The smell of rotten meat is indeed terrible! 
Loved that smell probes anyway. Found that super cool.
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Originally posted by VorpalF2F
The golf game looks like a heap of fun
Well, it was standard miniature golf. The tracks were the same ones that I was familiar with from other courses I played at during my childhood. Maybe different ones are common in other parts of the world. I seem to remember having played miniature golf during several holidays In Greece and encountering different tracks there, for example, but my memory is foggy on that.
We might step it up a notch and play a more challenging version in a few months, but first, let's get this exhausting summer behind us.
I should ask Prim, though: What was your personal favorite part about our Palmengarten trip last Friday?
Originally posted by Harrier88
Originally posted by VorpalF2F
The golf game looks like a heap of funWell, it was standard miniature golf. The tracks were the same ones that I was familiar with from other courses I played at during my childhood. Maybe different ones are common in other parts of the world. I seem to remember having played miniature golf during several holidays In Greece and encountering different tracks there, for example, but my memory is foggy on that.
We might step it up a notch and play a more challenging version in a few months, but first, let's get this exhausting summer behind us.
I should ask Prim, though: What was your personal favorite part about our Palmengarten trip last Friday?
I liked the cactus section a lot, the half-desert, the butterflies and those scent samples. 
Now I know what smell the flies like best! :f_ugly::f_ugly::f_ugly:
The Trolls had a lot of fun in the shade of those palm trees, but our Final Sprint continued. For Primrose, it was a quite literal sprint too on the tennis court, where she was dominating her opponent in singles, 6-1 and 6-0. Well done, grindette! 
Doubles could have gone either way, but in the end, that tiny last bit of energy was missing for her and her husband, who had to be settled with a very close loss in the tie break. Great fight nonetheless, and you surely deserve some rest now, Prim.
Harrier and his Golden Dragons also prevailed on the gridiron, getting a decisive 42-14 win against our opponents from the bottom of the league. It also happened to be my final away game, which means that this jersey is now mine:
I may not have had the kind of impact on the team that makes them retire this number into the hall of fame, but a player-issue football jersey that has been worn in some matches on a national level makes a fine addition to the wardrobe, as well as a nice conversation piece. Even if it had been worn by someone else, that would have been the case, but it having been worn by myself in such a situation makes it all the better.
There will be one more week in this Final Sprint for me, then it's all done. For Primrose, it will take one week more, but at least she will enjoy a free weekend this time, with no matches scheduled. Hang in there, grindette. I know we can do it.
I have played mini golf only a few times, but all of the holes displayed seem far more sophisticated then any of the ones I remember
All right, new series! 
While I'm already known for my cocktails and mixed drinks, burgers are another specialty at my place. Both burgers and drinks have traditionally been posted in our legendary "I don't care thread", but the drinks recipes and pictures have eventually migrated to my blog. The burgers will now find another home right here in this thread too, in a new "creative cooking" series called...
The premise is simple: Every other week or so, I will come up with a new burger creation inspired by a country or region from around the world. Commercial burger versions from the big chains may be used for reference - in fact, one of the inspirations for this series were those themed promotional lines from fast food chains like this one - but I must come up with something original.
Whatever I cook will be my lunch or dinner for that day, so I will of course try to make it good, but Primrose (also known as "Trollpartout") may have a different opinion... 
and naturally, our creations will be rated by the Trolls, though Prim will go by the pictures and description alone.
And please don't be offended if your own country is represented by a banhauser menu. 
Often times, my creations may be based on a certain local meal, I'm aware that this is not how burgers are made in those regions.
Without further ado, time for our first destination in our culinary trip around the world:
This one will involve feta, olives, tzatziki, and seasoned pork patties with some gyro seasoning by Fuchs (careful with the pronunciation there):
I made those before last week, but the patties were way too small, so I wanted to try again today. Here's what they looked like:
Today, I made sure that they had a decent size. Each patty contained a little over half a tablespoon of that gyro seasoning, and I ended up sprinkling some of it on top during the cooking process too.
Also, instead of putting all the other ingredients on top of the patty, I decided to start with a bed of feta and olives at the bottom...
...and then added the seasoned patty on top. The tzatziki was spread over the top bun, and I also decided to add some onions this time.
Here's the finished "Greek-style" burger:
It was really good. A very good start to the series. Even Primrose liked what she saw. Maybe I will serve it to her one day.
Putting the feta and olives at the bottom and the tzatziki on top was also a very good move, I liked it better than my first attempt. I suppose the extra onions helped too.
This one won't be all that easy to beat, but we will of course keep track of the burgers we liked the best, so we would eventually have our personal rankings.
Stay tuned to find out about our next stop on this world tour.
It's over - for me, at least. Primrose had a little break this weekend and will finish her Final Sprint next Sunday. She can take it a little easier with her practice sessions already, but watch out - I have a little Troll Challenge planned for her next Friday too.
