Right to Ride (plus healthy vegan brownie recipe)

O, Dinky Bridge! O, Iron Grate! O, Blue Slide!

You trails, thine mud is plush, and roots ripe with traction.

Ye olde mountain bike season is again upon us! Bask in yea glory of semi-dry trails. Bow down in thanks of the trail gods who build berms and fill ruts. And yea, kiss the tire treads of they who rode all winter when the trails were soft and vulnerable, for they knew not of their own power to corrode. Let us give thanks to the sun, brief in the sky as it may be, whose vitamin D reminds us that yes, we do prefer to be alive (though for the past six months may have lost sight of that mission). Let us not take for granted this day of beauty, let this not be our day of rest, for rest will come soon enough—tomorrow (or later today) when it rains, or post-ride at D's for veggie dogs topped with avocado and Sriracha slaw, and washed down with a pint of 1919 Root Beer.

No time for typing, today we ride.

Tonight, however, we make brownies (because: it is raining).

This recipe is adapted from Vega's Easy Vega One Protein Brownies. I changed things around based on what I had lying (laying? I was a writing major, not an English major) around the house, and also to make them a bit more affordable and to my nutrition needs.

Semi-Easy Protein Brownies

vegan, gluten free, about as healthy as brownies can be

• 3 Tbsp ground flaxseeds
• 6 pitted dates, chopped
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 small zucchini
• 1/2 cup apple sauce
• 1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 scoop chocolate protein powder
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup almond flour

1. Preheat oven to 350º F
2. Soak flax meal and dates in water in a medium sized bowl; let sit for half hour
3. Meanwhile, some prepping! Chop zucchini in food processor until finely chopped. Also, grease 9x9 pan with coconut oil.
4. Add each ingredient, one at a time, to flax mixture, folding until just mixed. If zucchini has left a bit of water at the bottom of food processor, add it if batter feels excessively dry.
5. Pour batter into pan and bake for 25 minutes. These babies are MOIST! So if you like cupcakes to be a bit on the cakier side, bake for an extra five minutes or so.
6. Let sit, cool, and firm for a good 15 minutes before cutting. 

Oh Kale Yes!

Today was an incredible 50 degrees out here in Pittsburgh, and the scheduled rain held out, so as soon as I got home from band practice, E. and I pumped up the tires on our road bikes and headed into the park. Days like today help me appreciate owning a road bike, when the weather is too warm to train inside but the trails are still too icy and even the thawed trails are too wet and would be ruined with bike treads. The roads of Schenley park were packed with joggers, walkers, and people napping in their cars. We didn't ride for very long, or very far, because we are both getting over colds and long bouts of inactivity due to a number of variables. But it was nice to spin the legs, get our blood pumping, and breathe some fresh air, even if only for an hour or so.

Getting over injury and sickness is never fun or easy, but the payoff for laying low, daily yoga, and herbal tea comes in the form of quicker recovery to enjoy these beautiful days. I complained a lot and posted a few too many photos of me and my dog in bed, but I'm grateful today for my health.

To celebrate our first bike ride together of 2015, E. made dinner. Crusted barbecue tempeh, raw kale salad, and fried potatoes, paired with some cider from East End Brewing Company, was a great way to end the day.

The dressing for the Kale salad was then used on our dehydrating kale. This recipe is E.'s, adapted from Brad's Raw Kale Chips, using ingredients readily available around the house. These aren't "guilt free" except that no one should feel guilty about eating. They have fat and calories from healthy sources, and are a wonderful snack to satisfy cravings for crunchy, savory treats.

• Raw sunflower seeds, enough to coat the bottom of food processor
• Garlic (whole cloves, 3+ depending on preference)
• Green onions (1-2), hard to taste and therefore optional
• Miso paste (scoop about the size of a ping pong, about 2 Tbsp)
• Peanut butter, natural and crunchy (hefty scoop, a bit more than the miso)
• Lemon juice (2-3 Tbsp)
• Ginger (optional, to taste)
• Water
• Kale, raw and destemmed (however much you have and can put on your dehydrator, probably 3 handfuls or so)

1. Add the sunflower seeds to the bottom of food processor to coat the bottom. Grind up into finest powder possible.
2. Add garlic and green onions. Blend.
3. Next, add the wet ingredients, starting with the miso and peanut butter. Blend again.
4. Add lemon juice, ginger, and water. Water is the magic sauce! It adjusts the dressing consistency. If you add too much, add a bit more PB to bring it back. Blend.
5. Pour dressing on kale and massage it in. The surface area of kale shrinks, so if the dressing is strong, add less dressing because the chips will also be strong.
6. Add kale to dehydrator. Spread out bigger pieces, but if you buy the pre-cut kale on sale at Trader Joes, layer the smaller pieces and "cook" for a bit longer so they become one motherchip. Otherwise, leave the kale alone for 12 hours or so, checking periodically to see how they're doing.

This recipe also works well for beet greens, a great way to make the most of these healthy leafy tops.