Hot Pepper Jelly

For the last month or so I have been getting the "warnings" from the family, that "we are almost out of Mama's Special Hot Sauce".

Mama's Special Hot Sauce aka Hot Pepper Jelly is a favourite around our dinner table and comes out of the fridge almost every night.

Whipped up a new batch last night.  Unlike in previous years, I used powered pectin as I only had one package of the liquid left and couldn't find more at the store.

Here is the recipe:

• 8 cups finely chopped red bell peppers (I run them through the food processor
• 20 hot red jalapeno peppers, chopped (used peppers from Ean's crop grown with love in pots on our front porch)
• 2 cups vinegar
• 2 packages certo pectin
• 10 cups (yikes) sugar

Sterilize canning jars and lids.  Mix peppers, hot peppers, and vinegar in large saucepan on high heat. Add pectin.  Stir constantly and bring to a full boil. Add sugar and bring to boil again.  Boil for 1 minute, keep stirring. Remove from heat and laddle into hot jars.  Close jars and wait for the pop when the vaccum builds.

Yummy!

Pizza

 I was asked to divulge my pizza dough recipe.  It is embarrassingly easy:

Ingredients:

Dough

• 500g flour
• 1tsp salt
• 1 tbsp yeast
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 tblsp olive oil
• 400-500ml warm water

Toppings

• olive oil
• minced garlic (lots and lots if you like)
• sliced fresh tomatoes or sliced soaked dried tomatoes
• sliced red peppers or roasted hot chilies
• fresh garden herbs when available (thyme, oregano, sage, chives work well) or dried herbs
• cheese (feta is nice, but you can switch it up and use cheddar, mozerella or parmesan

Mix all dough ingredients well.  Slowly add the warm water to form a kneadable dough.  Cover and let rise for 1h.  divide into three equal portions.  Roll out thin on cookie sheets or pizza stones.
Drizzle with olive oil, garlic and herb.  Then cover with tomatoes and peppers.  Add cheese.

Bake at 175C - 200C for 20-25 minutes.  

Happy Riding

Happy riding today:

• Unexpected sunshine and beautiful sunrise this morning 
• Love my "social circle" of other riders/walkers:
  
  This morning, the chatty Brit, who almost always passes me somewhere near The Bridge, had a big smile on his face, as did I, as we marveled about the unexpected sunshine.
  
  The disheveled looking young man, who looks like he can hardly make it out of bed, yet there is is every morning on the bridge riding to North Van. Last year, he didn't have a bike light nor a helmet, now he at least rides with a light. Last year he stopped to make room for me to pass, but never made eye contact, now he looks at me and after I sing my "good morning, thank you" at him he raises his hand in a military salute. The stories I invent about him...
  
  The girl who I often see mornings and eves: powerful, lean. Not sure where she is going or from where she is coming, but she must add distance, because sometimes she passes me twice. This afternoon, we ended up waiting at a red light together. I didn't recognize her (I guess I only know how her rear looks) and made a comment about what a nice day it was for riding (we were both soaking wet and the rain was teaming down) and she smiled and happily replied, "yes, it is lovely"...and she wasn't being sarcastic and she was right.
  
  ... and then of course there is the guy who I hardly ever see, but his bike is there rain or shine, summer or winter, parked in the underground at work. He has his spot, I have mine. I worry, when his bike isn't there when I arrive in the morning. Ran into the rider today and I remarked that we are the only ones in the building riding year long. He said, he'll soon won't be there anymore as he is getting transferred to North Van.... I might end up seeing him on The Bridge. 
• How many friendly social interactions did you have on your commute today?
• BTW, no incidents with cars today. In fact, there was hardly any traffic both morning and evening.

Random Commuter Exchange

Interesting exchange this morning.  Me, on my bike in the left turning lane at the red light at the bottom of Fell, preparing to turn left onto Marine.  A couple of cars are ahead of me.  My lights are flashing, I am wearing my yellow biker uniform.  It's still darkish, but not raining.
A car pulls up beside me.  I always have a sixth sense when somebody is going to talk to me out of the car window... anyway, was already expecting a comment when dude, about my age rolls down the window and  says:
"Did your mama not teach you that cycling in traffic like that is dangerous?"
Proud to say that I didn't miss a beat - usually I do ;-) - and responded with:
"Life is dangerous!"
Under different circumstances this could have turned into a lengthy philosophical debate, however, after his response of:
"True, but riding in traffic like that really is dangerous", our lights turned green and we went our merry ways.
And I kept thinking about this all day...

