Pork Belly and Bourbon

So here’s the f’n deal. I don’t blog. Don’t have much time to blog with so much sh*t going on. But I should. Bloggin ain’t bad. Writing (typing) stuff out ain’t bad. It works, especially when it is 10:53pm and I’m lying in bed with everyone else snoozing away and I can’t afford to break out a mic to record audio on a podcast. So typing stuff out is good. I can’t remember what I wanted to express in this typing session. It might have to do with it being now 10:55pm and I’m on my second serving of a “night cap”. By the way, who says “night cap” anymore? I think I’m beginning to remember my point and it is this…pork belly is delicious. Bourbon is just ok.

Wanna know what type of bourbon that is?

Wanna know how I made that pork belly dish?

Stay tuned for then next podcast episode (after episode 202) and I’ll answers those questions and  more. You could also just ask, I won’t bite.

Chicken Katsu : Grain & Gluten Free

Chicken Katsu : Grain & Gluten Free

My kids love Chicken Katsu. Either from a Japanese or Hawaiian restaurant.

“You can katsu anything with nipples.”

“I have nipples Greg. Can you katsu me?”

The same recipe can be used to make Tonkatsu by using pork cutlets instead of chicken thighs.

Breast meat is garbage white meat. Dark meat from chicken is fattier and delicious.

In general katsu sauce is garbage and made of sugar and coffee tanks gluten. I’ll have to come up with a sugar-free gluten-free version. Until then, use tobacco sauce for heat and plain yellow mustard for dipping. The turmeric in the mustard is supposed to be anti-inflammatory anyway.

Ingredients
* 4 skinless, boneless skinless chicken thighs – pounded to 1/2 inch thickness
* salt, pepper, garlic powder to taste
* 2 tablespoons cassava flour or arrowroot flour

* 1 egg, beaten
* 1 cup fine almond meal/flour
* 1 cup of bacon grease or pork lard.
Directions
* Season the chicken on both sides with salt, pepper, garlic powder . Depending on what you have, place the cassava or arrowroot flour, egg and almond meal into separate shallow dishes. Coat the chicken thighs in cassava flour, shaking off any excess. Dip them into the egg, and then press into almond meal until coated on both sides.
* Heat 1/4 inch of bacon grease or pork lard in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Place chicken in the hot grease/lard, and cook 3 or 4 minutes per side, or until golden brown.

Video: https://youtu.be/r6G9dq6VGAc

How to overcome the fear of running a distance?

How to overcome the fear of running a distance?

Back in Dec 2014, I drafted a post “How to overcome the fear of running a distance?” Never released it and it sat in a draft state till recently. I didn’t edit it. Just added these brief intro explaining why I decided to just click the Publish button after all this time. Basically I was asked a similar question and I knew I had thought on a response long ago written, which today I feel still holds true (at least for me). So thanks Jim Smith for the kick in the pants.

How to overcome the fear of running a distance?

How to overcome the fear of running a distance?

Do you like running? Are you new to the sport of distance running? 5k, 10k, 13.1m, 26.2m, 50k, 69k and bazillion milers? Like coffee I enjoy running. So I try to do what I can to make sure I really get to enjoy my cup of mileage and time out on the run. If your like me, speed takes a back seat to distance. It’s easy for me to do since I’m slower than a constipated snail.

How to get over worrying about the distance? In my very half marathon event, I remember the thoughts “This is just training for a marathon”. It helped change my mindset by helping me believe I was meant something greater, alleviate any jitters, and boosted my confidence. I remember when I was going to do my first marathon, I remember telling myself “This is just training for a 50k.” You get the picture. It works…to a point and I’m still learning to figure stuff out. Basically you could also worry about another distance or something else to take your mind off of things. A sort of ability to disassociate from a situation to not along the mental demons from wrecking you. This is what needs to be learned through trial and error, which is experience. I realize in life there are times where we should appreciate the moment and live in the present. However, when the present moment is hard as hell, you’d have a hell of a time cherishing it. So it seems blocking certain aspects of a grueling activity to allow an individual to complete a job is a good strategy used to be successful. RER25Logo

“Stay focused and disassociate because it’s not going to last. The deal is, no matter whatever it is, the bad or the good will both pass so you just have to stay the course. It’s only momentary.” ~Errol “The Rocket” Jones

Eating The Elephant

For a different spin on mindset and mind tricks, listen to a conversation with ultrarunner Carlos Dones (@CarlosDones) on podcast episode 75 (iTunes link here and show page here) where Tony described essentially breaking down a stage into marathon distance (26.2) increments. Some days were more miles. But the point was, rather then focussing on the daunting total of 170 miles (see Grand To Grand Ultra), he focused on a “smaller” distance and ate the elephant one bite at a time. Thanks for listening!

Things that smell like poop

Things that smell like poop

 

M&Ms photo by JDHancock.

You ever crack open a library book and it smells like crap or something? Or after a while the recycled material used for your coffee cups sleeve when wet starts to smell like crap? You know what else smells of crap? The chocolate in M&Ms and the like. All the candy fiends and sugar addicts won’t agree and I get it. But they are “mother nature’s turds” as Anna Vocino once said. Stick your nose in a bag of Hershey’s Kisses and take a whiff, a resemblance of shit de toilette. Don’t taste it because the sugar will likely hijack your senses. The smell maybe has to do with stuff called indole.

“Perfumers add it to flowery fragrances, but it’s also added to chocolates, coffees, and fruity-flavored sweets. That doesn’t sound bad—until you learn that concentrated indole smells like poop. Because it’s actually found in poop.”

See Why is a Compound That Smells Like Feces Put in Perfume And Chocolate?