This is a recipe I use for beer bread. You substitute the beer for your favorite brand of draft apple beer. It is extremely delicious and perfect for the holiday's!
3 Cups self-rising flour
3 table spoons granulated sugar
12 ounces of apple beer
First preheat the oven at 375 degrees then lightly grease a 9x5x3 in pan with non stick spray
Add all ingredients and mix very well
Place dough into baking pan and bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour
Wait for the timer and enjoy this wonderfully flavored bread!
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Saturday, November 27, 2010
Entry # 6 Recumbent Trikes
RECUMBENT TRIKES
My tad-pole style trike made by Tw-bents
(child's seat attached to rear rack)
Ah, the recumbent trike. A three wheeled masterpiece! The first time you ride one, you think to yourself, I will never ride a two wheeler again (and I haven't). It is nearly impossible to describe the feeling of cruising down the street in on this adrenalin packed hpv (human powered vehicle). It is much like driving a go cart. You get to be reclined in your seat, with you hands on the steering bars and taking corners with a very low center of gravity. It never gets old.
The Tw-bents Artifice is the model that My wife and I both own. We chose these because of their ability to fold in half to make transporting a breeze, among other reasons. There are quite a few recumbent trike companies out there, Greenspeed, Ice and Catrike to name a few. All of them are very well built and offer different styles to meet your riding needs. I'm not here to say which brand is better or which brand is worse, but to let you know there is a new way to enjoy cycling in a much more comfortable and exciting way.
First of all, there are two major kids of recumbent trikes, the tad-pole style (shown above) and delta style. The main difference being that the tad-pole has one wheel in the back two in the front and the delta has two in the back and one in the front (shown below).
I have not owned or ridden the delta style trike, so I will not be going into to much detail on this style.
As you can see from the picture of the tad-pole style trike, you are in a reclined position with your feet out in front on the pedals. At first this is a bit awkward since most everyone is used to having the pedals below to move to bike along. After a little riding you get used to the positioning of the pedals and in most cases, prefer them that way. By far one of the greatest advantages of riding a trike in comparison to a regular bike is the ability to go up hills with 1/2 the effort. The three wheels of your trike keep you stable even at slow speeds that you experience going up steep grades (having 27 gears at your disposal isn't too shabby either). On a traditional two wheel bike, when you are unable to keep speed up hill, you have to rock the bike back and forth to stay up right, which uses much more energy. I'm not saying going up hills in a recumbent trike is effortless, but being able to pull over on the side of the road and engage the parking brake to take a little rest without leaving your trike is a definite plus.
I was a little concerned that sitting in a seat while sweating profusely would cause much unwanted agony. To my surprise, the mesh seats keep that from happening. It allows the air to get to your back quite nicely and cool you down.
The amount you are able to carry on your trike is a very nice feature for anyone that likes to do any amount of touring. There are plenty of mounting spots to put your cyclocomputer, lights, GPS, bottle holders, rack trunk and panniers. If that isn't enough, you are also able to to pull a trailer behind of all of you extra goodies such as extra clothes, food and tent. For riding around town I purchased a child's seat that is intended to be on the back of a bicycle and modified it to fit on the rack of my trike. This allows my daughter to come along for a ride. On longer trips we hook up the kids trailer behind as it allows more room for her to relax as well as carry our food and other items we may need.
The steering is different from that of a traditional bicycle. Instead of their being a handle bar in front of you connected to the one wheel in front, you get a perfectly relaxed positioned handle bar on either side of you that work together to control both front wheels. This may seem a little strange, but you are able to adjust them to any position that suits you best. This allows your arms to be in a 90 degree angle while riding which is very comfortable and doesn't tire out you arms in the slightest. Each handle bar has a brake lever, unlike a bicycle that has a front and rear brake, a recumbent trike has brakes only in the front. The brakes operate individually. Meaning when your depress the right brake lever, only the right brake slows you down and vice versa. the best way to brake is gradually applying the left and right brake at the same time to avoid brake steer (pulling to one side or another due to uneven braking). Most are equiped with disc brakes and can stop on a dime, so take time to get aquinted with the braking setup before going out on your first ride. At the top of the handle bars you have the bar end shifters. These are positioned nicely and are set up to be shifted with the use of only a couple fingers. (shown below)
Bar end shifter
If you are considering a recumbent trike, or this is your first time hearing about them, I suggest you go to your nearest recumbent bike/trike shop and take a test ride. Odds are you will be sold by the time you get around the block! You are able to to order them online threw the manufacturers, but I would warn against this with out first going and riding the exact model you plan to purchase. These are not on the cheap, ranging from $1,700 up to $5,000 depending on the brand and features. So please do your research before buying and I hope to see you out on the road. Happy trike riding!
