Delicious Hamburgers

As some of you may know, I'm something of a burger connoisseur. I make it my mission to find excellent hamburgers, and classify establishments by the quality of their hamburgers. This weekend, Dave and I ventured to create our own burgers, and I have to say it was a wild success. Here's the recipe:

Ingredients:

• 1 lb of medium (or regular) ground beef (NOT lean or extra lean, these meats aren't juicy)
• 1 shallot
• 2 cloves of garlic
• fresh ground pepper (or crushed peppercorns)
• salt
• about 2 tsps of Worcestershire sauce
  

Directions:

• Put the meat into a largeish bowl. There should be plenty of extra space in the bowl.
• Chop the shallot VERY finely
• If you don't have a garlic press, repeat for the garlic. Otherwise, put the garlic through the press into the bowl with the meat
• Toss the chopped shallot in too (it might be easier to do this gradually)
• Fun part: use your hands to knead the shallot and garlic into the meat
• Season generously with pepper and salt
• Knead that in too
• Add Worcestershire sauce
• Keep kneading until it's all blended
• Form the meat into tight patties (it's very important that they're not coming apart at the edges)
• Grill to taste
• Enjoy!
  

Why and How I'm Backing Up My Data

I just found a great data backup tool:

http://mozy.com

I've been trying it out for free, and I'm impressed thus far. I think I'm going to spring for the $5 monthly subscription and back up all my files. It will be great not to worry about losing my (now extensive) library of photos.

Things I Learned Today

Today I went on a field trip to the botanical gardens to take pictures of textures. I did get lots of textures, but I also took some fun photos for my own enjoyment and learned many things along the way. For instance:

1) Bonsai are cool. Bonsai in a Chinese courtyard are cooler.

2) I'm going to feel like a tourist when I'm taking photos in a tourist destination whether I'm a local or not.

3) My parents have at least three poisonous plants growing at their home: lily of the valley, rhubarb, and fool's parsley.

4) This is what hemlock looks like. Ladybugs like it.

5) Socrates probably died with stomach pain, convulsions, and increased pulse.

6) Nightshade is really poisonous. However, it's the unripe berries that are the worst for you.

6) This is what a lotus looks like. They're beautiful, and they can grow at enormous sizes.

7) It's possible to grow lotuses in Montreal outdoors.

8) I can indeed get a sunburn on a cloudy day.

9) There are lots of beetles in the world.

10) I weigh 3 250 000 ants.

11) Beer and vanilla lip-gloss tastes gross.

Snack Time!

To make these yummy and healthy snacks you need the following:

- sundried tomatoes
- cucumber
- baguette (healthy version: whole wheat)
- cream cheese (healthy version: low fat)

Slice the sundried tomatoes into little pieces and blend them into cream cheese. Spread the cream cheese on slices of baguette and place a slice of cucumber on top. Delicious!

Road Trip Tunes

Dave and I spent the last week on the road to and in Prince Edward Island. We made an effort to compile a good collection of songs, and then tested them thoroughly over the 20+ hours we spent on the highway. For your use, I present the playlist:

Liz and Dave Approve of Cranking it Up

1. Going the Distance -- Cake
2. Short Skirt, Long Jacket -- Cake
3. Come On Eileen -- Dexy's Midnight Runners
4. When the World Ends -- Dave Matthews Band
5. 500 Miles -- The Proclaimers
6. If I Had a Million Dollars -- Barenaked Ladies
7. Stand -- R.E.M.
8. Life is a Highway -- Tom Cochrane
9. American Pie -- Don McLean
10. Jack & Diane -- John Cougar Melloncamp
11. King of Spain -- Moxy Fruvous
12. Free Fallin' -- Tom Petty
13. Sweet Emotion -- Aerosmith
14. I Only Wanna Be With You -- Hootie And the Blowfish
    

Liz and Dave Approve

1. T.N.T. -- AC/DC
2. Smile -- Lily Allen
3. Into the Great Wide Open -- Tom Petty
4. Right Here Right Now -- Jesus Jones
5. The Difference -- The Wallflowers
6. When the Rainbow Comes -- Shawn Colvin
7. All You Need is Love -- The Beatles
8. Sharp Dressed Man -- ZZ Top
9. La Grange -- ZZ Top
10. I Go Blind -- Hootie and the Blowfish
11. Cells -- The Servant
12. Higher Ground -- Red Hot Chili Peppers
13. Orange Crush -- R.E.M.
14. Happiness and Disaster -- Stabilo
15. New Soul -- Yael Naim
16. Pianoman -- Billy Joel
17. We Will Still Need A Song -- Hawksley Workman
18. Stuck in the Middle With You -- Stealer's Wheel
19. Runnin' Down A Dream -- Tom Petty
20. I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For -- U2
21. Roll Me Away -- Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band
22. Magical Mystery Tour -- The Beatles
23. There She Goes -- Sixpence None The Richer
24. Learning to Fly -- Tom Petty
25. Beautiful Day -- U2
26. I Kissed A Girl -- Katy Perry
27. Highway to Hell -- AC/DC
28. When the Night Feels My Song -- Bedouin Soundclash
29. The Rest of My Life -- Sloan
30. Summer of 69 -- Brian Adams
31. Come Together -- Aerosmith
    

