Spring cycling

Shamrock leaves

Today was an example of the best cycling weather Ottawa provides: bright and a bit cool. With a light jacket, slow periods in the shade were comfortable. With more ventilation, hard runs out in the sunshine were.

Crisscrossing the city, I managed to pick up one of my favourite mushrooms (Pleurotus eryngii) for dinner. They aren’t terribly flavourful, but I like the texture and they fry up most enjoyably with butter and garlic. I also got fancy bread in the Glebe and black bean dip for it in the Byward Market. I got a good bit of reading done, and I got some of my first real cardiovascular exercise since fall. Cycling along the canal provides a nice illustration of the power of sunlight. The areas that get sun for a fair period each day are entirely clear, while areas of northern exposure still have nearly a metre of snow and ice piled upon them.

Spring is certainly a dramatic transition in Ottawa. Judging by the number of square centimetres of exposed skin getting exposed to sunlight today, as much vitamin D was probably produced in the last 12 hours as in the preceding 12 weeks.

Author: Milan

In the spring of 2005, I graduated from the University of British Columbia with a degree in International Relations and a general focus in the area of environmental politics. In the fall of 2005, I began reading for an M.Phil in IR at Wadham College, Oxford. Outside school, I am very interested in photography, writing, and the outdoors. I am writing this blog to keep in touch with friends and family around the world, provide a more personal view of graduate student life in Oxford, and pass on some lessons I've learned here.

5 thoughts on “Spring cycling”

  1. Sounds like a great ride.

    Weather in Vancouver also is promising for this morning. Maybe a good day to get out on El Mago (my Merlin) who has been sitting in my stable as I relied on Red (my hybrid) and Tempo (my rain bike) through the winter. Loops of Park Drive seem in order as I never tire of it.

    Definitely to season to get out. Thanks for inspiring me to do so.

  2. Ah, the majestic pleurotus eryngii. I Wikipedia’d you well. Did you find it in the wild? Or at the market?

    I’m glad to hear you had such a good cycling trip, and that your vit.D is being replenished.

    .. Spring! :)

  3. I doubt Milan found king trumpets in the wild in Ottawa. As far as I know these do not grow in the area and it is still too early for mushrooms. The first interesting harvest will occur in about 6 weeks with morels. There will be a few oyster mushrooms too (they are in the same family as pleurotus eryngii).

    Can’t wait for chanterelle season in july!

  4. I like Pleurotus eryngii more than ordinary oyster mushrooms, largely because of the texture.

    I need to find a pleasing way to cook the dried chanterelles I have in my cupboard.

  5. Dried chanterelles are good in sauces.

    An easy and delicious way to cook dried chanterelles and almost any dried mushroom is to soak them in hot water for 30 minutes; then gently cook shallot in a pan with a little bit of oil; add white wine or sherry or marsala or even brandy; reduce by half; add the mushrooms with their juice (if you are a perfectionist you will pass the broth through a coffee filter to remove impurities); reduce again by half; add cooking cream; reduce until your sauce covers the back of a spoon; then add chopped green onion and parsley. It goes very well with light meat like chicken but vegetarians will probably prefer pasta or potatoes.

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