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Sunday, November 21, 2010
Entry #4 Chanterelle Mushroom Picking
Today was quite cold today. We had rain/snow mix most of the day down here in the valley. I decided to drive up the mountain to find some snow to play in. About a 1/4 of the way up the rain was turning into snow, it was really exciting. Eventually we found a nice place to sled a little bit and play. Just as we were packing up to leave, I noticed something orangish/yellow color popping out of the forest floor, a Chanterelle mushroom! I had no intentions of going mushroom hunting, but to my surprise there were tons of them scattered underneath the forests canopy. The light dusting of snow under the trees made everything white, except the mushrooms, so they were extremely easy to find! In about 15 minutes I had already gotten 2-3 lbs of them with out even trying. So it ended up turning out to be a pretty fun day. With Thanksgiving coming up, they should make a nice addition to the menu. With all that said, I though I would talk a little bit about Chanterelle's.
Cantharellus cibarius, better known as the chanterelle is a orangish/yellow vase shaped mushroom that grows in Europe, North America, Mexico and Asia. Some chanterelle's that grow on the west coast can weigh as much as two lbs! They are mycorrhizal, meaning they form an important, symbiotic relationship with the roots of trees (usually coniferous). You can properly identify a chanterelle by these characteristics:
Vase shaped with a depressed cap
Lacks true gills
Apricot like smell
Grows in soil (not on trees)
A false chanterelle is poisonous and will have these characteristics:
More of a true orange color
Grows on, but isn't limited to, trees
Has true gills
False Chanterelle
Mushroom hunting is definitely a exciting experience each and every time you go. The first couple times you go out I recommend going with someone that has a vast knowledge of mushrooms and can properly identify them for you before attempting to eat them. In not much time you will start to pick out chanterelle's left and right by yourself. Expect to pay anywhere from $12 to $16 at the super market for these little golden wonders. It is a definite treat to have such a wonderful mushroom growing in the forest for us to enjoy with a little work at no cost!
Cantharellus cibarius, better known as the chanterelle is a orangish/yellow vase shaped mushroom that grows in Europe, North America, Mexico and Asia. Some chanterelle's that grow on the west coast can weigh as much as two lbs! They are mycorrhizal, meaning they form an important, symbiotic relationship with the roots of trees (usually coniferous). You can properly identify a chanterelle by these characteristics:
Vase shaped with a depressed cap
Lacks true gills
Apricot like smell
Grows in soil (not on trees)
A false chanterelle is poisonous and will have these characteristics:
More of a true orange color
Grows on, but isn't limited to, trees
Has true gills
Chanterelle
Mushroom hunting is definitely a exciting experience each and every time you go. The first couple times you go out I recommend going with someone that has a vast knowledge of mushrooms and can properly identify them for you before attempting to eat them. In not much time you will start to pick out chanterelle's left and right by yourself. Expect to pay anywhere from $12 to $16 at the super market for these little golden wonders. It is a definite treat to have such a wonderful mushroom growing in the forest for us to enjoy with a little work at no cost!
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Entry # 3 How to buy a nice car for cheap!
Most every one has a car. If you don't have one, you are most likely in the process of looking for one. It is very easy to go down to your local car dealership and have them get you into a new or used vehicle. The downside to this is the monthly obligation to pay any where from $300 to $700 a month for as much as 7 years! Also when financing a car, you have to put full coverage insurance on it before you even leave the lot. You add these two monthly payments and you are looking at a good chunk, if not half, of your pay check! Buying a new car works for some people, but if you are someone that doesn't want to be tied down to a machine that gets your from point A to B, this could be for you.
1. Get on your local craigslist.
2. Look for a vehicle that is in nice condition but has something wrong with it like a bad transmission or a timing belt that snapped.
