I’ll preface this review by saying I’m not really a “soup person.” But on my journey toward a more environmentally friendly lifestyle, I recognize the value of a food category that’s nutritious, plant-based, and easy to prepare. There’s a reason soup has been part of the human diet for centuries, a staple meal of which you can find some iteration in nearly every culture.
In fact, it was half a world away in the Himalayas that Yvon Chouinard, famed mountaineer and the founder of Patagonia, discovered the inspiration for his company’s version of Tsampa soup. A mix of sprouted, roasted barley and veggies, the dehydrated soup is one of four varieties offered by Patagonia Provisions.
For a company aggressively committed to sustainability and to “solutions to the environmental crisis,” food is a natural progression in Patagonia’s scope. The food industry is facing a crisis—overgrazed prairies, antibiotic-laden livestock, unsustainable crop systems—and Patagonia wants to find solutions to repair the broken food chain. That starts with an offering of food products under the name Patagonia Provisions that seek to understand their own sourcing.
Johnie Gall
Which brings me back to soup: If you’re looking to culinary roots, this is a good place to start. And because there are few things more disappointing than being stuck in the backcountry with a subpar dinner, we decided to taste test Patagonia’s entire soup line to know which variety to reach for next time we ventured out for an overnight backpacking trip.
Patagonia currently offers five varieties of soups and chilis, plus a series of savory grain mixes and breakfast grains. Each dehydrated blend is vegan, certified organic, and non-GMO, and comes in a shelf-stable bag.
All of the soups cook similarly: boil 2 cups of water, cook for a minute, then let sit while covered for approximately 10 minutes (you can continue to heat if you aren’t trying to save fuel).
The bags aren’t resealable, and didn’t hold up well to having hot water poured in them, making them slightly less convenient for backpacking than other blends on the market. In all fairness, the instructions don’t say to cook in-bag, but I thought it couldn’t hurt to try since I’m all for saving weight in a backpack. I poured the mix back in a pot and cooked over a camp stove instead.
Johnie Gall
At $7 per bag and two servings per bag, the retail price isn’t all that high for such high-quality and organic ingredients. However, for a big day in the mountains, a single bag feels like just enough food for one person, and even then you may need to add in some of Patagonia Provisions’ sockeye salmon for a truly filling meal.
Johnie Gall
Most protein: Organic Black Bean Soup. Chipotle and sweet corn make for a more flavorful take on black bean soup than I was expecting, and with 17 grams of protein, it’s your most filling option. Patagonia suggests adding some avocado slices, Cotija cheese, and a tortilla—I think that’s the ticket to making this one a meal.
Most comforting: Organic Original Red Bean Chili. This is your soup if you’re looking for true comfort food—Patagonia’s version of classic meatless chili tastes home cooked. With red and pinto beans, tomatoes, carrots, bell peppers and both spicy and original options (I tried the original version), this blend is packed with both protein and flavor. It’s a bit salty, but that might be just the ticket after a big day of hiking, so take that with a grain of, well, you know.
Easiest on stomach: Organic Green Lentil Soup. Made with whole-grain bulgur wheat, veggies, spices and green lentils, this soup is hearty without giving you that lead-in-the-stomach feeling. It’s less flavorful than the other varieties, and my least favorite tasting of the bunch, but it left me feeling the most energetic after eating.
Best overall taste: Organic Tsampa Soup. I knew this would be my favorite when I smelled it cooking. It’s a bit salty, but not overpowering, and the chewiness of the barely gave the whole soup a nice texture. A splash of hot sauce or a drizzle of olive oil (and some bread) is all you need to make this a back-at-home dinner favorite, too.
In my one-woman throw down, comparing Patagonia Provisions soup flavors made for a rather non-controversial competition—mostly because all of the soup varieties were nutritious, easy to cook, and really tasty. With every version stacking up on the right side of the taste scale, it’s easier than ever to eat lower on the food chain. I may not be a “soup” person quite yet, but knowing my next backpacking meal is helping transform the health of our food systems certainly makes me want the title.
The Baja 1000 is one of the world’s toughest off-road races, and few are talented (and crazy) enough to run it solo on two wheels. We follow along as one madman goes for glory.
RICK THORNTON is fuming. Over the past 18 hours, the veteran dirt bike rider has covered more than 500 miles of hard terrain, carving his way through a relentless gauntlet of sandy washes, ruts, and steep mountain passes that combine to make the Baja 1000 arguably the toughest off-road motorsport race in the world. Whereas most other pro motorcycle racers are competing on teams of four, Thornton, 52, is trying to “Ironman it”—complete the race solo. Having ridden more or less nonstop since the race’s predawn start, he just battled two rivals over a nasty section of bumps to give himself a cushion coming into the most important pit stop on the course.
And he can’t find his crew.
“I’m pissed off, my mind is playing tricks on me, and I need a break,” he says. “Where is my team?”
His hands are numb, and his knees are buckling from constantly riding up in the attack position. The bike is even worse off: His front brake is slipping, and the taillight and GPS are busted. Then there are the damned trucks. Released seven and a half hours behind the motorbikes, the trophy trucks, as they’re called—each one a growling 1,000-horsepower juggernaut—would be catching up any minute now, thrashing an already sinister racecourse.
