Healthy Living

The New Year is ushering in some sweet changes over here at Locomotive Clothing HQ - we are working hard to minimize our ecological footprint, live well on a budget and incorporate more healthy eating habits.

We're inspired by this great little video series by Food Network star Alton Brown. Though some might find his enthusiasm a little, well, annoying, he dishes out some great advice here.

Check it out, below:

***SUMMER SALE****

20% off all sweet Locomotive Clothing gear, right now over in the shop. Type "Summer Sale" in message to seller on checkout and receive a speedy Pay Pal refund!

Happy Shopping!

Locomotive Clothing's new Handle Bar Mustache Tee

I love this new graphic. The mustache is totally sassy and cute, and these tees are the first we have ever screened ourselves by hand.


The Handle Bar Mustache is also available in white, soon to be in Locomotive Clothing's Etsy shop.

Lest Bacon think I’m Cheating on it with Butter, Here is More of Nature’s Perfect Food

This Carbonara is amazing.

Be sure to cook your pasta properly. Again, use lots of vigorously boiling, heavily salted water. Keep tasting so you don’t overcook. If you overcook pasta you might as well throw some jarred sauce on it and call it a day.

This is best served for one or two. It can be tricky in large quantities and you don’t want to scramble the eggs. It would not be cool.

First chop several rashers of bacon or pancetta and fry in a hot pan. While it cooks put the pasta water on the boil and crack two eggs into a bowl with some shredded Parmigiano Reggiano or Grana Padano cheese. A half cup will do and you might want to grate a little extra to finish the Carbonara as well. When the bacon is almost perfectly brown and crisp add a few cloves of chopped garlic. Give that a minute to work its magic then throw a cup of booze into the mix, preferably white wine or vermouth. Vodka works too in a pinch. Go ahead and take a slug, you’re a grown up now and you can do whatever you want. Rub the pan a bit with a spoon to get those lovely bacon bits off the bottom. Let the booze bubble away into a reduced golden syrup.

Of course the water has boiled by now and you added enough spaghetti or linguine for the one or two of you and given it a few stirs. Right before the noodles are al dente, remove a mugful of the pasta water and reserve.

Working quickly, use tongs to lift the pasta out of the pot and into the bacon pan. Don’t worry about draining too much – the starchy water is a good thing. Give this a toss or two. Now slowly whisk half of the reserved pasta water into the eggs. Be sure not to add it too fast and scramble them. Turn off the heat and carefully incorporate the egg mixture into the pasta. The heat of the noodles will cook the eggs and if you toss it fast enough they should not scramble. Add more pasta water if the mixture is on the dry side and top with copious amounts of freshly ground pepper. Chow down with a huge glass of white wine and a feeling of self-satisfaction.

The Morning after the Night Before

This is a sure-fire hangover helper when combined with a tall glass of fresh OJ and a mug of strong coffee, best eaten in a sunny window while discussing last night’s adventures.

The trick is to let the shallots get nice and caramelized. You want them sweet and chewy on the outside and soft in the middle. For two people you need: 5-7 shallots, a few cups of frozen hash browns or leftover cooked little potatoes, 4 rashers of bacon, a dozen mini tomatoes (or one to two small regular sized ones) and 3 or 4 eggs, preferably organic and free range.

Skin the shallots and slice the larger ones in half lengthwise. Get your griddle or frying pan medium hot and add olive oil and the shallots. I tend to not move them around too much in the first 5 to 10 minutes, you want them to cook long and slow and get a nice browning going. Meanwhile cut the potatoes if necessary as well as the tomatoes if they aren’t minis.

When the shallots have been going for a good 10 to 15 minutes and you have turned them over and pushed them around a few times, add the bacon and cook for five minutes or so on each side. This may take longer, depending on the size and quality of your pan. When the bacon looks almost done, throw in the potatoes and mingle with the bacon and now gorgeous browned shallots. Basically treat the potatoes the same way, leaving for several minutes and flipping or stirring only when necessary. A nice browning is ideal here too. If the bacon starts too look to crisp for your liking remove them from direct heat and place on top of the potatoes.

When the potatoes are looking nice and brown and crisp, season with salt and pepper and push them aside a little to place the tomatoes onto direct heat. Give these a stir a few times, and cook until they are nice and hot and the skin is a little wrinkly. Mix the whole mess together one more time and push aside to make a few holes for the eggs to drop into. Crack the eggs and nestle into the pan. Again with the salt and pepper and put a lid on the whole thing. You might be worried about burning the hash browns or shallots at this time, but a little crispiness never hurt anyone (with the exception of those pesky carcinogens). If you are really stressing about it remove the pan from heat but leave the lid on.

In a few minutes time your egg should be nice and set. Leave it longer if you don’t like it runny, though I think runny egg is ideal for this recipe and gives you a little sauce of sorts. Think of it as the simplest form of Hollandaise. And I know you like your Hollandaise.

Best served with a few dashes of hot sauce and maybe some ketchup or HP if that’s your bag.

Busting out the Crafty Action at Got Craft? this Sunday

Locomotive Clothing is thrilled to be participating in the Got Craft show this weekend, Sunday May 2nd. We have a bunch of new product to debut and will be selling alongside dozens of amazing artists. Come to the show and make sure you stop by Locomotive's table for a chat!

Strawberry and Chèvre Salad

Lest you think all I eat is fish sauce and butter, here's a nice plate of freshness. This salad has evolved a great deal over the past few years from an initial and complicated attempt to recreate a restaurant chain's "California" version. For a time I painstakingly prepared candied pecans and rolled the goat's cheese in poppyseeds. Both details were delicious but this simple rendering is as satisfying and incredibly easy.

Any crumbled soft goat's cheese mixed with chopped fresh herbs will do but I have been using a fabulous mixture I accidentally invented a while back when I was in zealot dinner party mode. I was making a simple green salad with chèvre to serve alongside a gorgeous pile of steaming Choucroute and I went way overboard in the amount of cheese I marinated in olive oil and herbs. The leftover mixture proved endlessly useful. I recommend trying it yourself. Crumble plain chèvre, drizzle with good olive oil and add chopped fresh thyme and rosemary. This will keep well covered in the refrigerated for ages. Possible uses include stirring into scrambled eggs and pasta dishes, spreading on sandwiches or burgers, or as a convenient treat with crackers and a nice glass of wine.

So, the salad. Dress three or four huge handfuls of mixed greens with the most perfect dressing: a scant teaspoon of olive oil, a big squeeze of fresh lemon and a sprinkle of coarse salt. Toss until well coated and taste a leaf to see if the dressing needs to be adjusted. Tumble in several quartered strawberries and a half cup or so of the crumbled herb chèvre. Toss gently. This is fabulous served with grilled or roasted chicken.