3. Fix it. This may sound difficult if you are not mechanically inclined, but with YouTube at your disposal, you can find a tutorial on how to fix any part on your car.
4. Start driving!
Ok, now for a little more detail. For the most part every one has a couple makes of cars they prefer. Let's use a Toyota pick up for example. Go to your local craigslist website and search for Toyota pick up and set the price to $1000 (or what ever you are willing to spend. Now go threw the list and click o n the cheapest ones (usually the ones with problems) and find out what is wrong with it. If it is something you can do, or know someone that can do it for you, it will save you a lot of money and you will be getting a running car for less then blue book. For example, say you found a truck for $800, but the rear end is out in it, so that makes it unable to drive. The part to fix that from your local wrecking yard will be about $60 to $100. To replace this should take most anyone no longer than a day. So now you are into the truck for only $900! That is probably less than you will spend in two months on auto loan and full coverage insurance. A running Toyota pick up of any year is worth much more than $900. On the high end, you could be saving a couple thousand on a truck that needed minimal work vs paying full price to someone else when there is no reason to.
I hope this helped people a little bit in thinking about there next car purchase. If you have the extra cash, you can always do this simply to resell the vehicle for profit. Make sure to look up your state laws on how many vehicles you can sell in a year. Most have a limit of 3 or 4 with out a dealers license. If you want anymore information on this subject, please e-mail at nortrupblog@yahoo.com
1. Get on your local craigslist.
2. Look for a vehicle that is in nice condition but has something wrong with it like a bad transmission or a timing belt that snapped.
3. Fix it. This may sound difficult if you are not mechanically inclined, but with YouTube at your disposal, you can find a tutorial on how to fix any part on your car.
4. Start driving!
Ok, now for a little more detail. For the most part every one has a couple makes of cars they prefer. Let's use a Toyota pick up for example. Go to your local craigslist website and search for Toyota pick up and set the price to $1000 (or what ever you are willing to spend. Now go threw the list and click o n the cheapest ones (usually the ones with problems) and find out what is wrong with it. If it is something you can do, or know someone that can do it for you, it will save you a lot of money and you will be getting a running car for less then blue book. For example, say you found a truck for $800, but the rear end is out in it, so that makes it unable to drive. The part to fix that from your local wrecking yard will be about $60 to $100. To replace this should take most anyone no longer than a day. So now you are into the truck for only $900! That is probably less than you will spend in two months on auto loan and full coverage insurance. A running Toyota pick up of any year is worth much more than $900. On the high end, you could be saving a couple thousand on a truck that needed minimal work vs paying full price to someone else when there is no reason to.
I hope this helped people a little bit in thinking about there next car purchase. If you have the extra cash, you can always do this simply to resell the vehicle for profit. Make sure to look up your state laws on how many vehicles you can sell in a year. Most have a limit of 3 or 4 with out a dealers license. If you want anymore information on this subject, please e-mail at nortrupblog@yahoo.com
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Entry # 2
So how many of you are dog fans? I'm sure there are plenty of you out there. I am a fan of most every breed. My top 5 would be: Doberman, Bordie Collie, Great Dane, German shepherd and Rottweiler.
I would like to do some Doberman Pinscher awareness. What is the first thing that comes to mind when you think of a Doberman? Is it attack dog? Or is it loving family pet? These are some things I would like go over with this breed. I am a little bias since I love this breed so much, but I will try my best not lean too much one way or the other.
The Doberman is loyal, alert and intelligent that was developed in 1890 by Karl Friedrich Louis Dobermann. Karl Dobermann was a tax collector that also owned a dog pound. You could imagine the risks of being a tax collector over a hundred years ago, something I know I wouldn't want to do. He decided to start breeding different breeds that he had access to in his pound. So a long story short, He ended up with the perfect dog for the task, the Doberman Pischer.
The doberman is ranked the 4Th most intelligent dog breed following the border collie, poodle and german shepherd. With it's intelligence and loyalty combined, it is a breed that is very easily trained. It is a good idea to start socializing your doberman puppy as soon as possible. Dobermans are prone towards stranger and animal aggression. with Proper socialization you can correct this while they are still young. The most common form of hospital related bites from the doberman are ones that occur on the owners property. This is due to the dobermans loyalty to protect it's owner and family.
