Ranger's training thread

[atklein90]

Here is a quick fix to help the addicts get through the day. It is tough to quit cold turkey:

Sept 25, 2006: I am the best erger for my age and weight in the world.

Sept 26, 2006: What I row in the big regattas this year (BIRC, WIRC) will be there for anyone to challenge as the years go by.

Thanks Byron. I've been needing a fix this morning!

Two perfect posts by The Man.

[bellboy]

Dinner tonight was shephard's pie. The filling was ground beef, chopped onions, pieces of carrots, peas, and some sauce.

Shephards_pie_filling_rr.jpg

The dough was just a simple pizza dough recipe: 1 1/2 cups of warm water, yeast, a little olive oil, some salt, a touch of sugar, about 3 1/2 cups of flour. I only use about 1/3 of the dough for this pie. I store the rest of the dough for later cooking projects.

I always spray the pan with olive oil, spray some on the dough, and lightly brown the dough before baking with the filling. That way the crust is not soggy. I put some slices of potatoes on top, with a touch of kosher salt, lots of black pepper, and grated Parmesan cheese.

I have noticed that we have some culinary experts who attend this thread. Any suggestions for improvements?

Shephards_pie_rr.jpg

Just so we don't completely abandon the previous topic of flatulence, I served the pie with a small side serving of black beans topped with Mozarella cheese

After a quick phone call to my aging mother (and a neighbour to help revive her after i told her of the pizza dough) she gave me her patented recipe.
3/4 lb of chopped ground beef, one finely chopped onion,i small chopped carrott,stock cube and a bit of water, A pound of cooked mashed creamed(with butter) potatoes and a table spoon of grated cheddar cheese.
Fry off the beef and onionadd 1/4 pint of water,add carrott and place in a deep dish. Top it with cooked potato, rough up the the top and add the cheese. Bake in a hot oven for 40mins (gas mark 4). Her last words were, tell your friend that it isnt a pie at all. She's 82 and who am i to argue with her!

[rjw]

The dough was just a simple pizza dough recipe: 1 1/2 cups of warm water, yeast, a little olive oil, some salt, a touch of sugar, about 3 1/2 cups of flour. I only use about 1/3 of the dough for this pie. I store the rest of the dough for later cooking projects.

I always spray the pan with olive oil, spray some on the dough, and lightly brown the dough before baking with the filling. That way the crust is not soggy. I put some slices of potatoes on top, with a touch of kosher salt, lots of black pepper, and grated Parmesan cheese.

I have noticed that we have some culinary experts who attend this thread. Any suggestions for improvements?

Byron, never heard of crust for a Shepherd's pie as a better name would be Shepherd's casserole Shepherd's Pie is essentially a casserole, lined with cooked meat and vegetables, mixed with a sauce of your choice, topped with mashed potatoes, and baked. Generally made with leftovers. I know that French Canadians have a meat pie called "tortierre" and that has a crust. Nonetheless, an interesting twist on the dish.

[Byron Drachman]

Thanks to Bellboy and RJW for the corrections. Actually, I thought of the pie crust made from pizza dough at the last minute. The last time I made Shephard's pie I just made it without the dough, more like Bellboy's mother said. An interesting low glycemic index variation is to replace the mashed potatoes with fake mashed potatoes: steam or microwave some cauliflower, then finely chop it so it is cauliflower-rice, then mix an equal part of graded cheese and add a small amount of milk, cream, or something like that, and some spices. Place this on top of the meat dish and bake. The cauliflower replacement of the potatoes brings us back to the earlier theme of sudden changes of air pressure, and that takes us full circle back to our intrepid hero.

[eliotsmith]

3/4 lb of chopped ground beef, one finely chopped onion,i small chopped carrott,stock cube and a bit of water, A pound of cooked mashed creamed(with butter) potatoes and a table spoon of grated cheddar cheese.
Fry off the beef and onionadd 1/4 pint of water,add carrott and place in a deep dish. Top it with cooked potato, rough up the the top and add the cheese. Bake in a hot oven for 40mins (gas mark 4).

I like the addition of cheese. I avoid those stock cubes, however, preferring homemade stock or broth. The recipe I like is:

1 lb uncooked meat or 2 cups finely chopped cooked meat
3 T. canola oil ( or other mildly flavored oil )
a medium carrot, chopped
a medium stalk of celery, chopped
a medium onion, chopped
1 tsp. fresh thyme
1/2 tsp. fresh sage
3/4 cup stock
1.5 to 2 lbs potatoes
3 T. butter
salt and pepper, to taste

Boil potatoes and mash, using about 1/2 cup of the liquid from the potatoes, 1 T. of the butter, and some salt and pepper. Using an over-proof, heavy bottomed skillet, saute veggies in oil over medium to low heat for 15 minutes, stirring regularly. Add meat and cook, if raw, or heat through and brown if cooked. Add herbs and stock and reduce heat. Thicken sauce slightly, and add salt and pepper to taste. Spread potatoes over top, make peaks on the top, add 2 T. of butter cut into small pieces, and place in oven at 400 degrees until bubbly and potatoes are slightly browned on top.

