Summer Pizza

On Sunday, I made what I like to call "summer pizza." It's not very elaborate, but it's a refreshing alternative to the traditional red sauce pizzas.

Like anyone creating something on the spot, I didn't use precise measurements for some items. Most of it was done by eye, you could say.

Ingredients
1 - Medium Size Pizza Crust from Wegmans
3 - Medium sized tomatos
3 - Tablespoons of olive oil
Minced Garlic
Shredded Mozzarella
Grated parmasean cheese
Basil and oregano (can be dried or fresh)

Instructions
Pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees.

Put the olive oil in a small dipping bowl and add several teaspoons of the minced garlic. Using a basting brush, brush the mixture onto the crust. You should not use all the olive oil/garlic since you don't want your crust to get soggy.

Sprinkle the mozzarella cheese on the crust. Sprinkle some of the parmasean cheese on top of that. How much depends on your taste.

Slice the tomatoes into medalions and arrange them on top of the pizza crust. Sprinkle some herbs on top. I used dried basil and oregano because it's what I had on hand.

Put the pizza on a pizza stone, or lay directly on the rack of the oven. Cook for 6 minutes, or until crust is brown and cheese is melted. Let it set for a minute after removing from oven. Slice and serve.

This could feed four people (1 slice each) if you're also having salad and maybe another side. Realistically, I'd say it feeds two.

Top Ten Canadian Things

I found a list via Fark of things that are truly Canadian. Here they are courtesy of this story:

1. Cadbury Crispy Crunch and Caramilk Maple chocolate bars "Because they are only available in Canada and would spark delicious memories. A skid of Kraft Dinner would also be a must." (Deborah Weinstein, president and co-founder, Strategic Objectives, Toronto)

2. A Bell telephone "Because, prior to cellphones and deregulation, the only phone any home had was from the father of 20th-century communication, Alexander Graham Bell. Who could forget such icons as the Princess or Contempra rotary-dial phones, available in a variety of colours?" (Anthony J. Stokan, retail consultant and author, Toronto)

3. Roots "Because two Americans, Michael Budman and Don Green (above), gave the hard-working Canadian beaver a fresh identity and turned the logo into the most sought-after product through the '90s, and continue to rework and update the iconic Canadian brand." (Anthony J. Stokan)




4. A CanCon CD "With music from Leonard Cohen, Neil Young, The Guess Who, The Tragically Hip, Bachman-Turner Overdrive, Diana Krall, Shania Twain, Alanis Morissette, Avril Lavigne and Nelly Furtado. Because music is the staff of life." (Deborah Weinstein)

5. The President's Choice Insider's Report "Because every season, Loblaws seduces you with innovative new products and some of your old favourites. You couldn't possibly call yourself Canadian and not have tried at least one President's Choice product." (Anthony J. Stokan)





6. Tim Horton "Because we are a coffee nation inclined to drop in or drive through and pick up our favourite hot cup of double-double in a double-cup along with a box of Timbits, and we roll up the rim, even when the contest isn't running." (Anthony J. Stokan)





7. A tree tap "Because it reminds me of maple syrup, which reminds me of maple trees, which reminds me of the maple leaf and that brings me to the flag. Ah ha! I am Canadian." (Shawn King, VP and creative director, Extreme Group, Halifax)

8. Group of Seven paintings "Because they all celebrate the vastness of the Canadian landscape." (Don Williams, creative director and partner, Free Agency Creative, Vancouver)






9. A Hudson's Bay blanket "Because it is the one universal graphic that speaks to Canada, second only to the flag." (Barry Avrich, president, Endeavour Marketing, Toronto)


10. Bob and Doug McKenzie "Because they're loose, they wear toques and they love beer. All things that remind us of Canada. Besides, who else but a Canadian would embrace those two guys?" (Shawn King)

My Backpack's Got Jets

The video has actual images from the game, Star Wars Galaxies. I thank my Geek Husband for sharing this with me.

Star Wars Galaxies-Boba Fett the Bounty Hunter

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Meet Bob Chautauqua

Meet Bob Chautauqua

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Probably the most hysterical customer service/tourism video about Chautauqua County you will ever see. Keep an eye out for the random Amish guy.

Horrified

Someone needs to tell the boys in Raleigh that Michelob Ultra is not real beer. What a disgrace.

Thanks to BFLOblog as per usual for all things hockey.

