Culinary/creativity question, oh intrepid readers...

Dinner tonight was udon and seitan with a salty/spicy/sour/sweet sauce, dusted with crushed lavender blossoms. Kathleen asked me how I'd come up with the idea of finishing a Japanese-themed meal with lavender, and my answer was "I just did"...As I was finishing the sauce, I asked myself what would go best as a finishing touch, and the first thing that sprang to mind was lavender - there was no identifiable train of thought leading up to lavender, it just appeared. Which is, I agree, a bit of a leap (one which turned out quite well, if I may add). I have a feeling that is how most of my creative decisions, at least around food, occur.

Do you find that creative inspiration most commonly occurs for you with that sort of large leap, rather than as an identifiable train of thought?

Dr. Phinneas J. Gnashtoothen's Double-Patented Jet Leg Cure

1. Bike 2.5 hours @ 16.4mph
2. Mow lawn
3. Drink 1 bottle Sierra Nevada Pale Ale
   
4. Sleep
   

...and boy, are my arms tired

Just got back from Scotland, here's the quick travelog, pictures to follow

hike
hike
pint
pint
hike
cider
hike
haggis
haggis
hike
blood sausage
hike
haggis
hike
pint
hike
hike
gin
dancing shirtless @ 3am
hike
trailrunning with sheep in the countryside
hike
blood sausage
stuck in Newark due to a delayed flight

best laid plans

Well, I had plans for a 40k speed ride this morning...Left the house at about 6:15, heard a little thunder in the distance, nothing horribly bad. About 70F and very humid. Got about a mile from home and the skies got dark and opened up - visibility nonexistent and huge gusts of wind. If it hadn't been for the wind, I probably would've ridden through the rain and vice versa. Revised plan is to try again for tomorrow morning.

Putting in the miles...

Rode a great century (93.11 miles at 15.4mph, which is more than half a mile per hour faster than Mahomet Rotary), ended up with a nasty saddle sore (no, I'm not posting pictures of it). Planning on doing a 40k speed ride on Monday before work, then I'm off while we're in Scotland.

Mmm...quesadilla!

01:30 ride @ 17.1mph, followed up with a Nutella and bananna quesadilla for breakfast. Life is good.

WTF?

Sport beans?

strangesmallsadworld

Just found out that Keith Alexander passed away. When I was working on ideas for the True Love tattoo that Brandy designed, I kept coming back to Keith's page re: his koi tattoo.

Update of the past couple weeks or so...

Had a great 4th of July BBQ, fairly good riding week last week:
7/4/05: 32 miles, 16.7mph
7/7/05: 108 miles, 13.5mph (Bicycllinois, Champaign to Kankakee leg)
7/8/05: 20 miles, 12.5mph (rest day)
7/9/05: 75 miles, 15.3mph
7/11/05: 27 miles, 17.2mph

Bicycllinois was horribly slow, with a nasty headwind a lot of the way, non-drafting, and I ended up pretty dehydrated (lost about 5 pounds of water weight). The ride was supposed to be about 103 miles, but I ended up lost in unpleasant sections of Kankakee. Also ended up with saddle sores, which are mostly healed by now.

Went for a nice slow leisurely recovery ride on Friday, and got my first case of road rash (see here for a picture if you must).

Had a great ride today, second fastest average time this season.