A fast-talking Oklahoman with cool-blue eyes and a grizzled goatee, Thornton has proven reserves of willpower. As a 5’11” freshman in college, he’d walked onto the 1985 University of Oklahoma football team, the year they won the NCAA title. In his 30s, he picked up competitive jiu-jitsu and, at 45, took gold in a world championship event. The first time he ran the Baja 1000, in 2006 with his brother, his team winged it and finished strong after going out and drinking “more than a few beers” the night before.
But two previous attempts at running it solo had taught him that success demanded more than a never-say-die attitude: The first ended in physical collapse and near death; the second in disqualification for finishing over the allotted 36-hour time limit after one too many crashes.
Now he scans shadowy roadside camps for a familiar face. “I’m pretty much screwed,” he says, with another 300 miles to go before the finish line.
Riders start in the dark, struggling to keep upright until daylight, when the harder sections begin.Jason Motlagh for Men's Journal
SOMEWHERE BETWEEN an ultramarathon on wheels and a fever dream, the SCORE Baja 1000, as it is officially called, is an infamous race through the Mexican backcountry where anything still goes. Inspired by a company-sponsored project to test the durability of Honda motorcycles, the “granddaddy of off-road races” has been run on the namesake peninsula since 1967. It has attracted top competitors from around the world and Hollywood motorheads including Paul Newman, James Garner, and Steve McQueen.
Big-brand sponsors and cameras have followed, but the rogue, egalitarian spirit endures. Million-dollar trophy trucks share the course with motorcycles, quads, and stock Volkswagen bugs. Public roads are never shut down, meaning any local hero can jump onto the course. Nearly half of the competitors who start it don’t finish, and the prize money is a pittance. Yet every November, top riders, among them champions from NASCAR and Formula One, continue to flock to this desert crucible.
“When you finish a race in Baja, it’s like you’ve lived 100 lives,” says Roger Norman, the 2008 trophy truck champion and owner of SCORE (Southern California Off-Road Enthusiasts) International, the promotion company that organizes the race. “There’s nothing so exhilarating as doing something extremely dangerous and surviving. If this was super safe, all these guys wouldn’t be here.”
In the days before the race, downtown Ensenada, its starting point, becomes a raucous carnival. Thousands of fans throng streets thumping with cumbia music and the rumble of supercharged engines. The sweet smell of hot churros mingles with racing fuel as competitors go through final checkups and parade down the main strip to shouts and whistles.
“These men are playing with their lives,” says Jesus Romero, 47, a sombrero-wearing restaurant owner from Ciudad Juarez who comes out for the race every year.
The Baja 1000 is run either as a point-to-point, north-to-south race or a northern loop that starts and ends in Ensenada. The 2019 running is an 800-mile loop, and it’s shaping up to be a bruiser. Rains lashed the region for four straight days, forcing a delay for only the second time in 52 years. Entire sections of the course are washed out, some of them underwater.
Rick Thornton before the starting gun.Jason Motlagh for Men's Journal
The night before, all the teams convene at a luxury hotel to learn the details of this year’s race. There are 264 entrants in the contest, and the lobby is abuzz with speculation about course changes and further delays. Amid the swarm of hoodies and ball caps is Robby Gordon, the former NASCAR bad boy, trailing an entourage. Mark Samuels, of the winning 2018 Honda pro moto team, is walking unaided after breaking both femurs in a race seven weeks back. He gets some friendly ribbing from Toby Price, an Australian phenom who won the 2019 Dakar rally with a broken wrist.
Meanwhile, Rick is at his Airbnb rental sleeping (or at least trying to) with an IV pumping saline into his arm. He figured, correctly, that the race would proceed in the morning, and he needs every edge he can get to compete with guys half his age. In 2017, on his first Ironman attempt, he’d managed to complete 80 percent of the race with a broken foot and was on track for a top-three finish, until his kidneys started failing due to overexertion. When his crew found him, Thornton was going blind and barely able to move, still trying to climb back on the bike.
BRAAAP BRAAAAAP. Racers are taking off every minute into the predawn chill. No crowds, no hype, just revving engines and hard stares. “A lot of tough guys out here,” says Thornton, edging up to the starting line. “Let’s get it on.” At 3:17, he gets a green light and vanishes around the corner.
The first stretch is a 200-mile dash down the peninsula. Thornton settles into a steady groove to avoid early mistakes. After passing several racers early on last year, he got carried away and hit a jump at around 60 miles per hour, landing on a rock and dumping face-first. The crash cracked his helmet, bent his handlebars, and had blood squirting out the IV hookup in his arm, “like a stuck hog.” He kept going but never fully recovered mentally. This year, the heavy mud is pulling on the bike, a grind that Thornton is well prepared for.
When you finish a race in Baja, it’s like you’ve lived 100 lives. There’s nothing so exhilarating.
For the last six months, he’d held to a regimen of long desert rides, weight training, and beach runs to build up his endurance. He kneaded rice to harden his grip, an old jiu-jitsu trick. And he packed on an extra 10 pounds of padding to avoid a kidney-failure relapse. His bike, by contrast, is lean. Thornton races a bored-out 2016 KTM 300cc two-stroke, stripped down to 214 pounds, about a hundred pounds lighter than the standard four strokes.
