sooo sicxxx!

I didn't go to Cornell [for college] but I found the best room mate there.
We found each other in a slightly musty dorm room on the first day of summer school. Hailing from Staten Island, Mell was lightly freckled and Irish to the core. She was confident without being arrogant and charismatic without being annoying. We listened to early 90s punk and squealed over boys but gave each other enough space to avoid nasty cat fights. She pulled off the sexy tomboy thing with ease and had a drama-free relationship with a pretty gorgeous, tall blonde. She was basically awesome without being overbearing, and we got along magnificently.
I've never quite found another roomie like her. I've lived with both genders but the amicable yet trustworthy relationship I had with Mell is, I've found, quite elusive. Because you can love your friends, but living with them is always another animal.

I made a lot of long-lasting friendships that summer, but Mell still sticks out in my mind. Whenever I hear of Staten Island, I wonder what she - currently a chocolatier - is up to, and how I really should drop her a line. And if I had plans to be down in NYC this coming Sunday, I'd make sure to drag her out to an awesome event on her own home turf: SICX.
Conceived by CJ and Jed - NYC resident representatives for all things 'cross - it makes a small part of me wish that I wasn't going to gorge myself on turkey and pumpkin pie up in Massachusetts, but that my sister had invited me to whatever she and her small, Asian, lesbian friends were doing for Thanksgiving in NYC. The line-up of sponsors is enough to have me drooling and I'll even consider dropping the whole "no eating four-legged animals" thing for the fifty - yes, FIFTY - pounds of bacon from Wellshire Farms that CJ has [supposedly] stashed in his 'fridge for this event [if that bacon goes missing, you know who the culprit is].

But wafels, bacon, and croque monsieurs isn't the only reason you should make your way out there. Because if you live in NYC and enjoy riding your bicycle in mud, this is an absolute godsend. Any other weekend, you'll have to travel by car to get to any decent 'cross race. SICX is placing a legit event in your lap, accessible by public transport. If you're in the city, have a cross bike, and aren't going to this, CJ and Jed are right - you do hate to have fun.
Or you're just a fatass. Post-Thanksgiving, there's probably no better way to burn off those two pieces of pecan pie you'll down on Thursday, and the massive turkey sandwich you'll have on Friday for lunch, and that apple pie you know you'll indulge in on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. If you're blessed with a body fat percentage of 2%, and you can use all the calories you can humanly consume, then, well, Thanksgiving is going to be the perfect carb-fest for SICX.

Unfortunately, I'm going to have to learn how to run before I race SICX, and the promise of starchy, meaty, sugary deliciousness a mere 30 miles from my house is going to keep me in MA. But for all those NYC residents, I expect a full disclosure of the awesomeness that will be SICX.
[And if you are in Boston, come out to the Middlesex tonight to support the Geekhouse CX Team. Come on, admit it, you can't resist those kits and bikes!]

the search for speculoos

I never thought that chasing a wafel would end with me falling in love with a cookie.
And for once, that's no euphemism.
A few months ago, on a rainy July day, I chased down the Wafels & Dinges truck for the first time. Catching up with it in midtown, eagerly eying the menu, I thought I knew exactly what I wanted. But something caught my eye; a mysterious topped called "speculoos" and marked as the Wafels & Dinges favorite. A simple query led to the presentation of a small, cinnamon-y cookie; and while M1 and I ended up opting for Nutella on our wafel, the enigmatic cookie lingered on both tongue and mind.

A little research led to more information on the spiced cookie; known in the Netherlands as "speculaas" and in Belgium as "speculoos." A cookie associated with St. Nick's Eve (December 5th in the Netherlands and December 6th in Belgium), they are easily identified by the bas-relief image usually pressed into the dough. Seemingly ubiquitous in Belgium, I had never seen the infamous Lotus brand of speculoos anywhere in the US.
But God bless Google. Because a little rummaging led me to none other than Walgreens where Lotus brand speculoos have been rebranded as Biscoff. Yum.

Still, the growing Belgophile in me wanted authentic speculoos. But a reliable source assured me that artisanal speculoos was impossible to get in this country. So in an attempt to achieve the culinary equivalent of the next best thing, I rolled up my sleeves, printed out a recipe, and got to work with the aid of a trusty partner.

Crisp and sturdy, these cookies aren't delicate things that you might carefully pack in a box to prevent them from shattering. They're hard enough to surprise the unsuspecting but absolutely delicious with coffee. Thrown in a ziplock bag, they'll easily fit into a jersey pocket for a mid-ride snack, and with this recipe making so many cookies, there's even enough to pass around at your favorite bike shop.
I'm not done experimenting with this recipe, but here's one for starters...
Speculoos Adapted from this recipe. [We accidentally added too much flour and managed to pull together the dough with the addition of yogurt and water. No negative consequences seemed to result but feel free to opt out of using the yogurt and just watch how much flour you're adding.]
Ingredients: 500g or 4 cups all-purpose flour 150g or 2/3 cup unsalted butter at room temperature 1 egg 300g or 1 1/2 cups of dark brown sugar 2 teaspoons cinnamon 1 teaspoon ground ginger 1/2 teaspoon cloves Pinch of salt 1 1/2 tablespoons Greek style yogurt 3 tablespoons water
[Makes about 50 cookies]
1. Preheat the oven to 180C/360F 2. In a food processor or stand mixer, mix the butter, sugar, salt, spices, and egg until it comes together. Transfer into a bowl if you are using a food processor. 3. Mix in the flour in batches by hand and knead the dough until it comes together. Use the Greek yogurt thinned with water if you add too much flour and it doesn't seem to be coming together. 4. Divide the dough into two and place one portion onto a piece of parchment paper. Roll it out to a 5mm or 1/4 inch thickness. If you aren't using speculoos molds [we weren't], cut out the cookies into narrow rectangles. 5. Use a knife or spatula to transfer the cookies onto a lined cookie sheet. Bake for 12-15 minutes [the center will still be slightly soft when done]. 6. Cool on a rack on the parchment paper. Repeat. Eat.