As for me, it really is all over, and not a moment too soon. This summer really was something else. There have always been heat waves, including some that were a lot harsher than anything we've seen this year, but I cannot remember any summer ever that has been so consistently hot and dry as this one. For some people, it may have been a dream come true. For Primrose, it was a nightmare, and I have been struggling a lot too.
It was not only me, either. I have already posted a picture of our fish pond, where the water level is about 30 cm lower than it should be, in the I don't care thread. And just look at the lawn in our backyard:
Compare it to how it looked even just a few months ago, towards the end of May.
It's just about time for some cooler temperatures and especially some rain. But we have surely passed the worst now when it comes to the weather, I believe. It was already nice and chilly at the game yesterday. And while both Trolls suffered under the heat, we also had a ton of summer fun. 
It is not quite over yet, though. Still, we're looking forward to some nice indoor activities in the fall already. This includes poker.
And look, I got another jersey to celebrate the occasion. Now that my football team is playing in black jerseys at home and white jerseys on the road, our old golden jerseys are now on sale for fans at the merch store, for €40 each. As I was helping to move the box of jerseys to the stand before the game, I asked if #98 happens to be still available, as this was the one I originally wore in my rookie season three years ago. Sure enough, it was right there on the top of the pile, so I bought it then and there.
This is the jersey I wore in my very first games, though it looks a little different now, as some new sponsor logos had been plastered over it when some contracts expired. It's a little piece of my sporting history.
Hang in there, Prim. It's all up to you now, but I know you can do it. You have already passed the worst. Just a little bit more...
Well, fortunately, also for me the "worst" is over. The weather is still warm, but not hot anymore and I don´t have so many tennis practice sessions anymore and only one competition left. Even though I´m pretty exhausted, it´s okay for me. Final sprint! Next week, I will have only tennis practice on Wednesday and my last competition next Sunday and then that was it. Afterwards I can take a little break before vacation and tennis bootcamp.
Originally posted by VorpalF2F
grim looking lawn.
Grass is meant to withstand drought though.
True. One of my favorite things about summer is actually the sight of golden grain fields all around me. And with much of the grasslands being all dried up like that, much of the rest of the land has a bit of a golden hue to it too.
The next entry in our Burgers Around The World voyage is planned to come up towards the middle of next week, then there should be one final Live Challenge on Friday to end the summer.
Well, being a ginger, summer is not my favorite season for sure. :f_ugly::f_ugly::f_ugly: I always enjoy outdoor sports but I really have to be careful of the sun. I get sunburn easily, even though my skin is able to tan a little bit. And I´m not really a big fan of hot temperatures, even though I am able to play sports outside in this heat, I don´t really like it and it´s extremely exhausting!!! This is one of the main reasons why we Trolls may be so exhausted.
Next stop for the Trolls on their culinary world tour.
How could you possibly go wrong with some Mexican-inspired fast food dish? Well, let's find out...
I'm taking it a bit easy again, with store-bought salsa and burrito seasoning.
The patties are all beef, and obviously well mixed with some of that seasoning.
As for the burgers, we start with some plain lettuce and the patty...
...then add some salsa and jalapeños...
...some shredded cheese - a vital ingredient for tacos and burritos, even if Prim refuses to believe it... 
...and finally, some tortilla chips.
Top it off with a bun, and there's our finished Mexican burger:
It's pretty much a taco in a bun - good stuff. The seasoning could have been a bit stronger. Maybe I used too little of it (around 1-1.5 tablespoons for 350 g of beef, making two patties. I'd use a similar amount if I was making burritos). Or maybe it could have used a little extra punch to be used in burger patties, some additional spices or so. It was still quite enjoyable.
Primrose approves too, even though I remember her expressing some skepticism about the use of tortillas chips as I was brainstorming that burger. And shredded cheese is still a bit controversial with her, I believe.
Which one do you prefer, Prim, judging from the pictures? The Greek or the Mexican one?
Originally posted by VorpalF2F
I'm quite fond of avocado on burgers — does that qualify as Mexican?
Absolutely, and it would have been a great choice here. I didn't have any on hand, though, and quite frankly, didn't think of them yet either. Guacamole could have worked well too.
Maybe I can eventually revisit some of those burgers, for improved versions.
Originally posted by VorpalF2F
I'm quite fond of avocado on burgers — does that qualify as Mexican?
That qualifies definitely as BANHAUSER!!!!!!!!!!!! :f_ugly::f_ugly::f_ugly::f_ugly::f_ugly::f_ugly:
Summer is just about done, but tomorrow, I have one final outdoor Live Challenge in mind for Primrose that will surely put her to the test.
Stay tuned...
Originally posted by Primrose6789
Originally posted by VorpalF2F
I'm quite fond of avocado on burgers — does that qualify as Mexican?That qualifies definitely as BANHAUSER!!!!!!!!!!!! :f_ugly::f_ugly::f_ugly::f_ugly::f_ugly::f_ugly:
Don't knock it until you try it — I thought that it was weird myself until I had one in California in 2015 (it might have been Vegas).