Pre-Wedding Disasters of the Teacup Variety

Our friends, Clair & Kevin, joked last week about what disasters could happen around the days leading up to their wedding. When they've gone to weddings for other friends, there always seemed to be something that happened that caused some sort of excitement. One wedding, Clair got her pinky caught in the car door as it closed. This caused it break and bleed profusely. Since they're getting married on a boat, we kidded that someone would inevitably fall overboard.

Well, their violinist for their ceremony nearly took herself out while washing dishes last night.

Matt had made some pasta salad for Father's Day and I was washing the metal cutting thing that spins around in the food processor. Apparently, I was twisting the plate the wrong way and ended up slicing my thumb. Fortunately, I'm pretty level-headed when it comes to injuries, so I rinsed it off quick, wrapped a paper towel around my thumb, went upstairs and tightly wrapped and taped a big piece of guaze around my injury. I've since replaced it with a regular band-aid and some medical tape to keep it sealed.

The smirk on my face comes from thinking, "Never wonder what could happen, because it will." Lucky for Kevin and Clair, I will be in fine shape to play. I just can't speak for how well Panis Angelicus will sound.

Friends Moving House

It's that time of year where either you are going to weddings or hearing about friends who are moving house. We've got one of each this month. For the moving house installments, click over to Sabrina's blog to read the latest about her and Olivia moving into their first house.

What Happens When We're Distracted By War

This is two years old, but worth viewing. The testimony is damning where electronic voting is concerned.

Video from Conyers Hearings On Voting Irregularities in 2004 Election(12 Min.)

From Wikipedia:

Timeline of the 2004 United States presidential election controversy and irregularities

2004 United States election voting controversies, Ohio

Road Hazards

On my way home from doing my nightly news recording, I heard this growling noise next to me at a stoplight. At first I thought it was a dog, then decided it sounded more like one of the space fights from a Star Wars movie. I looked to my left to see a battered pick-up truck next to me with two metal dudes. The noise was death metal on their sound system. As the drums kicked in, the passenger began to rock out, hair flying around him in an obligatory, head banging frenzy. The light turned green, and truck half-eaten by rust rumbled away with a sign where the tailgate should have been that read, "Caution! Falling Parts!"

Images, Anyone? Anyone?

After checking the Wayback Machine and Google Cache without any success, I'm starting to think my template is lost for good. I think I even used the phrase "borked" earlier.

So now I'm at that crossroad of going to something generic or hitting up one of several friends who are talented in the web design arena for help in creating a new template. Of course, the idea of changing my host has crossed my mind too. Anyone have any suggestions? Also, anyone have other ideas on how I might be able to retrieve my old template?

*POOF!*

Matt instant messaged me at work yesterday and said, "Uh, your template? Gone." I immediately clicked over to this page and was greeted with the expanse of white for a background. At least all my links and posts are still here.

I have contacted Web Divas since, while they've closed up shop, they're still hosting sites. I don't know if this includes hosting images. I hope I actually get a response since I rather liked the template I designed and Cherry created.

The Best Kinds of Summer Days

On Tuesday, I had to travel to our county seat for jury duty. The crowd that filled the courtroom was quite happy to hear that we were all dismissed because all six cases that had been lined up pled guilty. As a result, I got a half day out of the deal.

Now, I could have spent the rest of the day doing laundry and switching over my summer/winter wardrobe. Instead, I decided to enjoy my enclosed front porch, and sit on my couch reading Charming Thirds by Megan McCafferty.

Later on, I kept the good summer feeling going by indulging in some limoncello my parents brought back from Sorrento, Italy.




This is my favorite way to spend sunny summer days.

Don't Stop Thinking About Tomorrow

Well, it's over. Only one thing to say:

Thank You Sabres!

Ok, a couple more things. As I've said before, this was a great season. I got a little emotional after last night's game ended. But then I thought, "Carolina had to work their arses off to win this series." With all the injuries that took out some of our best players, and all the new guys on the ice, some might be misled into thinking that a game against the Sabres would be a cakewalk. When it takes going to Game 7 to beat them, it's evident what a strong team we have.

Forgive the Fleetwood Mac post title, but it's appropriate. We have next year, and if the make-up of the team stays relatively the same (Please Keep Fitzpatrick!) then another trip to the play-off's should be in the Sabres' future.

McKee Out

To quote someone from a few games ago that was part of the open thread comment on bfloblog.com, I'm about to shit kittens.

Defenseman Jay McKee is out of Game 7 due to an infection.

It feels almost macabre to say, "Is that all you've got?? Come on, we can handle it!"