wafelocross

I [fortunately?] have a few friends who have enough social influence to enable them to drag me out to events I have no desire of attending. This usually involves countless excuses on my part, then having said excuses shot down too efficiently and a half-joking ultimatum that not going would entail the end of our friendship. And this always involves rearranging my whole entire weekend schedule to make up for lost time.
So while I might actually wake up the next day, mascara smeared all over my eyelids, and concede that I was glad that I went out, that's not to say that the rest of the weekend won't be stressful. Going out actually makes me scramble out of bed at some absurd hour the next morning, and race to some secluded, quiet spot with my books for the rest of the weekend. I like to save myself the resulting panic and just putz away at whatever I have to do over the entire weekend, including Friday night.

One main reason that while friends in NYC were planning their first ever NYC Velo Cyclocross Season Kick-off event, I resolutely reasoned to myself that I could not possibly go. I wanted to. Desperately, in fact. But Federal Income Taxation of Corporate Enterprise stared up at me accusingly. It sucked. I just couldn't.
And then I woke up on Saturday in NYC and walked over bright and early to a bike shop milling about with friends and customers, and lucky for everyone in attendance, the Wafels & Dinges truck was there as well.

Inside, shots of espresso were being pulled and 'cross bikes examined. Questions were fielded and directed to a number of seasoned 'cross racers. Cards were exchanged in between bites of bacon-filled wafels. Embrocation and creams tested while talk of how the season went bounced amongst the attendees.
Maybe it was the sugar, but squeezing between new and old 'cross racers alike, there was nothing inaccessibly serious about the whole thing. Well, that's not quite accurate. The only thing really serious about the Kickoff party was the deadpan conviction that practically simmered in those who have discovered the wonders of 'cross that this was the single, most teeth-gnashing fun that you could ever have on a bicycle.

Which would sound slightly creepy if it wasn't for the fact that nearly every single person who races 'cross seems to passionately believe in this. And though cyclists tend to fall on the insane side of psychotic, there's always something to be said for consistency.
The NYC Velo Cyclocross Season Kickoff Party only served to heighten the excitement that seems to be bursting out of those in love with 'cross, just as the season starts to get into gear. And it's infectious, too. Because everyone seems to be talking about cyclocross this year.

If I had the funds and the bike, even I'd be up for embarrassing myself by face-planting in some mud on a cold, autumn New England day. And I'm pretty sure it won't just be for the wafels.
[More pictures of the event here.]

braking up

Like most people, I really hate heartbreak. The crying, self-doubt, nights alone that used to be spent either on the phone or giggling with a boyfriend, and just the complete emotional exhaustion. It sucks.
I suppose I was incredibly lucky when, the morning after my last break up, I ran into a friend who had broken up with her 4-year boyfriend. Which put things into perspective and I was all oh shit, never mind. And besides, it wasn't long until I felt those almost guilty pangs of relief that it was over.
By this point in my life, despite my limited track record, I understand that's a glaring sign that things would have never worked out anyway. I'm a little concerned, though, because I've been getting that feeling of guilty relief too much these days.
Oh, Boston. You're endearing, quaint, and so charming. It's just that I can't keep myself from humming Kanye's "Homecoming" as I slide down streets slowly coming to life to catch a bus down to NYC. I thought it was just a fling at first, but I might be bordering on emotional cheating.

Because even if I get caught in rain and end up slip skidding around on a city full of oblivious pedestrians, I'm resisting returning to Boston already. And with a shop full of friends and trucks serving real wafels de liege, can you really blame me?
A plan that had been tossed around, talked about, and even duly noted in an iphone to-do list since we came up with the concept for the "Breakfast of Champions" shirt, M1 and I finally hunted down the Wafels & Dinges truck yesterday afternoon. In the rain. After Twitter-stalking to find the truck's location, I found myself dodging cabs while attempting to catch up with a 40lbs Dutch bike with a coaster brake that, once it gets going, seems pretty much unstoppable [M1 managed to skid stop on it, which was incredible to watch].

Pedaling up from the East Village to Midtown, we steered around cabs, cyclists going the wrong way, pedicabs, and pedestrians, in rain that was getting progressively stronger. Around West 28th Street, I questioned whether the general discomfort of riding in the rain and the resulting frazzled nerves from biking in the city was really worth it. I mean, this was just a wafel, right?
Verdict?

Totes worth it. I mean, do you have eyes? Are you seeing this picture? FYI that is a warm wafel de liege coyly blanketed in a gooey layer of nutella, the powdered sugar on top just enough to make sure we both get diabetes [M1 and I shared one, in some half-ass attempt to justify stuffing our faces with pure sugar and fat].

And stuff our faces we did. About 14 seconds after being handed a paper tray/plate containing belgian deliciousness, we sat in sated insular shock despite the rain coming down from increasingly gray skies. The wind started to pick up, and as the afternoon slipped into the early evening, temperatures dropped just enough to be noticeable.
Half-jogging through the rain to spend some more quality time on the NYC Velo couch, the weather reminded me that it would be fall too soon, school would start, and with it cyclocross season. And with a bike that hovers around a solid 20 pounds, it seems that I'll be doing more spectating than participating again, this year.
Still, I'll be in New England, center of East Coast 'cross. Which makes me think that there's still hope that Boston and I can make it, despite this summer NYC fling.
[And, of course, it's Rapha Scarf Friday.]