Liz Approved, Dave Tolerates

1. Jealous of Your Cigarette -- Hawksley Workman
2. April Fools -- Rufus Wainwright
3. If You Can Afford Me -- Katy Perry
4. Make a Memory -- Bon Jovi
5. Pocketful of Sunshine -- Natasha Beddingfield
6. Waking Up in Vegas -- Katy Perry
7. Striptease -- Hawksley Workman
8. Grace Kelly -- Mika
9. Brand New Low - Treble Charger
10. Stop This Train -- John Mayer
11. Piano Blink -- Hawksley Workman
12. Easy Tonight -- Five For Fighting
13. Jessica -- Allman Brothers
14. I'm A Believer -- Smash Mouth
15. Semi-Charmed Life -- Third Eye Blind
16. Have a Nice Day -- Bon Jovi
17. Teenage Dirtbag -- Wheatus (barely)
18. Wish I were You -- Patty Smyth
19. Walking on the Sun -- Smash Mouth
20. Time -- Hootie and the Blowfish
21. Only the Young -- Journey
    

Dave Approved, Liz Tolerates

1. Mary Jane's Last Dance -- Tom Petty
2. Here I Go Again On My Own -- White Snake
3. Rubysoho - Rancid
4. On My Way -- Rusted Root
5. You Can Call Me Al - Paul Simon
6. Blister in the Sun -- Violent Femmes
7. Lowrider - War
8. Taking Care of Business -- BTO
9. Brown Eyed Girl -- Van Morrison
10. My Best Friend's Girl -- Cars
11. Papa's Got A Brand New Bag -- James Brown
    

Dave Approved, Liz Whines

1. American Music -- Violent Femmes
2. Gone Daddy Gone -- Violent Femmes
   
3. No Sleep Till Brooklyn -- Beastie Boys
4. Cecilia -- Simon and Garfunkel
5. Say it Ain't So -- Weezer
6. Island in the Sun -- Weezer
   
7. Magic Carpet Ride - Steppenwolf
8. Sweet Home Alabama -- Lynyrd Skynyrd
9. Casey Jones -- Greatful Dead
   

Liz Approved, Dave Vetos

1. Any Other Day -- Bon Jovi
2. Texas Flood -- Stevie Ray Vaughan
3. Crossroads -- Cream
4. Glorious Day -- Weezer
5. Mister Big Time -- Bon Jovi
6. Remember Me -- Journey
7. Lost Highway -- Bon Jovi
   

Duds

1. Who Says You Can't Go Home -- Bon Jovi
2. Ordinary -- Stabilo
3. Behind the Mask -- Anarchy Club
4. Tush -- ZZ Top (I think we just had too much ZZ Top)
5. Ask the Lonely -- Journey
6. Any Way You Want It -- Journey
7. Summertime -- Bon Jovi
8. Alone Here -- Hawksley Workman
9. Revival -- Allman Brothers
10. Midnight Rider -- Allman Brothers
11. Ramblin' Man -- Allman Brothers
    
12. Don't Believe it All -- Treble Charger
13. Walk Idiot Walk -- The Hives
14. Bad Day -- R.E.M.

Much thanks to Courtney, Pat, and Tory for the suggestions!

The Nature of Glitter Revealed

Glitter is like a vampire...
Once you invite it into your home, you're at its mercy.

Exhibit A: I bought glitter for a craft party in early December. Now, six months later, my dirt piles from sweeping still sparkle.

Urban Herb Garden

I love cooking with fresh herbs.

Unfortunately, herbs at the grocery store are $1.99 for a handful of leaves that are going to be dead in a couple of days. Since Anna and I don't like paying for food we won't eat, and I don't like basil enough to eat it all week with every meal, we decided that we would try growing some herbs at home to harvest when we want to spice up our meals.

Today, I went to Jean Talon market to pick up the herbs, and then jaunted down to chinatown to buy pretty and cheap containers for them. Now we have chives, basil, and mint planted in lovely china dishes. Not only do they smell fabulous, I am betting that they will taste delicious too.

The potting process itself was pretty painless and occurred in the kitchen sink. As a child of the suburbs, I'm used to gardening on the lawn or deck. In the absence of outdoor space, the kitchen sink works very well. It just feels weird stashing the extra potting soil in the pantry. What do people do without garages and sheds?