The real racing begins at around mile 220: a grueling, technical mountain traverse that climbs 7,000 feet over a hundred miles. “If you’re weak mentally,” he says, “you’ll break your ass or fall off a cliff.” On the ascent, he starts “swapping paint,” or dueling, with another game Ironman racer. I ride in the chase truck with his crew. Chad Newman, a nine-time Baja 1000 mechanic, is at the wheel. After a quick pit stop at the start crossover, we have several hours to shoot back up and over the mountains to meet Thornton on the Sea of Cortez side, a tight window that has us running a breakneck race of our own. We’ve already blown past police checkpoints and detoured through a construction site when I spot a swarm of helicopters in the near distance. Suddenly, a streak of dust zigzags up the ridge on our left, like the choppers are strafing it with machine guns.
The trophy trucks have been unleashed. The Baja 1000 is now full tilt.
IN THE PIT STOP area around mile 542, a Mad Max–style spectator party has popped up in the desert blackout. Floodlit trophy-team stations with six-man crews and hydraulic tools await the trucks, while speaker boxes blare 50 Cent and ranchero ballads and more than a dozen bonfires rage, surrounded by revelers. The Baja remains a free-for-all where anyone can stake out a place along the racecourse and get dangerously close to the action.
“This race is for the people,” says Fernando Amao, 52. Seated with his 11-year-old grandson, he says he’s been coming here since he was the boy’s age.
Around 9:30 p.m. the first trophy truck screams past in a storm of dust. Everyone cheers. But still no sign of Thornton. We’d expected him to arrive a half-hour before, and his team is getting worried. “This is catastrophic,” one member whispers. His wife, Brandie, paces back and forth. Momentum is everything on such a long, sleepless haul. Lose your way, or stop too long, and you might never recover.
Thornton’s team repaired his bike multiple times at six pit stops along the course.Jason Motlagh for Men's Journal
I walk over to a race tent and eavesdrop. We got a bystander hit by a trophy truck, crackles a voice on the radio. Fans are injured as frequently as racers, though no one is immune: During the 2013 race, champion racer Kurt Caselli died after colliding with an animal. Minutes later, a young man from Colorado walks up to report his teammate has just had a high-speed crash in a remote area, breaking his collarbone and several ribs. The radio operator scrambles an ambulance to pick him up but warns it could take hours given the road conditions.
After another 30 minutes, Thornton shows up, and Brandie, a registered nurse, puts him in her truck’s cab and starts administering an IV drip to combat dehydration. Unable to find us after two hours of scanning and yelling out, Thornton had stopped further down the road and asked another crew to call Brandie. Six men tried to reach her, and one eventually got through. Turns out the team was just two miles away. Thornton blew up. “It’s frustrating,” he vents. “I hate being lost.”
He’s cooled off some by the time another trophy truck surges by, while he waits for his bike to get tooled up. He gives it the finger. “I love trophy trucks,” he says.
Pointing Thornton in the right direction during The Baja 1000.Jason Motlagh for Men's Journal
AT THE FINISH LINE, racers have been staggering in all morning, vehicles in various states of disrepair. We wait past noon, and Brandie is beginning to worry again. The night before, his GPS conked out a second time, and when we met him at the penultimate pit stop, he mentioned two crashes. “I’m tired, I’m hurting, I need more pain pills for my knees,” is about all he managed to grumble.
As we consider the worst, he rounds the final bend and in short order crosses the finish line. Thornton’s time of 32:09:26 is enough, when the official results are later tallied, for fifth place in his class. On the big stage, he hugs out the team and receives a finisher medal.
Thornton buys a beer from the first vendor he sees and takes a slow walk back to his truck, past street plaques honoring Baja champions. He’s now a bona fide Ironman.
“I’ve done some tough races, but that was the gnarliest Baja I’ve ever ridden,” Thornton tells me three weeks later, shaved and chatty again. He ran a clean race for the first half and figures the lost time that night in the pits cost him a top-three finish. The thought still gnaws at him. “I have only myself to blame,” he says.
What about next year? The 2020 race, I remind him, is going to be the classic Baja 1000 point-to-point. “I’m getting old, man,” Thornton sighs. “At my age, it’s such a challenge.” The endless months of prerunning, the hills and sand sprints, the toll on his joints. “Plus,” he deadpans, “Brandie might divorce me.”
Thornton still hasn’t answered the question. I ask again. “I’m retired,” he says, flashing a mischievous smile, “until I change my mind.”
Spending all this time at home can lead to some negative physical side effects. Lounging about all day could lead to some physical ailments, like neck or shoulder pain. But you can help to get rid of that pain by picking up the Coisum Cervical Pillow from Amazon today.
What makes the Coisum Cervical Pillow so helpful with neck/shoulder pain is that it is made from memory foam. The memory foam stays a little hard so it can contour to your head, keeping it in position.
The helpful design of the Coisum Cervical Pillow doesn’t stop there. There are cutouts on the side of the pillow so you can place your top arm somewhere that won’t lead to your shoulder hunching over, leading to more pain.
Amazon
It can be easy to dismiss the Coisum Cervical Pillow as being too good to be true. But if you look at the customer reviews on Amazon, you will see that people love this thing. It’s got a 4.2-star rating out of 5 from 1,315 reviews. You can’t argue with those numbers.
If you are a back or side sleeper, the Coisum Cervical Pillow is the pillow for you. The way it is designed helps to alleviate pain, as is the memory foam that it is made with. It comes with a breathable pillowcase so the entire experience of sleeping on this pillow is comfortable no matter the season.
