding fast and generating more heat. Once the temperature drops into the 20's I really don't pay much attention to speed and always wear two pairs.

If the temperature will be in the 20's or the temperature will end up there when the sun goes down I like to wear a pair of wind or rain pants. I have a pair of Pearl Izumi WXB bib tights that fit snugly but stop all wind. I rarely use them in the rain but they are great cold weather gear. If you wear a fairly warm pair of tights under something like these you will be good down into the low 20's as long as you keep moving and generating a bit of heat.

For jerseys I almost always wear an outer garment with some wind resistance. Under this I wear a fairly thick long sleeve jersey (Giordana is my favorite). Underneath I vary the number and type of layers based on the factors mentioned above. Typically, if it's going to be in the 30's I will wear one thicker base layer. That gives me a total of three layers if you include the jacket. If it's in the low 30's I will add another thin base, perhaps a Merino wool blend. The idea is to get a wicking layer close to your skin that fits tightly. The layers on top should also fit close but having the bottom layer snug really cuts down on the velocity of any air that gets through the layers. I think this is the key to keeping warm. After all, you are generating plenty of heat to keep your body warm as long as you can hold onto it.

Assuming that you keep your core warm you will have less trouble with the usual problem areas, the hands and feet. I'm lucky that I have a set of winter shoes for the road bike and winter boots if the temps drop into the teens or even down to zero. In the upper 30's I would prefer to use road shoes with covers. Again, the idea is to cut down on the wind which takes heat away. I have a set of Pearl Izumi WXB shoe covers that are very thin but cut the wind perfectly. They are fine when I'm out on a faster training ride in the cold. If I'm going to be out for an extended period or maybe riding slower, I use my winter shoes. I have a pair of Lake all-season shoes. They aren't really Winter shoes but they are neoprene inside and they keep the heat in very well. I make sure not to tighten them up too much so that there is still good blood circulation to the feet. I should be able to wiggle my toes.

Gloves are tricky. My hands tend to start out cold and then warm up. The only bad thing is that they sweat. If I stop in really cold weather even for a few minutes, the moisture in the gloves chills my fingers down. Sometimes it takes a bit of hard riding or climbing a few hills before I can get them warm again. I almost always use glove liners. The good thing about liners is that you can bring along another set so you can change them out if you have to stop and the liners are wet from perspiration. I have a set of lobster gloves that work pretty well with liners but my warmest gloves are actually ski gloves. They are pretty bulky but it's worth it. For me, I think my hands are something that I can count on to be a bit cold no matter what I do. I've considered investing in a pair of battery powered glove liners but I haven't done it yet.