This makes Toni Lydman and Rory Fitzpatrick our star defensemen now. One of my friends who is a sportscaster said to me in Game 6 against Ottawa, "I just have this weird feeling that Fitzie is going to end up the hero somehow in one of the series." This may be the only time I quote Bob Segar and say, "We've got tonight!"

LET'S GO BUFFALO!!!

We Believe!

I do write a regular, everyday blog, but lately this blog seems like Sabres Central in terms of the topics. But since that's what ruling our lives right now...

OH MY GOD! What an awesome game!

Matt saw most of it in some bar up in Buffalo at a Congressman Higgins event for the State Democratic Convention. He called me when they were leaving and had just missed the 3rd-period tieing goal by Carolina. His parents watched the game with me at our house. I had planned to make a quick run to Wegman's to buy more bottled water for my chlorine-allergic hubby, but the game was too exciting to leave for even a commercial break.

It's iffy whether I'll see any of Thursday's game because rehearsals for the Warren Riverside Chamber players go from 6:30-8:30, with a half-hour of driving on top. I'm crossing my fingers that I'll see some of the third period, and hopefully a win.

When it comes to winning Game 7, of course I want us to win. Of course I want us to advance and take on Edmonton for the ultimate. But honestly, I'm so happy with the Sabres right now, that even though I'd feel some let-down if we don't make it tomorrow, I would come out of it feeling like we did fairly spectacular otherwise. They've given us an extraordinary season and post-season. The rest of this series (and next *pleasepleaseplease*) will be great and I can't wait for next season. I hate that hockey is ending in a few weeks.

Speaking of Headlines

Fark Rules.

With a scary tag:

Hurricanes could push Canadian gas prices to $1.30/litre. Go Sabres go.

Also with scary tag:

As Edmonton Oilers go deep into playoff series with Anaheim, Canadian city reports it is running out of beer.

Headline: Fitzpatrick Becomes a Key Sabre

I get ragged on a lot about being a "homer" and a fan of Sabres Defenseman Rory Fitzpatrick, but you know what? He's one of our key guys now, so I was glad to see that the Buffalo News did a story about his role in the play-offs. I won't disagree that Rory needs to be a little more patient about clearing the puck out of the zone, but he's shown he's capable of doing just that in several games so far over the past couple weeks.

And I promise not to jinx the game tonight and will put on my #8 jersey as soon as I get home from work.

So Your Parents Have Found Your Blog

What do you do when you find out your parents know you have a blog?

Simple.

You say hi!

Hi Mom & Dad!

Tangential Surprise

I think because I'm all excited about Game 4 tonight (if you don't know what I'm talking about, go read BFLOblog) my mind is all a flutter. Kind of like that OT goal last night.

On my way back from lunch, I was listening to my tape of the Six Degrees show I did last month for the WBNY Alumni weekend, and "I Love To Hate You" by Erasure comes on. This made me think of when I borrowed their album Chorus from the library in high school. The girl working behind the counter mentioned that it was a great album and that her favorite song was "I Love To Hate You." I took the cassette home and wrapped myself in synthesizers and Andy Bell's voice. It was all so new to me, but now so familiar. Like an old sweatshirt.

I really want the Sabres to win tonight. It would be justice. I haven't talked about the season a lot on here mostly because I haven't been blogging nearly half as much as I used to. But I've been there to cheer the team on from our living room and while reading various blogs. Even with variable pricing, it's tough budget-wise for us to even get to more than one game a season. In regards to tonight though, in the Fall we almost expected to lose to Ottawa. They had a solid team. Many of us thought they would go all the way. Then Buffalo found they could beat them, not just at home but away as well. Something so important when it came to play-off time. Now, while the chances that Ottawa can even come back are slim to none based on past NHL history, never under-estimate. However, we have home advantage and a Team (with a capital "T") that knows how to prove everyone wrong. All good things.

It's finally raining. We've been waiting for rain for over a week at our house. Matt's allergies are in overdrive and this will help settle the pollen some. My green car turned lime with all the dust in the air. I also put down some weed killer a couple weekends ago on the slope/garden in front of our house. Now I just need to glare at all the little maple seedlings that have popped up. Guess this means more blisters for me.

My parents are on a 17-day cruise right now. I keep thinking it's later in the week than it actually is because of this. I'll think occasionally, "Ok, they must be in Lisbon by now" and then remember it's only Tuesday, or Wednesday, or today. Then I think, "I wonder if Dad found a sports station on the boat that is carrying hockey scores."

LET'S GO BUFFALO!

Politics of Morrissey

The Politics of Morrissey on Slate.

Brilliant.

Thanks to Heidi for sending me the link.