• Dude was friendly.  One could see the comment as a passive-aggressive version of get off the road, cyclists have no business to mingle in traffic... but I didn't pick-up that vibe.
• Dude was genuinely concerned about somebody taking their chances and riding in traffic.  Yes, how else would I bike commute but in traffic.  Reality check, there is no continuous bike route from my home to my work in Burnaby.  It certainly would increase cycling safety to have more cycling infrastructure, but if I wait for bike lanes to be built before daring to hop on my bike...I might be too old to cycle.
• Dude was concerned about me at a relatively low traffic time in bucolic North Van...Hey, he would have really been concerned seeing me 30 min later navigate to the left hand turn lane across three lanes of traffic on Boundary before turning onto Lougheed.  
• It be interesting to see statistics on the dangers of a sedentary life style over the dangers of bike commuting regularly in Vancouver
• He has it all wrong...it's not cycling that is dangerous...it's the cars around the cyclists ;-)

But perhaps, his comment was just a cute pick-up line

Moron Of The Day Award

It's a toss up for the Moron Of The Day Award on the  bike commute home yesterday:

The Translink bus driver going north on Gilmore in the left hand lane turning west onto Lougheed  had it nailed until the unshaven, unkempt dude in a white van told me to get onto the side walk...

The bus incident was gnawing at me most of my ride home. Here is what happened:
I am going north on Gilmore. Traffic is heavy and I am attempting to cross two lanes to position myself in the left hand turn lane. I get cut off a few times despite signalling (it is still light outside and beautifully sunny - visibility is not an issue today), but finally make it into the lane beside the turn lane. Signalling to move left into the turn lane when I notice the aforementioned bus in my rear view mirror barrelling down the left turn lane (probably in an attempt to make the advanced turn signal). When I see the bus I abandon my lane switch. Got a car behind me that wants to make the light. Cars on the right of me moving through the intersection... Bus slows down and I move into the lane (signalling again and just about to give the bus driver a little thank you wave when she honks her horn at me (angrily). WTH. Stopped at the green light now yielding to traffic before turning left. Checking behind me to see what is up with the driver. She is gesticulating wildly and I mouth "where do you want me to go?". Ok, I probably startled her, but I certainly didn't force my way into the lane. She slowed down and I took that as indication that she is allowing me to merge.

Lets think about this for a moment...if I as a bike rider cut off a bus, who do you think will come out as winner?  Correct.  No matter who has the right of way, I will always lose.  Dear bus driver woman, please consider this next time you think you have been wronged by a bike rider.  

You know what irked me the most after the incident and after getting over my fear of being re ended in a road rage incident ?  We took the same route west on Lougheed and then north on Boundary.  I caught up with you when you parked your bus somewhere on Boundary to wait for the schedule to catch up...You weren't even in a hurry or late on your schedule...you were just annoyed with yet another bothersome cyclists.

Tell you what... I have been riding, driving, walking and running accident free all my life.  Considering that I am in my 5th decade, that should account for something.  I am a law abiding citizen, pay my taxes and obey the traffic rules.  I even stop at stop signs, slow down on yellow (am I the only one?), come to a full stop before turning right on red and stop for pedestrians.  3-4 times a week, rain or shine, I take my life into my hands and cycle to work.  I prefer riding over driving for various reasons and only take the car if I have groceries to buy for my family or I don't feel up to fighting the weather.
My commute is about an hour long each way and involves several dangerous intersections, heavy traffic, steep hills, pot holes, debris on the bike path,  the Second Narrow Bridge and streets with no considerations for cyclists.  The reason I have not been injured yet, is not your good driving, it is being constantly on the alert for drivers disobeying rules, not stopping at stop signs, turning right on red without yielding to me, turning left without yielding to me, opening their car doors into my path, swerving out of a parking spot without yielding, cutting me off when turning, passing me scarily close.... You get the picture.  Those dangers are not the exception, they are the rule and reality of cycling on the streets of Metro Vancouver.

I know that cyclists have a bad reputation: they don't signal, they pop up right beside you, they ride without a helmet, they don't have lights, they run red lights, they don't obey the rules...Ok, hang on, do you in your car obey the rules?  Today I witnessed two people stopping at stop signs...that is a record as I usually just see drivers roll through stop signs.  So, when driving becomes civil again in Vancouver, when you stop killing pedestrians and cyclists, then we can start taking about the bad cyclists out there...but they might be dead by then.

Until that time, I just hope that in your hurry and rage, that I won't be your next victim.

As for the moron in the van telling me to get on the side walk, you will see a lot of change in our car oriented culture in the future.  Single occupancy vehicle traffic in our city is not sustainable in the long term.  The changes implemented over the last few years by forward thinking, bike riding Mayor Gregor Robertson are only the beginning. Better get used to alternative methods of transportation and bike riders sharing your lane!