For best results, keep it brisk!

No excuses today for not getting outside and doing something, like taking a brisk walk, which I did this morning. Nice! Perfect weather for the next day or so, giving me and the a/c a much-needed break.

Speaking of exercise, a study published in the June 28 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine (part of the long-term Harvard Nurses Study II) concerning exercise and weight control in young women. Namely, it compared bicycle riding to walking in regard to weight management. The finding is that the women who regularly either rode bicycles, walked briskly, or engaged in other physical activities for 30 minutes per day gained significantly less weight than women who walked slowly as a form of physical activity.

While the above is good news in nice weather, when the outdoors turns into the jungle without the helicopters whizzing overhead a la Apocalypse Now, it's time to find other exercise options. Like the gym, but certainly not the "affordable" options mentioned in the Washington Post the other day. (What, that article was supposed to be serious?) No way, I'm renewing my membership in the gym at the local community rec center, which only runs $35 for three months (slightly over $100 for the entire year), and allows unlimited access to its decent gym. If I were desperate to get to a gym, and the rec center's was full, I'd head to the nearby Capitol Sports Complex (the old Run 'N' Shoot), which you can visit for $10 a pop, and offers access to a spacious gym.

Good ways to keep it toned without taking up the dreaded activity of jogging/running for my life.

Red meat!

With all that's going on in the world today, the most sustained gasping in the media concerned research published in the current Archives of Internal Medicine, "Meat Intake and Mortality." I suppose the brouhaha stems from the unusually large number of its participants, over 500,000 in all. It certainly can't be because the findings are novel, because there have been smaller previous studies which came to a similar conclusion, namely that consumption of red meat and processed meat notably increases people's risk of developing cancer. Also significant is that the study found that consuming "the other white meat," pork, increases one's risk of cancer, unlike consuming poultry and seafood.

What's unclear, and which can't be discovered by such a study, in which participants responded to a detailed questionnaire, are overall differences between the actual dishes consumed by heavy red meat eaters and those partial to poultry. For instance, what is contained in the "chicken mixtures" mentioned as a type of white meat consumed by some participants? Since so many people eat prepared foods and in restaurants, it's possible that many poultry and seafood dishes and sandwiches differ markedly from those composed of red meat--namely, I suspect that many white meat and seafood dishes contain higher amounts of vegetables, and a greater variety of them, than do red meat dishes.

The basic slant of all the panic is that doing without red meat is a hardship. Please, tell that to my taste buds. All they know is, insert flavorful seasoned food and enjoy!

In that spirit, I decided to try a new product that I spied at a new Giant Food, Melissa's soyrizo (vegan chorizo). It looked promising, and even had an enticing garlicky, peppery aroma as soon as I broke open the casing to prepare dinner...

The bright red (paprika) color and crumbly texture were the clues that told me that this "sausage" follows The Rule of All Good Food--namely, that good food is messy. The red goop all over my hands as I was making small patties confirmed that the soyrizo conforms to this rule, as did the fantastic smell wafting all over the house as I pan fried them in a bit of oil in a nonstick pan.

This preparation was to get the patties ready to top homemade pizza--homemade dough, topped by spaghetti sauce and mozzarella slices, ground fennel, thinly sliced onion, Italian seasoning, with the soyrizo. As this "sausage" is not a lowfat dish, there's no need to, say, sprinkle olive oil over the pizza after you remove it from the oven. (Although I still added a bit of oil to the pizza's naked edges.)

The (admittedly blurry, but decidedly tasty) result:

Homemade pizza dough is quick to make; in fact, the entire pizza can be in your mouth in an hour! Heeeeeerre it is...

Homemade Pizza Dough (enough for six slices of one large pizza)

1/2 cup warm water

1 package active dry yeast

pinch sugar

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. olive or canola oil

~1 1/2 cups whole wheat or all purpose flour

favorite pizza toppings--sauce, cheese, etc.

In a medium bowl, place the water, yeast, and water, and stir with a fork. Cover the bowl with a plate, and let sit in a warm spot for 5 minutes. Grease the pizza pan with a bit of margarine.

After five minutes, the yeast mixture should be bubbly. Stir in the salt, oil, and the flour a half a cup at a time, stirring after each addition. Add a bit of flour to the counter, and knead the dough for a couple of minutes. Then, return the ball of dough to the bowl, cover with a plate, and let rest for 15 minutes. Preheat oven to 415 degrees Fahrenheit. Prepare topping(s).

The dough should have risen some and be soft, but not sticky. If it's sticky, add a bit of flour to your hands, and pat into the pizza pan. Add the sauce, cheese, toppings, and bake for 10 minutes. When the cheese is well browned and the crust lightly browned, remove the pizza from the oven, cut into slices, and serve.