As far as size goes, the doberman is a relatively large dog but is classified as a medium size dog. Males weigh in between 75 to 100 lbs and females between 60 to 90 lbs. Their appearance really varies in my opinion. It depends if they have cropped tails and ears or are left natural. I prefer having both cropped. I know many people are opposed to these procedures, but I feel it gives the doberman the look that most likely kept people away from Karl Dobermann's money as he went to collect the taxes. I like to keep true to that.
The modern say doberman has been bred to be a great family dog, as well as a family protector. The doberman loves to be in the house with you snuggling up just like any other dog, orwhen it comes to alerting you of someones presence, the doberman is number one.
So check out your local humane society and get to know a doberman. I think you will be pleasantly surprised!
For a detailed description of the doberman click here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doberman_Pinscher
I would like to do some Doberman Pinscher awareness. What is the first thing that comes to mind when you think of a Doberman? Is it attack dog? Or is it loving family pet? These are some things I would like go over with this breed. I am a little bias since I love this breed so much, but I will try my best not lean too much one way or the other.
The Doberman is loyal, alert and intelligent that was developed in 1890 by Karl Friedrich Louis Dobermann. Karl Dobermann was a tax collector that also owned a dog pound. You could imagine the risks of being a tax collector over a hundred years ago, something I know I wouldn't want to do. He decided to start breeding different breeds that he had access to in his pound. So a long story short, He ended up with the perfect dog for the task, the Doberman Pischer.
The doberman is ranked the 4Th most intelligent dog breed following the border collie, poodle and german shepherd. With it's intelligence and loyalty combined, it is a breed that is very easily trained. It is a good idea to start socializing your doberman puppy as soon as possible. Dobermans are prone towards stranger and animal aggression. with Proper socialization you can correct this while they are still young. The most common form of hospital related bites from the doberman are ones that occur on the owners property. This is due to the dobermans loyalty to protect it's owner and family.
As far as size goes, the doberman is a relatively large dog but is classified as a medium size dog. Males weigh in between 75 to 100 lbs and females between 60 to 90 lbs. Their appearance really varies in my opinion. It depends if they have cropped tails and ears or are left natural. I prefer having both cropped. I know many people are opposed to these procedures, but I feel it gives the doberman the look that most likely kept people away from Karl Dobermann's money as he went to collect the taxes. I like to keep true to that.
The modern say doberman has been bred to be a great family dog, as well as a family protector. The doberman loves to be in the house with you snuggling up just like any other dog, orwhen it comes to alerting you of someones presence, the doberman is number one.
So check out your local humane society and get to know a doberman. I think you will be pleasantly surprised!
For a detailed description of the doberman click here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doberman_Pinscher
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Entry # 1
Hey, This is my first entry on the blog that has a little about everything! I have many interests in life. I have many opinions on different aspects of life, and I'd love to get some feedback on some of the subjects I touch upon. Let me know what you guys think. Some things that will frequent this blog are: traveling, dogs, computers, recumbent trikes, life off grid, mushroom picking and cars.
I don't know how many of you out there watch the office? Hopefully a lot! I was watching an episode where Dwight Schrute is talking about his perfect date, very funny stuff. If you have not seen it, I suggest giving it a watch.
Have you ever wanted to travel? I'm sure most everyone has the dream to quit there job and take the next flight to anywhere. Where do you want to go? Australia, Italy, Greece, China, Mexico or Japan? I say why not ? There is a decent percentage of people that travel full time. To accomplish this goal you need to make the decision to take the leap. My personal opinion is that taking the leap is by far the most nerve racking part. Things start racing through your mind like how will I make money, what about health insurance, how do I start? All are good questions and all have good answers. First thing you need to do is eliminate your debt. The american dream is to work 9 to 5, day in and day out just to pay that 30 year home loan, 5 year car loan and racked up credit card bills. It is very hard to live life out of the norm if your are carrying around a bunch of debt. This is not easy to do and vary per person. First start cutting out the extras like coffee a couple times a week and put that money towards your credit card bill. You ARE allowed to pay more than the minimum payment. It isn't easy, but if you set realistic goals, you can be debt free sooner than you think. I am saying this out of personal experience. Just keep in mind it won't happen over night.
