Urban Simplicity

Three loaves of freshly baked oatmeal-maple bread (click here for recipe, pics, and directions), two ham-and-cheese panini, two cooked chicken breasts, two pints of raw spinach, a pint of chopped Romain lettuce, a gallon of extra virgin olive oil, a canvas bag containing a journal and a few writing implements and an iPhone, a camera bag containing an extra camera, a zoom lens, and a battery charger. And a few books...two copies of Auguste Escoffier's Le Guide Culinaire (1972 and 2013 editions), The Lebanese Kitchen by Salma Hage, the journals of Sir William Douglas on his travels in the Himalayas in 1894, a small book by Deepak Chopra, a Science of Mind Magazine, and a pocket sized New Testament.


Urban Simplicity.

Before I talk about the recipe I have to make a few other comments. You may be wondering why on earth this guy would be posting  a recipe for soup in the middle of summer, or at least early summer. Nonetheless, it's hot outside. Well, the answer to this is twofold...one is that it was on the menu where I work (so I had to make it), but also because I really enjoy this soup. But the less obvious reason (to most, I think) is that even though spicy food is often thought of as "warming foods" for cold weather, spicy foods originate in hot climates and are naturally eaten there. Spicy foods, in fact, act as a natural air conditioner of sorts...they make you sweat which cools you off. Spicy foods are also known to stimulate the appetite, which may be lacking during steamy weather (interesting how nature takes care of us). Anyhow, mulligatawny is a curried chicken and rice soup of British-Indian origin. It is really easy to make and really delicious (it freezes well also, in t…

A few plants I saw growing wild while riding my bike through Silo City a few days ago...





Urban Simplicity.

Most cities have them, and as of the past few years so does Buffalo. I'm talking about human-powered taxis, of course. That's Landon pictured above, owner/operator of the Allentown Pedicab Company, the newest pedal taxi company in our city. I first became aware of him when I saw an article of him and his small company on Buffalo Rising. I figured I'd eventually see him as he is based in the same neighborhood in which I live, and tonight I did. Speaking with him briefly, I found out that he built the trailer himself and that business is good. Anyhow, I thought I'd highlight someone local with a pedal powered business. If you are in the area and need a cab but don't want to burn fossil fuel this may be your ride. If you want to make a reservation here's his website.

Urban Simplicity.

It has been more than ten years since I tore up my teeny front lawn and planted a teeny vegetable garden which yields big results. And over the years it--the garden--has spread to other areas around the house; the side and rear, mainly. But this year--because of various reasons--I have only planted the front yard garden...sort of getting back to basics. It's doing well and tonight was the first significant haul of the season...broccoli. It is so satisfying picking the broccoli and cooking it just feet from where it grew and remembering when you planted it (I could go on). At any rate, I've posted this recipe numerous times prior but it is one f my favorite. It is simple, nutritious, and really easy to make. If you haven't made this yet I hope you give it a try.

Penne alla aglio e olio con broccoli in brodo(Penne with Garlic, Oil, Broccoli, and Chicken Broth)Yield: 4 servings 3/4 pound whole wheat penne 1/2 cup virgin olive oil 1 tablespoon minced garlic 1/2 teaspoon crushed ho…

Photo Credit.
"Get a bicycle.  You will certainly not regret it, if you live."
~ Mark Twain

"When I see an adult on a bicycle, I do not despair for the future of the human race."
~ H.G. Wells 

"When man invented the bicycle he reached the peak of his attainments. Here was a machine of precision and balance for the convenience of man. And (unlike subsequent inventions for man's convenience) the more he used it, the fitter his body became. Here, for once, was a product of man's brain that was entirely beneficial to those who used it, and of no harm or irritation to others. Progress should have stopped when man invented the bicycle." 
~ Elizabeth West 

"It is by riding a bicycle that you learn the contours of a country best, since you have to sweat up the hills and coast down them. Thus you remember them as they actually are, while in a motor car only a high hill impresses you, and you have no such accurate remembrance of country you have…

These are a few photos of a ride I took this morning with a destination in mind. I've been reading (on Facebook) about a flea market being held in an area of the city which is now being called Silo City, which I think is a relatively new term. It's referring to an old waterfront section of the city that contains most of our city's grain elevators, a few are still in use but most seem abandoned (I've posted on them before here and here). These things (the grain elevators) are like Roman ruins here; testaments to our city's past but also--with things like the Silo Flea Market and other events there--premonitions and hope of what's to come. This was a really cool event. The entire area is desolate; creepy, sort of eerie. It was hot. Really hot. And as I pedaled and stopped at times to take pictures a car would pass periodically down the dusty road leading to the market. Usually there is not a soul to be seen here, and for the most part this was true today on my w…