Two bubble teas in two hours, oh my! / Pal's Sauceburger

Tonight, I got together with Teunis - I had a book to keep me company, so I wasn't bothered too much when it was 7:03 and he wasn't there at the Richmond Public Market yet. But when it got to be almost 7:30, I was a bit concerned. Ordered a green apple bubble tea from Peanuts, and figured I'd move to the more populated side of the upstairs floor in case he hadn't seen me or something. Then he showed up a bit later, saying he'd gotten a bit lost and was held up at work. Heh, it was all good since he eventually DID find the place. We had dinner and talked about many different topics: the cruise, my birthday card, his having stuff for me which wasn't quite completed yet (no pressure!), noise, morbid facts (which I'll get to posting again eventually), his crazy ex and other poly people (most of whom DON'T behave like someone else I used to know), and "ordering out" philosophies. Why bother ordering it if you can make it at home and don't feel lazy about it? I'll just order what looks interesting and not too weird, although I've been known to be kinda nuts sometimes - not as bad as my brother, though! Since we were discussing lychee / coconut jelly / pearls, it reminded me of a weird food combination my brother made once: lychee, cranberry juice, and Cheerios! Nathan said it looked like eyeballs swimming in blood - how appetizing, not! :P

After a while, we decided to get going since they were cleaning up: the cheap food rocks, however. So did the lady at Peanuts, who let me transfer my one stamp on a new card to an old existing card I found on my wallet. (when it wasn't usually doable) Good thing he had the car, since that increased our options by a lot. A Dragon Ball suggestion was thrown around, but I dismissed it because we had to go across the bridge - he said it wasn't too far, but then to go back to my place to drop me off and then all the way out to Surrey again? Um, no! I don't think that would be very nice, heh. Pearl Castle wasn't THAT far away relatively, but my sense of direction sucks... that wouldn't have been very good combined with his limited knowledge of Richmond. We managed to get onto Alexandra Road (no Well Tea for us since it looked like a teahouse) and happened upon the Pure Tea Café / Estea Beverage Club complex: the former looked dark (although it could always be like that... it's been a long time since I've been there), and the other one looked like it was actually occupied. Teunis wondered if this was a bubble tea place - I was there with Jon / Vivian S. / Steph / Erin in 2005 on a "ladies" night, and so I knew it was such an establishment!

I wondered why he wanted to know about my hair - it could be a different color than what he thought? Eh, maybe - his hair is blond, but his beard's more red. Yay for strawberry blond Pavel Bure hair, haha. Mine is technically dark brown, but it looks black enough! Found out why he doesn't really like watching sports (except baseball) ... I guess I won't invite him to any future hockey get-togethers! Not that I was going to since it didn't seem like what he's into anyhow, but it's good to have a reason! (although I suppose he and Danielle - if she's there - COULD commiserate about how everyone discusses hockey / hockey pools all the time for ten months of the year!) Mused about online names and real-life names / nicknames... I was amused when he referred to me by my online name in a phone call he had to take. He had strawberry milk tea with pearls - and asserted that the pearls ended up tasting like blueberries, heh. I had another bubble tea: his evil plot to fill me up with bubble tea was at least somewhat silly and made me laugh. This one was banana with coconut jelly since I'd already had pearls earlier, and they'd run out of pudding milk tea. (plus, it wasn't powdered like papaya and other flavors would be - thank you, waitress!)

Talked about corn, chocolate, his brothers / stepfamily, sushi and adding lots of wasabi, the guy with the sword collection, Nathan and HIS cool collection of stuff (I'm not playing with it, Eric!), building robots, props, crazy Calgary house life, cooking, programming, durian (bubble tea), and books. He could have bought durian bubble tea at Peanuts since Terrence did so last summer, but maybe some other time! Interesting stories, at any rate - makes up for how boring I can be, haha. History and knowledge probably do add to your RPG experience / Dungeon Master role, and it's also nice to learn in general. At least I gave him his postcard and birthday card, and I got to see what he carries around with his laptop - nice to be prepared with a portable steak knife, programming stuff, and books! (then again, I noticed a spoon in his car - heh, reminds me of Nathan's soup can in HIS car!) I was traveling on the light side today, so maybe he'll have to see my knapsack stuff next time! (but hopefully, I'll have unloaded all the candy and other things on the kids by then...) Talked about haggis (parties) in the car in my apartment complex parking lot - I left since it was almost 10:30, and he was still hungry for a friend's good haggis even though he was full! (told him to drive safely, as I usually do with Nathan and others) Good times, and will have to do this again when time allows. :D


Pal's Sauceburger

Here's a simple, great-tasting burger from a small chain called Pal's in Tennessee. This little drive-thru developed this simple sauce -- a combination of ketchup, mustard, and relish -- that makes quick production of scores of these tasty sandwiches a breeze when the line of cars grows long. Yes, it's easy... it's also very good on any burger at your next cookout.

1/8 pound ground beef
1 small sesame seed bun
salt
2 tablespoons ketchup
1 teaspoon sweet pickle relish
1/2 teaspoon yellow mustard

1. Pat out the ground beef until it's about the same diameter as the bun. If you like, you can freeze this patty ahead of time to help keep the burger from falling apart when you cook it.
2. Brown or toast the faces of the top and bottom buns. You can do this in a frying pan over medium heat or by toasting them in the oven (or toaster oven).
3. As the buns are browning, grill the hamburger patty... either in a hot frying pan over medium heat, or you can use a barbecue grill. Salt the meat generously.
4. Combine the ketchup, relish, and mustard in a small bowl.
5. When the meat is cooked to your liking, place it on the face of the bottom bun.
6. Slather the sauce on the face of the top bun and place it onto the meat. Ta-da... Sauceburger! Makes 1 burger.

Tidbits

To multiply this recipe, use this handy multiplier for the sauce:
Sauce for 2 burgers: 1/4 cup ketchup, 2 teaspoons relish, 1 teaspoon mustard
Sauce for 4 burgers: 1/2 cup ketchup, 4 teaspoons relish, 2 teaspoons mustard
Sauce for 6 burgers: 3/4 cup ketchup, 2 tablespoons relish, 3 teaspoons mustard