Once you have your debt under control or are on the right path, you are ready to decide if your are ready to break away from ordinary life. I have a little motto or more of a statement when it comes to decision. Basically you always regret the chances you don't take in life, you can fix the mistakes you make, but you can never go back in time to get a second try at life. If you take the chance you might just surprise yourself.
So how can you afford to travel full time if you just quit your job? Preferably you have a little money saved up, at least enough to get you to your first destination. Once your where your at, you need to think how long you are going to be staying there. If you plan a couple month stay, you could take up a part time job to pay for play. For the most part that isn't the most realistic option. When you are traveling you will be surprised to find out how generous people are. It isn't uncommon for people to invite you over for dinner or to crash there for the night. I believe that the internet has given us the opportunity to make money no matter where your location in the world! That is very exciting news, at least to me it is. I'm not going to go into how exactly to make money online, but there plenty of ways to make enough money to support your travels globally with just a laptop at hand.
Health insurance goes hand in hand with money. There are affordable plans that cover you on a global basis. So if you get a cash flow coming in via the internet, you can set up automatic payment option so you don't have to worry about it every month. I suggest you have some sort of health coverage because you never know what could happen. It is better to be safe than sorry.
If you are at all considering doing some traveling, I recommend taking the leap. Why not live life to the fullest? You don't get to experience life just driving to work, sitting in a cubical for eight hours, then driving home, going to sleep and doing it again. You get experience by trying new things. When other people tell you that it won't work and roll their eyes, just don't listen. The worst mistake you can ever make in life is letting other people shoot down your dreams or limit your abilities.
The best of luck in your travels!
I don't know how many of you out there watch the office? Hopefully a lot! I was watching an episode where Dwight Schrute is talking about his perfect date, very funny stuff. If you have not seen it, I suggest giving it a watch.
Have you ever wanted to travel? I'm sure most everyone has the dream to quit there job and take the next flight to anywhere. Where do you want to go? Australia, Italy, Greece, China, Mexico or Japan? I say why not ? There is a decent percentage of people that travel full time. To accomplish this goal you need to make the decision to take the leap. My personal opinion is that taking the leap is by far the most nerve racking part. Things start racing through your mind like how will I make money, what about health insurance, how do I start? All are good questions and all have good answers. First thing you need to do is eliminate your debt. The american dream is to work 9 to 5, day in and day out just to pay that 30 year home loan, 5 year car loan and racked up credit card bills. It is very hard to live life out of the norm if your are carrying around a bunch of debt. This is not easy to do and vary per person. First start cutting out the extras like coffee a couple times a week and put that money towards your credit card bill. You ARE allowed to pay more than the minimum payment. It isn't easy, but if you set realistic goals, you can be debt free sooner than you think. I am saying this out of personal experience. Just keep in mind it won't happen over night.
Once you have your debt under control or are on the right path, you are ready to decide if your are ready to break away from ordinary life. I have a little motto or more of a statement when it comes to decision. Basically you always regret the chances you don't take in life, you can fix the mistakes you make, but you can never go back in time to get a second try at life. If you take the chance you might just surprise yourself.
So how can you afford to travel full time if you just quit your job? Preferably you have a little money saved up, at least enough to get you to your first destination. Once your where your at, you need to think how long you are going to be staying there. If you plan a couple month stay, you could take up a part time job to pay for play. For the most part that isn't the most realistic option. When you are traveling you will be surprised to find out how generous people are. It isn't uncommon for people to invite you over for dinner or to crash there for the night. I believe that the internet has given us the opportunity to make money no matter where your location in the world! That is very exciting news, at least to me it is. I'm not going to go into how exactly to make money online, but there plenty of ways to make enough money to support your travels globally with just a laptop at hand.
Health insurance goes hand in hand with money. There are affordable plans that cover you on a global basis. So if you get a cash flow coming in via the internet, you can set up automatic payment option so you don't have to worry about it every month. I suggest you have some sort of health coverage because you never know what could happen. It is better to be safe than sorry.
If you are at all considering doing some traveling, I recommend taking the leap. Why not live life to the fullest? You don't get to experience life just driving to work, sitting in a cubical for eight hours, then driving home, going to sleep and doing it again. You get experience by trying new things. When other people tell you that it won't work and roll their eyes, just don't listen. The worst mistake you can ever make in life is letting other people shoot down your dreams or limit your abilities.
The best of luck in your travels!
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