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…During a typical racing season, I spend nearly eight months on the road, so during the fall and winter, I really enjoy being at home in Graz. Don’t get me wrong; I love the empowering experience and exhilaration of exploring entirely unfamiliar places, and I’m not sure I’ll ever get enough of that fix. But there’s also a part of me that longs to feel settled, grounded, and home. I guess you could say I miss my Heimat. Overall, I think this unconventional profession strikes a perfect balance for me: I travel like crazy during the season, then get to recharge at home during the off-season before doing it all over again…

To read the whole article, click here!

Das grüne Herz Österreichs. I love it!

…. I hadn’t had Good Legs in more than a year. Sure, I’d had Fit Legs and Pretty Good Legs, which if raced with cunning can still yield a win. But that day, for the first time in a long time, I really (as affirmed by my powermeter) had Good Legs.

I didn’t want to stop riding, but began to lose daylight. I hit one last climb and paused near the top. Below me rows of olive trees cast lavender shadows across the hill, sloping down to the Mediterranean. The sun hung low on the horizon, its glow refracted red across the Tuscan landscape, which slipped into warm hues as New Year’s Day 2011 ebbed slowly out to sea.

Visions of the past twelve months flashed through my mind—pushing a walker through the hospital in Qatar, tedious hours of physical therapy, my first race win of the year in Bischofshofen, among others. In many moments I’d felt utterly crushed and hopeless, but with a lot of support and stubborn perseverance, met each challenge, and finally here I stood—happy, grateful and on Good Legs.

… to read the full column, click here!

Of course, I couldn’t leave without taking at least some photos. During a run to the local bike shop, I snapped these shots.

I loved the neon colors of the festival decorations and used the Accent Color function on my little Canon to emphasize the flamboyant contrast between modern and traditional.

Stay tuned for more stories and a few more images, which I’ll soon be posting to my column Anywhere Road on TripleCrankset.com. You can also follow these adventures on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/ambermalika

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Winter in Austria is spectacular. Every Hütte and Gasthaus offers gemütlich warmth with cozily intricate carpentry, fireplaces and hearty dishes, but the real party is outdoors – from the unparalleled natural beauty of dramatic mountain pistes and snowy Nordic trails, to the shining holiday markets in every town square, bustling with crowds, lights, music, hot fresh waffles, roasted chestnuts and steaming Glühwein. There is no cowering from the elements, no huddling away from the cold. Instead, people embrace the outdoors as enthusiastically in the dead of winter as they do in the heat of summer (perhaps even more so).

… to read the whole column, click here.

I wanted to use everything up in a healthful dish, and since it looks like this outside,

I also wanted the dish to be hearty.

My solution: brown rice risotto with sweet potatoes.  For a dish made completely from leftovers and whatever was in the cupboard, it turned out tasty enough that David requested we make it again sometime. A compliment that good warrants a recipe post, so here it is.

Sweet Potato Risotto

2 cups short grain brown rice
5 cups stock*
2 cups white wine
3 small white onions, chopped
3 cloves of garlic, chopped
2 large yams, baked but still firm, cubed
1 medium head radicchio, shredded**
4 tsp smoked paprika***
2 TBSP olive oil
120 grams (4-5 oz) spicy pork sausage (Cevapcici)
toasted pine nuts for garnish (optional)

In a heavy stock pot (or large, deep skillet) over medium heat, cook the sausage, breaking it up into small pieces as you do. Once it is cooked through, drain off the fats and oils, then set the sausage aside in a separate dish.

Wipe the residual oil from the stock pot, then add olive oil, onions, garlic and 2 teaspoons smoked paprika. Stir over medium heat until onions begin to soften.  Add the sausage and mix until combined.

Add the rice and stir until each grain is coated with olive oil/onion/sausage/garlic mixture. Add a cup of stock, bring to a simmer, then turn the heat down to low.  Allow the mixture to simmer on low heat until the stock is absorbed. Add a cup of white wine and simmer on low heat until absorbed.  Add another cup of stock and another cup of wine, and simmer until absorbed. Add the third cup of stock, and again stir and simmer until absorbed.

The rice should be a tad chewy at this point (think al dente). Add yams, the fourth cup of stock and another 2 teaspoons of smoked paprika (more if needed); stir to combine. Simmer until stock is absorbed.

Fold in the shredded radicchio, and stir in the remainder of the stock. Continuing stirring over low heat until the moisture is absorbed and the risotto has a creamy texture.

At this point, do a taste test. Check if the rice is cooked through (you want it cooked, but not overdone and mushy; it should be chewy, but not raw in the middle of the grains). If the rice isn’t done yet,  add more stock 1 cup at a time and continue stirring until rice is cooked, all moisture is absorbed and the risotto has a nice creamy texture. If needed, add more paprika or salt to taste (whether or not you need salt will depend on how salty your stock is). Stir until well combined.

Serve warm with a garnish of toasted pine nuts.

Mahlzeit!

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* 5 cups stock probably sounds like a lot for risotto, but brown rice takes a long time to cook, which means a lot of moisture will evaporate as you make the dish. You may need more or less than this, so let the rice be your guide. You need enough to make sure it gets thoroughly cooked, but not mushy.

** David thought the dish could use more radicchio. If you try this, let me know how you like it!

*** It is key to use Smoked Paprika (not regular Paprika), and I heartily support liberal seasoning for this dish.