George Foreman (Not So) French Fries

Yes, indeed you can make french fries on a George Foreman grill, however they don't really taste as good as in the oven. Like most things on the GF, they come out firm on the outside and soft in the middle. Also, they took longer on the GF than in the oven. I cooked 1/2 of a potato on the GF and 1/2 in the oven to compare. Both were prepared by just slicing a potato, drying the fries, and coating them in oil & spices. In the oven (at 425F) it took just over 20 minutes, but on the GF, it took over 25 minutes. For now I'll reserve my GF for cooking waffles instead.

FYI: you can also cook bacon on the GF, but it comes out a bit floppy and the slices stick together (to cook more than one on a normal size GF, you have to lay them in an X). But, it is far less smoky than on the stove.

Custard Coffee Cake

Last night I made a custard-filled coffee cake, which is exciting as a concept and taste but not as a recipe. This is how I did it.

First, make a custard recipe (buying custard powder is a good method). Probably an instant custard would not be a good idea. Then make the coffee cake recipe. I just used the one out of the Betty Crocker cookbook. For me, this takes long enough for the custard to mostly firm up in the refrigerator.

Pour in about half of the batter into the pan. Then drop the custard onto it in large spoonfuls. Then pour the rest of the batter on top and add the topping. Then when it bakes you have pockets of custard throughout, rather than a layer throughout. This makes for a better cake in my opinion (though I haven't tried a full layer).

Like chocolate chips, the custard just stayed put throughout the baking and didn't melt/run into the cake. I did use a bit more powder than the recipe said for the custard, to make it thicker. However, it didn't seem extra thick.

Curling in Canada

I don't like to link to articles, but this article is just such a classic, that I have to. The whole thing is great, but the last paragraph (quote) is just superb.

Death and Taxes

Filling out the tax forms this year is a huge headache. To fill out the appropriate form for Canada, I have to determine if I'm a resident or not. Sounds easy.

The website is full of helpful sentences to help you determine your status. Here's an example of one: "In general, you probably don't have significant residential ties with Canada if you:". That was getting me nowhere, so I decided to look for a human.

I called Canada to ask and they said that first I have to figure out if I'm a US resident or not, because I can't be both. So I called the US and they said they don't make residency decisions for US citizens, since all citizens must pay taxes on their worldwide income, no matter where they live. So I called Canada back and they said that in that case, they can't make residency decisions on the phone. So I downloaded the 4-page form from the website and filled it out. I am supposed to hear back in 4 weeks.

Then once I know my status, I can get the correct Canadian form. Then I know my Canadian tax amount to report on my US tax form. Then I can finally get back my money that the government stole from me throughout the year.

Back from Europe

"We call this gourmet, but the French call it 'tourist crap'." --Adam during dinner in Paris.

I'm back from my 2 week trip in Europe (Ghent, Amsterdam, Berlin, Interlaken, and Paris). There's just so much to say that I won't say too much here, but I'll answer questions if you want more info.

First, the photos. They have been posted on winkflash. If you don't know the username and password, just email me and I'll be glad to tell you the info so you can see them very easily. I only posted selected photos, not all 300 that I took (about 1.5GB).

Despite what others say, I thought that 2 weeks was the perfect amount of time. Its just the amount where I got tired of looking at cities. Also, 2 days in each city was the perfect amount of time to get a feel for them but not get bored in them. I was walking around each for 12 hours most days and essentially saw everything that is cool to see.

In brief:

Ghent: Nice city, and not touristy. We had a break during the conference on Tuesday and they paid for a guided tour in which we went to the castle and the Lamb of God and other notable sights. The conference was the best I've been to so far, probably because it is specialized. I had lots of conversations with some interesting people. I'll never forget the first words Neil Sloane said to me (before I said anything to him): "Ahh, you speak English."

Amsterdam: Absolutely outstanding to see all of the canals. Like everywhere, the photos don't do it justice. There is the smell of pot in certain spots, but not everywhere. The red light district gives a whole new meaning to window shopping.

Berlin: Very modern city as everything is either <15 years old or full of bullet holes. Went on an "8 hour" walking tour that ended up being 10.5 hours long, all for 12 Euros. The hostel (the Circus) was the best one ever and there were 3 others from there that went on the walking tour, along with 3 others from another hostel and several other tourists. The next day, 5 of us got back together and wandered around the city together. Good times.

Interlaken: Sadly, it rained most of the time I was there, but I did get some good pictures. The fog from the rain made for some interesting photos because the mountains were taller than the clouds. Walking out to the farms was cool as well. The alps were shorter than I imagined, and appeared like the rockies. The water in the lakes and ponds was an outstanding clear blue aqua color due to the glacier water.

Paris: Adam decided to surprise me and bought a plane ticket to meet me in Paris for the weekend! We had a great time seeing everything and we walked all the way from the Louvre to the Grande Arche (quite a hike). We also wandered around many parts of the city by taking the metro to a spot a few times and seeing what was there. Montmartre provided some outstanding views. The Eiffel tower is shorter than it seems from photos I had seen, but was still neat. We tried to avoid the tourists and wandered through the side streets to see the real Paris.