I'm not too sure what to think about the pizza crust. I would call that a pot pie. If it has no crust, I would still call it a crustless pot pie. Potatoes are a key ingredient for a shepard's pie. I would call it a cottage pie if it has beef instead of lamb. I think the best meat for a meat pie is mutton. I also agree with the comment that it is good for leftover meat.

If our hero ate something like the above each day, and actually rowed the amounts he imagines, he would probably be an exceptional rower. Instead he sits in front of the wrong monitor, shoveling B.S., which can be quite backbreaking.

Eliot

[Steve G]

Just had a glorious 2 weeks in Cuba, no Internet, mobile phone etc. I notice 46 more pages have arisen. Anything meaningful happened, I cant be arsed to trawl through that lot!

Thanks in anticipation
Steve

[bellboy]

Just had a glorious 2 weeks in Cuba, no Internet, mobile phone etc. I notice 46 more pages have arisen. Anything meaningful happened, I cant be arsed to trawl through that lot!

Thanks in anticipation
Steve

Von ManBatt has been banned from this site for a week for deliberately missatributing quotes again. He went to the UK site when he had over 520 views on his blog!! The general concensus is that he has broken his finger in the process. He was then banned from the UK site for stepping out of his cage and commenting where he wasn't allowed to. Byron is keeping us sated with the occasional classic post from Ranger. The general chit chat has improved namely due to the subject matter. Farts, vegetables and classic recipes. This is Bellboy reporting.

[KevJGK]

Von ManBatt has been banned from this site for a week for deliberately missatributing quotes again. He went to the UK site when he had over 520 views on his blog!! The general concensus is that he has broken his finger in the process. He was then banned from the UK site for stepping out of his cage and commenting where he wasn't allowed to. Byron is keeping us sated with the occasional classic post from Ranger. The general chit chat has improved namely due to the subject matter. Farts, vegetables and classic recipes. This is Bellboy reporting.

Thank you for your excellent reporting.

[Steve G]

Just had a glorious 2 weeks in Cuba, no Internet, mobile phone etc. I notice 46 more pages have arisen. Anything meaningful happened, I cant be arsed to trawl through that lot!

Thanks in anticipation
Steve

Von ManBatt has been banned from this site for a week for deliberately missatributing quotes again. He went to the UK site when he had over 520 views on his blog!! The general concensus is that he has broken his finger in the process. He was then banned from the UK site for stepping out of his cage and commenting where he wasn't allowed to. Byron is keeping us sated with the occasional classic post from Ranger. The general chit chat has improved namely due to the subject matter. Farts, vegetables and classic recipes. This is Bellboy reporting.

Thanks
I can get on with something meaningful now !

[Byron Drachman]

Stay strong. I know it is not easy to quit cold turkey so here is another gem. It should help you get through the day:

June 1, 2007:If my training keeps going as well as it is but I don't row 6:20 this next year, I won't be much interested in competitive erging from now on. I'll just row OTW and use the erg for general conditioning.

[JimR]

Stay strong. I know it is not easy to quit cold turkey so here is another gem. It should help you get through the day:

June 1, 2007:If my training keeps going as well as it is but I don't row 6:20 this next year, I won't be much interested in competitive erging from now on. I'll just row OTW and use the erg for general conditioning.

Considering where things are at the moment I think this should validate ranger's truth in posting ... he has given up on competitive erging and does use the erg for general conditioning.

JimR

[Steve G]

Latest news, the latest DF fad is now 120 !!

[Byron Drachman]

Latest news, the latest DF fad is now 120 !!

Hi Steve, Thanks for that update. It is good to know what the DF du jour is.

Hi Eliot, The thyme, sage, and celery sound like tasty additions to the Shephard's pie. I have added celery to my shopping list. We have a bag that at one time contained fairly fresh celery. That celery has morphed into a barely identifiable slimy mess. There is a plastic tray in the refrigerator (I still call it an ice box) that is called a (vegetable) crisper. Someone once pointed out to me that it is silly to call that thing a crisper. You put vegetables into that tray and they rot. It should be called a rotter. That's what we call it in our house.

Of course once vegetables are past it, they can cause more gas, and that returns us to the topic at hand.

[NavigationHazard]

Pad Thai tonight, with tofu, mushrooms, cabbage, carrots, onions and garlic. Plus an excellent Chilean malbec. We'll see what the propulsive effects are tomorrow morning.

[Bob S.]

We'll see what the propulsive effects are tomorrow morning.

Had some salsa on beans for lunch today. I'll find out how much of a comet effect (fiery tail) it has along with the propulsion.

Bob S.