Like anything online these days, the Coisum Cervical Pillow is sure to be hard to get soon enough. Everyone is looking for comfort for the home and this is some top of the line comfort. So grab a pillow for yourself now while you still can.
The best running shoes for beginners are not the same as what a seasoned marathoner would wear. It’s easy to get overwhelmed shopping for new kicks. There are hundreds of styles out there, each promising to make you faster, absorb more impact, make running feel easier, prevent injury, guide your feet into better movement patterns, and so on and so on. Considering that a good pair of sneakers is literally the only gear requirement for running, it makes sense that brands want to hype any feature that would make a shoe more appealing.
The Best Running Shoes for Beginners: How to Find Your Perfect Match
If you’re new to running, most coaches recommend going to a running specialty store where you can have your gait analyzed. That can definitely point you toward a specific type of shoe (e.g. minimalist, maximalist, or somewhere in between), but remember that the salesperson’s goal is simply to sell a shoe; your goal is to find a shoe that will keep you healthy while racking up the miles (which you should do slowly and gradually).
Turns out, the shoe that feels most comfortable—not the one someone says is right for your foot or gait pattern—is the one that’s going to help you run the most efficiently and best avoid injury, according to research published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine. Make sure to try out (and ask about the return policy!) any recommended pair, and go by what feels most comfortable, not what looks the coolest.
If you’re not sure where to start, these five pairs are runner favorites—and have features that should be especially appealing to beginners.
Here is a recipe that brings both the nutritious meals of daliya and khichdi together and churns out a high-protein lunch meal for lunch. This fusion dish creates a mashup of daliya, moong dal, rice...
A healthy diet with hair-friendly foods is a sure-shot way of getting the hair you always dreamt of. This almond banana smoothie is one drink that will surely help you reach your goal.
Overnight oats are a popular breakfast item, and their health benefits are manifold. But should you prefer overnight oats to regular oats? Here's what we think.
This summer-special pineapple payasam includes the goodness of the fruit to the dish. Alongside its rich taste, pineapple also has several health benefits.
While intermittent fasting may be great for weight loss and show visible results, it may also leads to a weight plateau, when your weight just won't budge.
The non-starchy green vegetable is a treasure trove of health. It is replete with vitamins and minerals like iron, potassium, magnesium, folate and Vitamin C, K, B6.
Egg-cheese bite is a quick and easy recipe that will not only need very basic ingredients, but also can work as a yummy breakfast for you. Both egg and cheese are important part of keto-diet regime.
Turmeric, lemon and ginger are rich in antioxidants and anti-inflammatory properties, which are stated to cleanse the body and strengthen immune system.
Diabetes Management: If you are diabetic or prediabetic, you have to take extra caution, whereas your diet is concerned - sugary goods, refined-flour cereals and breads, processed food and trans-fats...
Indian regional cuisine is all about local ingredients with tantalising flavours. Here's Maharashtra's popular goda masala that is extensively used across the cuisine.
An interesting recipe of carrot cake which was super easy and required only three simple ingredients - grated carrots, condensed milk and self-raising flour.
Lockdown recipe: Bringing two of our most loved meals together, this recipe video of Maggi omelette hit the right chord with all the home chefs in the running.
If constipation and bloating due to gas formation is troubling you, try this natural home remedy. This is fennel and ginger tea that you can easily make at home.
Due to the Coronavirus outbreak and lockdown situation, many of us are working from home. Besides the social distancing and isolation, one also needs to keep a distance from the refrigerator and junk...
There’s something ironic about sleeping in a retired fire lookout while surrounded by the smoke from nearby wildfires. But even the potential lung damage couldn’t keep us away from a night in Washington’s Hidden Lake Lookout.
Perched on the top of a granite peak just beyond the perimeter of North Cascades National Park, surrounded by 360-degree views of jagged mountain ranges and steep glaciers, there are very few places like Hidden Lake Lookout in the world, let alone just a few hours from a major U.S. metro area.
The Hidden Lake Lookout was built in 1932 and actively manned until it was decommissioned in 1953. It has been maintained by volunteers since, primarily by a group that calls itself “Friends of Hidden Lake Lookout.” Hikers willing to take on the four-mile, 3,200-foot climb (and what looks like an unattainable final push up the backside of a mountain) will be rewarded with a self-guided tour of the hut, a historical monument stashed with an archive of time-worn guest books dating as far back as the early ’60s.
Here’s the best part: An overnight stay in the hut is free on a first-come, first-serve basis. On a clear day, that means waking up to a sunrise stretching from Mt. Rainier, and over a good portion of the North Cascades. And if you don’t make it to the hut first, camping among wildflowers in an alpine meadow isn’t exactly the worst consolation prize.
Here, Andy Cochrane and Johnie Gall share their trek from the heart of the Cascades.
The hike begins in a lush forest and immediately heads uphill, climbing over roots and up long sets of wooden stairs.
After about a mile, you break through the trees and reach the alpine, hiking seemingly endless switchbacks through fields of wildflowers. Despite climbing over 1,500 feet in elevation, this hike through wildflowers feels sublime.
The last 1,000 vertical feet to the summit get more rocky, and in early season, the trail is often covered in snow. It’s a steep climb, but cooling off is pretty easy if you’re creative.
