the week that was and is - july 22nd

Did your garden survive the Edmonton storm. My tomato plant lost a few goodies and the hail messed with some lettuce..but all in all, things survived in decent shape. At least I didn't open my door to this..sorry Maki.

• Fellow E-Town blogger Sharon, Only Here for the Food, has been invited to ring the opening bell this Saturday at the City Center Farmers Market How fantastic is that. The market opens at 9 AM, incase you were thinking about going down.

• And because Sharon mentioned cupcakes this week, how about a new world record coming out of Minnesota. A 151-pound cupcake that is 12 x 24 inches with 15 pounds of fudge filling and 60 pounds of yellow icing.

• And why not a little more gluttony. Our provinces very own Calgary Stampede produced this monster. The burger weighs 141.73 lbs. "It's more than three feet high, boasting three patties weighing 45 lbs each, with a custom bun, more than a lb of pickles, 10 lbs of tomatoes, two lbs of onion, five lbs of lettuce, five lbs of cheese and two lbs of sauce."
  

• This makes me all warm inside. As the son of an Australian mother, my brother and I would eat enough lamingtons at Christmas each year to feed a small town.
  

• Camel Candy anyone - "Dubai's Al Nassma , the world's first brand of chocolate made with camels' milk, plans to expand into new Arab markets, Europe, Japan and the United States"

• A possible Starbucks name change, and the sale of beer in the works. I actually like the rebranded name - 15th Ave. Coffee and Tea.

• What do you mean no fruit in my fruit juice - "A range of imported drinks marketed as fruit juice has been recalled after the Commerce Commission found the products contained little or no trace of fruit."

• Fast Food Mafia, from silentsketcher at deviant art. Looks awesome.

• Slacking on this weeks BBA challenge (cornbread) meant I had some time to whip up another loaf of challah bread. This time with Japanese toasted sesame seeds. So good, and I think this officially makes it the most baked recipe in the book to date.

• And finally, if you haven't been watching the new season of No Reservations, Anthony started in Chile last week and was in Australia this past Monday. Things are good as ever, and he has already eaten some delicious looking meals (bone marrow on toast, yum!). Always gets the travel bug going in my mind.

Now, I'm back to the early morning broadcast of the Tour de France. I'm addicted!!