The hut itself is first-come, first-serve, so getting an early start is necessary. Capacity in the hut is roughly seven people, so during busy summer weekends be open to sharing the space. Either way, if you’re not planning on doing the trek in a day, be prepared with a tent and sleeping bags. There are a few campsites 500 feet below the hut near the saddle. We decided to try our luck on a weekday, hoping for fewer people (we got the place to ourselves).
Don’t worry about being bored once you get to the summit. The retired lookout is stocked with guide books, binoculars, games and books (we suggest “The Fellowship of the Rings”).
If you’re lucky enough stay a night at the lookout, make sure to stay up for sunset and get up early for sunrise. The light dances off nearby mountains and glaciers, creating a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
In the spring of 2018, professional skier Yann Rausis and filmer/editor Guido Perrini found themselves in a peculiar position—they had Verbier all to themselves. The resort, bustling in the winter, was a ghost town in April.
The pair thought it could be a cool project to film some spring lines in the empty resort and play with the idea of having the run of the place. But with a lack of available action shots they shelved the project.
Verbier was fully open when the pair filmed and Perrini made only a few edits to remove passersby.
Two weeks ago, Rausis and Perrini remembered the footage they shot what feels like eons ago, and with Verbier closed for the season they looked at it in a new light.
“We did all the lifestyle shots of me wandering around the resort being alone, we never finished the edit because we didn’t get enough action shots. We couldn’t shoot extra shots this year because of the virus. For the action shots we went through and took from my archives and edited it together. Guido had the idea to add in the Aftereffects ghosting,” says Rausis.
Amazingly, the closing shot of Rausis drinking a Corona was simply a coincidence. It adds a certain ghostly flair to the film.
Rausis spent the last two years recovering from an injury after a career-best fifth-place finish on the Freeride World Tour. He is currently planning to film a big mountain skiing project in high alpine terrain with Faction this May, if conditions allow. “The season isn’t over yet.”
This article originally appeared on Powder.com and was republished with permission.
When it comes to stocking your bar at home, there are always designated spots for the appropriate bottles. On one shelf, there are your daily drinkers ($30-$50 range). The next shelf up, you have your special occasion sips for the day when you have guests over again (likely in the $100-$200 ballpark). And lastly, on the top shelf, you typically place your flagships—these are the bottles that you crack open on the very finest of evenings (we’re talking $300 and up). And if tequila is your drink of choice, then QUI Rare Extra Anejo needs to be the next bottle you have shipped to your home and placed as the headliner in your bar.
It’s a treat before you even take a sip thanks to the packaging. It’s shipped in a finely crafted box, and the decanter looks and feels like it most certainly belongs nowhere but the top shelf, accented with gold and designed with elegant curves.
The brand aged the tequila 12 years in hand-selected and meticulously matured Tennessee Whiskey and French Bordeaux barrels. The result is that the QUI Rare’s flavor is wonderfully rich and quite possibly might be the smoothest tequila this man’s ever tasted. And the polished, buttery finish really tops off the whole experience. The sophisticated blend of notes—toasted almond, sweet oak, and slight hints of maple—sets this anejo apart from other bottles we’ve previously tasted.
Photo: Courtesy of QUI
Take a sip and you might also notice rich vanilla, tobacco and caramel, giving this extra anejo a complex and wildly unique taste. For our taste test, we found that it became the perfect pairing for our spicy al pastor tacos and slow-cooked carnitas.
The bottom line: This bottle assuredly fits the bill for that special occasion sipper that you and your future guests will be buzzing about all evening.
(As of writing this review, it’s on sale for $100 off).
Welcome to the eighth installment of “AMA From More Than 6-Feet Away,” SURFER’s new interview series wherein the world’s best surfers answer questions submitted by fans via social media in an effort to keep our little surf community well-connected in this time of social distancing. In this new episode, we stray from the norm.
Rather than feature another pro surfer, we hear from Dr. Mark Deaver, a San Diego surfer and emergency room doctor working on the frontline of the COVID-19 pandemic. Click play to hear Dr. Deaver answer your questions on a variety of COVID and non-COVID related subjects. Like: Are surfers more or less at risk of contracting the virus? What do you think about people protesting the re-opening of our economy? Where do you stand on beach and ocean closures?
After you watch this interview with Dr. Deaver, check out our other “AMA From More Than 6-Feet Away” episodes below:
It’s no secret that homemade always trumps store-bought or packaged. And that’s especially the case with beans. It’s also the case that making beans from scratch is a serious pain. First, you have to soak the suckers. Then there’s the long slow simmer, which renders them a no-go for weeknights. It’s no wonder you find yourself reaching for the can opener.
So let’s give yet another round of thanks for the kitchen device du jour—the electric multicooker, which makes working with dried beans as easy as pushing a button. “Dried beans are having a moment right now because of two words: Instant Pot,” says Joe Yonan, author of the recent cookbook Cool Beans. The recipes that follow are all specially designed for multicookers, which get dried beans tender and creamy three times faster than doing it the old-fashioned way on the stove. Start stocking your pantry now.
Spicy Chorizo Black Beans “Al Pastor”
Serves 8
Ingredients
2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 lb chorizo, uncased
2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp dried oregano
1⁄2 tsp cinnamon
1⁄2 tsp garlic powder
1 white onion
2 large garlic cloves
1 lb dried black beans
2 1⁄2 tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt, divided
3 cups water
1⁄2 cup finely diced pineapple
4 tbsp chopped cilantro, divided
Juice of 1 lime, divided
Sour cream, for serving
Crumbled cotija cheese, for serving
Instructions
Heat olive oil in bowl of an Instant Pot or other multicooker with the sauté function. Add and brown chorizo, breaking it up with a wooden spoon. Cook completely through, about 8 minutes. Remove and reserve.
Turn off the sauté function and add the spices, stirring 30 seconds to gently bloom. Cut onion in half. Finely dice one half and reserve for salsa. Chop other half and add to bowl of pressure cooker along with garlic, beans, 2 tsp salt, and water. Cover and cook on high pressure 30 minutes. Allow pressure to release naturally.
While waiting for beans, make salsa by stirring together the reserved onion, pineapple, half of the cilantro, half of the lime juice, and remaining salt. Reserve for serving.
When beans are finished, stir in remaining cilantro, lime juice, and reserved cooked chorizo. Transfer to a serving bowl, top with sour cream, al pastor salsa, cotija cheese, and serve.
We all feel it: Being stuck at home for weeks on end means many people are figuring out some wildly unique ways to pass the time. This is particularly true for outdoor athletes that are unable to get after it in their natural environment right now, including Danny MacAskill.
Last week, MacAskill and his neighbor, Duncan Shaw, decided that they wanted to try something different on a bright, sunny spring day at their homes in Scotland. They decided it would be fun to try and tackle a 30-meter slackline… on their bikes.
At first, this may not seem like such a massive challenge, but as you watch the video above, it certainly seems way more difficult than it sounds. (I mean, if it challenges Danny MacAskill, it must be ridiculously tough.)
Go ahead and press play if you need a 12-minute break today, and see if Danny and Duncan have what it takes to conquer this tricky ol’ slackline. And if you’re considering ordering one for your house, maybe just skip the bike.
Who says you can’t make an incredibly impressive meal with just a few ingredients? We asked chefs and bloggers to share their go-to quarantine meals that only require five ingredients or less. (The following recipes assume you have salt and pepper, basic spices, cooking spray, soy sauce, and olive oil in your kitchen, so we won’t be counting those towards the tally.) Read on, and get ready for a fuss-free feast. Looking for more cooking inspiration during quarantine? You’ll dig these easy slow cooker recipes.
Lemony Tuna Pasta
ChihYu Smith, founder of I Heart Umami, has our mouths watering with this quick-to-assemble dinner. “This super easy canned tuna pasta recipe with lemon, capers, and parsley is light, refreshing, and packed with lean protein,” says Smith. “You can swap fresh herbs for semi-dried herbs from the pantry, use sun-dried tomatoes (soaked in oil) or pitted olives to replace capers, or add baby spinach to the warm noodles for extra fiber and vitamins.” Get creative with this “everything but the kitchen sink”-style pasta and experiment until you find your go-to combination.
ChihYu Smith of I Heart Umami’s Lemony Canned Tuna Pasta
Makes 4 servings
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 10 minutes
Ingredients:
6 oz. spaghetti
1 can (5 oz.) tuna, in oil no salt added
1 large garlic, crushed or grated
Zest of one whole lemon
2 Tbsp lemon juice
⅓ cup olive oil
¼ tsp coarse sea salt
¼ tsp ground black pepper
2-3 tsp capers, drained Optional: ¼ cup fresh parsley or dill, chopped
How to make it:
1. Bring a big pot of water to boil and lightly salt the water. Cook the spaghetti, following the package instructions.
2. In the meantime, in a large heat-proof bowl, lightly mash the tuna with ingredients from garlic to capers. Set the bowl on the stovetop next to the pasta boiler pot.
3. This will warm up the tuna and the spices in the bowl gently and the tuna stays moist.
4. Add the cooked spaghetti into the tuna bowl. Toss and add the herbs, if using. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Courtesy image
5-Ingredient Black Bean & Spinach Enchiladas
Talia Koren, founder of Workweek Lunch, shares this satisfying recipe where the whole is more impressive than the sum of its parts. “Enchiladas are the perfect easy meal to whip together when you’re bored of your old standbys. All you need is tortillas, enchilada sauce (you could even doctor up marinara for this), spinach, black beans, and cheese,” says Koren. Based on what you have in your pantry, feel free to switch in another kind of beans for black beans.
Talia Koren of Workweek Lunch’s 5-Ingredient Black Bean & Spinach Enchiladas
Makes 3 servings
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 30 minutes
Ingredients:
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 15 oz. cans of black beans (rinsed and drained)
Salt and pepper to taste
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp chipotle powder
6 cups of spinach (fresh or frozen)
1 cup of shredded cheese
1 10 oz. can of enchilada sauce
6 medium tortillas
Cooking spray
Optional: 1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
How to make it:
1. Preheat your oven to 400° F.
2. Add the oil to a skillet over medium heat, followed by the black beans (both cans, rinsed and drained). Add salt and pepper to taste, cumin and chipotle powder/chili powder. Stir and cook for about 5 minutes, until the beans get a little soft. Then add the spinach and cover the pan to let the spinach steam and cook down, about 5 minutes. Stir the spinach and beans together, then add 1 Tbsp enchilada sauce and 3/4 cup shredded cheese. Stir it all together and turn off the heat.
3. Spray a 9×13 baking dish with cooking spray. Pour 1/2 of the remaining enchilada sauce inside the pan and spread it around the bottom with a spatula.
4. Assemble the enchiladas: You’re making 6 total enchiladas (2 per serving) so add about 1/3-1/2 cup of filling to each tortilla. Add filling to the middle and roll up the tortilla, then place it seam down in the prepared baking dish. Repeat the process 5 more times.
5. Pour the remaining enchilada sauce over the tortillas, followed by the remaining cheese (1/2 cup). Bake uncovered for 15-20 minutes, until you can see the sauce bubbling a bit.
6. Let the enchiladas cool for 15-20 minutes, then carefully divide them between three meal prep containers. Top with cilantro if using.
Ron Hsu of Lazy Betty’s Bacon and Veggie Fried Rice
Makes 2 servings
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 10 minutes
Ingredients:
2 cups cooked Jasmine rice
2 eggs
¼ cup broccoli florets
½ cup sliced carrots
¼ cup diced bacon
3 Tbsp canola oil
1 Tbsp soy sauce
Salt and Pepper, to taste
How to make it:
1. Follow the cooking instructions on the Jasmine rice package. Set aside and allow to cool.
6. Add the soy sauce and adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper.
7. Add the egg back and slightly break up the egg; cook for another 15 seconds. Serve and enjoy.
Sam Marvin
Brussels Sprouts With Pistachios
“This customer favorite dish from Echo & Rig is the perfect simple side to make at home during quarantine. Relying on pantry staples and a few readily available produce items, it offers the perfect balance of freshness from the brussels sprouts leaves, acidity from the lemon, richness from the butter, and crunch from the pistachios,” says restaurateur and chef Sam Marvin of Echo & Rig in Sacramento and Las Vegas. In lieu of pistachios, feel free to swap in other nuts you have on hand.
Sam Marvin of Echo & Rig Brussels Sprouts With Pistachios
Makes 2 servings
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 5 minutes
Ingredients:
2 oz. olive oil
1 oz. whole skin off pistachios chopped
12 oz. brussels sprouts; leaves only
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
3 tsp unsalted butter
1 lemon, juiced
Jude Lawn has built an impressive body of work over his career (see: Gattaca, The Talented Mr. Ripley, and Sherlock Holmes franchise), but he isn’t traditionally known for having an imposing physique. So to build an impressive body of work, quite literally, for his role as a British Secret Service agent in The Rhythm Section, he turned to trainer Johnny Silmon.
He put Law through an eight-week bulking phase, followed by 12 weeks of functional work with kettlebells and hammers to first broaden and bolster his 5’10” frame, then forge the power, endurance, and agility required of an agent. Try a sample workout from the bulking phase: The Triset Workout That Transformed Jude Law Into a Secret Service Agent.
Silmon also has an extensive background in the Indonesian martial art of pencak silat (characterized by artistic elements and self-defense), so occasionally their training days included grappling and sparring. “I’ve caught a punch or two from Jude, and he can really throw,” Silmon says.
The Nutrition Strategy for ‘The Rhythm Section’
Law doesn’t start eating until midday, effectively intermittent fasting on the daily. On occasion, he’ll extend the fast for specific shoots. For example, during production on Two Pope, Silmon had Law fast for 36 hours, then introduce carbs at the very end so he popped during the scenes in his Speedo.
That wasn’t necessary on The Rhythm Section. The status quo for Law was eating a clean-protein diet with an emphasis on fish (red meat occasionally), plenty of vegetables, and around three liters of water. In order to put on mass, they’d periodically add a protein shake on top of Law’s meals, but they didn’t go crazy over the macros so long as long as his energy levels were good.
Jude Law’s Recovery Regimen
For Law, the recovery methods that work the best for him are simple yet effective, like his eating habits. Try setting aside time in your training day for meditation and yoga to loosen your body and clear your mind after a maximum effort workout (like the one we’ve outlined above).
The Rhythm Section is now available on digital, Blu-Ray, and DVD.
In The Rhythm Section, Jude Law plays retired-yet-still-deadly British Secret Service agent Ian Boyd, who mentors Blake Lively’s Stephanie Patrick on her journey to becoming a vigilante assassin. For the role, Law had to look convincing as former military muscle, which meant bulking up in all the right places, which he did with long-time trainer Johnny Silmon.
“Jude always puts a good shift in,” says Silmon. In addition to their five sessions a week, Law does an additional two or three on his own. “For the project it wasn’t about hitting a number, it was about making him feel comfortable as an enforcer.”
The program that Silmon designed for Law included eight weeks of bulking and 12 weeks of more quick-moving, functional exercises utilizing kettlebells or hammers. This is a sample day from the bulking phase, where they integrated Olympic lifts and heavy cable work. During this process they were able to put 5 to 7 pounds of muscle on Law, further defining his shoulders and core.
The Triset Workout That Transformed Jude Law Into a Secret Service Agent
Warmup: Start the workout with 3 minutes of jump rope and a 10-minute dynamic warmup.
Directions: Perform each exercise indicated in Triset 1 consecutively, taking 15 seconds rest in between. When you get to the third exercise, rest for 60-90 seconds, then repeat from the top for a total of 3 or 4 rounds before moving on to Triset 2. Repeat until all trisets are complete.
Workout Finisher and Cooldown: End the session with 3 minutes of heavy bag striking, 3 minutes of focus pad work, and 3 minutes of jump rope. Cool down with a light jog and 10 minutes of stretching.
The Rhythm Section is now available on digital, Blu-Ray, and DVD.
We dug out a recipe of gulab jamun that can be made with milk power instead of khoya. You can easily get milk powder from your local grocery store and even online market stores.
A new long-term study, published in European journal of Cardiology, indicated that if prepared the right way, coffee can even extend your life; and the method is proper filtration.
The Nimbu Soda recipe is the ultimate refreshing drink to have in summer. It takes hte Nimbu Pani a step further with soda replacing water in the traditional recipe.
For the ones staying alone and stuck in this lockdown situation, we bring you an easy step-by-step recipe of baingan ka bharta that will reflect 'maa ke hath ka swad'.
While all the ingredients for baking are usually present in our kitchen, yeast is something we don't normally buy and stock. You can still bake with these effective yeast alternatives.
We have all heard of bizarre pizza toppings such as pineapple or kiwi, but those are just the tip of the iceberg. Unusual toppings are found aplenty all across the globe!
Did you ever think of having raita as a dessert? Yes, here we bring you a mixed fruit raita recipe, which can be considered as a tasty and healthy replacement of a creamy fruit bowl.
We bring you a quick, easy and yummy recipe that will help you to get a healthy and glowing skin naturally. It is the ever-comforting mango-muskmelon smoothie!
Think of indulging in your next meal, and you are sure to picture a plate of aromatic biryani. Here is how you can cook a delicious biryani at home, in a microwave!
If you are in a mood to cook something luscious and decadent, this is one recipe that will surely impress everyone on your dining table. And guess what? It is not that tough to put together either,
You can consider adding more nuts to your diet. They not only break the monotony but also bring with them a range of health benefits. Nuts and seeds like almonds, walnuts, pecans, sunflower seeds,...
Sample a host of flavours in this bhindi sabzi, wherein the eclectic flavour of bhindi is enhanced by rich onion-tomato paste and tomato puree, along with some common Indian spices.
Rasam is the ultimate comfort food for many South Indians. Eeya Sombu is one of the many utensils hat is used almost exclusively for rasam and about which you will hear many stories.
Almost everyone has experienced a bee or wasp sting at some point in his or her life. For most of us, it’s no big deal. But for some, it can be deadly.
According to a study in Wilderness & Environmental Medicine, 220,000 people visit the emergency room each year due to a bee, hornet, or wasp sting… and 60 of those visits result in fatalities.
When you’re outdoors, it’s important to take precautions to avoid bees and wasps and know the proper protocol should you get stung (especially if you’re allergic).
We’ve rounded up some tips for avoiding bees/wasps, what to do should you encounter one, and how to properly treat a sting.
Electric vehicles get all the love. Driving a gas-electric hybrid might have made you the greenest guy on the block a few years ago, but times have changed. Pure plug-in electrics now hold the moral high ground, and manufacturers like GM and Volkswagen are doubling down R&D dollars on them—and leaving hybrids behind.
But the gas-electric engine isn’t dead yet: Take the 2020 Toyota Highlander Hybrid, above, a family hauler that competes in the packed midsize SUV segment. These beasts are tasked with devouring miles on the way to soccer games, or Quidditch matches for contrarians. Of the nearly 30 on the market, none sniff the Highlander Hybrid’s 35 mpg with up to 601 miles per tank—all while carrying eight.
That’s a massive 28 percent improvement in fuel economy from the outgoing model, thanks mostly to a 360-pound weight savings. While the Highlander Hybrid doesn’t offer thrilling acceleration, its 243 horsepower is just enough for the task at hand. And a family hauler’s other task is to alleviate road trip boredom, so there’s a giant 12.3-inch touchscreen and 1,200-watt stereo, both of which are controllable by voice through Alexa.
Fair warning: Let the kids in back talk to her and you might hear the Frozen II soundtrack on repeat during long drives, but at least it’ll end quickly, considering you won’t be stopping for gas too often.
Chances are that when you read this, you’re not camped out on the Pacific Crest Trail somewhere, sawing down your kindling for just the right minimalist campfire and deboning the fish that has to sustain you for a two-days’ hike to the next outpost. And chances are that you’re not a tech repairman who spends entire days in ducts with limited tools.
In reality, most of us are working to find that balance between career, home life and our passion for the outdoors. And that means that in the same week, we might be assembling a new weight bench, wiring speakers into our refinished basement, or even just opening a can of baked beans.
For far flung adventures or close to home, the Leatherman Free P4 is the tool.Coen
And therein lies the beauty of the Leatherman Free P4 ($139.95)—quite possibly the most well-thought-out multi-tool we’ve ever used.
Without ease of access, tools are essentially ineffective. The Free P4 is something of a feat of micro engineering, packing 21 tools into a handy 8.6-ounce, 4.25-inch piece. And they’re all easy to access with just a short learning period.
Leatherman has always had a reputation for being solid. They’re made extremely well, and made in Portland, Oregon (a part of the country with a long history of both rugged work and outdoor adventure).
What you may first notice about the P4 however, is the feel created by the magnet opening and closure: a smooth, reassuring movement. All of the tools lock and many of the features are operable with one hand, because we all know how often the other hand is full (if not both.) Leatherman has packed all the tools we might need for jobs both domestic and in the wild, efficiently into one tool.
And we decided to test out the most functional. The only thing it’s missing is a surfboard fin key (hint hint).
