Yay!
To join, you'll first need to register for the game here. You can definitely use a pseudonym - I'm playing under username VWXYNot.
After you've entered your picks, go to the Group Membership page.
The group name is VWXYNot
(I am sooooo original)
The group password is luongorules
(I hope this doesn't prevent any of my non-Canuck fan blog buddies from signing up. You don't have to actually type it, just copy and paste ;) )
The deadline for entering the first week's player picks is 07:00 PM ET on Thursday, Oct. 1, 2009. They send reminders each week; you can just carry your existing team over into the next week, if you don't want to invest too much time. They tell you which players are out injured/suspended, which cuts down on the hockey knowledge needed!
My team is rather heavy on Canucks and former Canucks! (Guess who my goalie is). That might change as the season progresses, but right now I'm a little hazy on players from other teams, trades, new prospects etc.
Good luck, and remember, there will be a prize! The winner gets their choice of a $50 Amazon gift certificate, or equivalent value item from the NHL store. (And yes, that's Canadian dollars). If you absolutely don't want to give me your address, I believe PayPal allows pseudonymous accounts - but that's much less fun!
If I win, all other entrants have to send me cookies.
UPDATE!!! Someone joined the pool whose name I don't recognise. If this was a regular reader, please can you email and let me know who you are? I guess seeing as I put the password in a public place and all, randoms can join - but the prize is only open to my blog buddies! I aint sending $50 to a complete stranger.
Showing posts with label blog wars. Show all posts
Showing posts with label blog wars. Show all posts
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
UPDATED Blogger hockey pool, anyone?
Last night's game reminded me why I love hockey.
It had everything: a penalty shot, a 3-0 lead to the good guys, a come-back by the bad guys, the home team going 4-3 down, what looked like a perfectly good Canucks goal being disallowed with 10 seconds to go in the third, the start of a "bullshit, bullshit" chant from the crowd, another Canucks goal with 0.2 seconds left on the clock (and the crowd halfway through the third repetition of "-shit"), overtime, a sudden-death penalty shoot-out, and finally, victory! Oh, and a happy, good-natured crowd, where the Flames fan who shouted "you guys got lucky!" in a SkyTrain station packed with Canucks fans was treated to laughter and slaps on the back, rather than a beating. Quite a shock for an English football fan ;)
And it's still only pre-season!
Prof-like Substance's NFL pool seems to be going well; would anyone care to join me in an NHL version? Let me know in the comments! And please let me know whether you'd be prepared to sign up for a 3rd party site that would do a lot of the work and let us create our own sub-league - it allows pseudonyms, and we used it with great success (and much hilarity) for Euro 2008. I can provide regular updates and graphs.
The season starts in a week or two. GO CANUCKS GO!
UPDATE in response to a question emailed by a reader. I was thinking of using the league run by Rogers Sportsnet. You pick players each week:
BUT!!! I will offer a first-place prize of my own. Maybe an Amazon voucher, maybe something related to the NHL or the 2010 Vancouver-Whistler Winter Olympics.
It had everything: a penalty shot, a 3-0 lead to the good guys, a come-back by the bad guys, the home team going 4-3 down, what looked like a perfectly good Canucks goal being disallowed with 10 seconds to go in the third, the start of a "bullshit, bullshit" chant from the crowd, another Canucks goal with 0.2 seconds left on the clock (and the crowd halfway through the third repetition of "-shit"), overtime, a sudden-death penalty shoot-out, and finally, victory! Oh, and a happy, good-natured crowd, where the Flames fan who shouted "you guys got lucky!" in a SkyTrain station packed with Canucks fans was treated to laughter and slaps on the back, rather than a beating. Quite a shock for an English football fan ;)
And it's still only pre-season!
Prof-like Substance's NFL pool seems to be going well; would anyone care to join me in an NHL version? Let me know in the comments! And please let me know whether you'd be prepared to sign up for a 3rd party site that would do a lot of the work and let us create our own sub-league - it allows pseudonyms, and we used it with great success (and much hilarity) for Euro 2008. I can provide regular updates and graphs.
The season starts in a week or two. GO CANUCKS GO!
UPDATE in response to a question emailed by a reader. I was thinking of using the league run by Rogers Sportsnet. You pick players each week:
"Your fantasy team will consist of 2 Centres, 4 Wingers, 3 Defensemen and 1 Goalie. Each player available to be chosen has been assigned a value between 1 and 10 based on past and predicted performance. Each Week, the challenge is to put together a 10 player team that will score the most fantasy points while not exceeding the of 50."and you can set up your own private league within the larger competition. It's a Canadian site, but from past experience with their football pools, non-residents can play (but may not be eligible for the prizes).
BUT!!! I will offer a first-place prize of my own. Maybe an Amazon voucher, maybe something related to the NHL or the 2010 Vancouver-Whistler Winter Olympics.
Monday, October 6, 2008
NO SOUP FOR YOU!!!
The soup recipes are up. All three recipes look amazing, but Dr Isis gets my vote this week for having two fabulous recipes, introducing the soup swap idea, and making me splurt out my tea as I laughed at the caption to Figure 1.
Unfortunately I don't get to play this time, because Mr E Man is the soup maker in this marriage (his family all have awesome soup genes, his Mum's French Onion is to die for) and he refuses to divulge his secrets to the internet. It's soooo unfair, he is such a meanie. His best soups are
a) cauliflower, leek and blue cheese, and
b) butternut squash, carrot and ginger,
but I have no idea how to make them. Sorry.
Cath and her husband relaxing at home
Unfortunately I don't get to play this time, because Mr E Man is the soup maker in this marriage (his family all have awesome soup genes, his Mum's French Onion is to die for) and he refuses to divulge his secrets to the internet. It's soooo unfair, he is such a meanie. His best soups are
a) cauliflower, leek and blue cheese, and
b) butternut squash, carrot and ginger,
but I have no idea how to make them. Sorry.
Cath and her husband relaxing at homeIn other news, I rewarded my recent good gym-going habits with these Nikes of Awesomeness. Mmmmm, shiny. And bouncy.
I iz confused, iz not stinky
I iz confused, iz not stinkyThere is even the remote possibility that I might go running at some time in the future. Maybe.
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Recipe sniping: vegetable curry
The latest set of recipes are up! Yum and yum. This was the toughest contest so far for me, but I eventually decided to vote for PhysioProf once again, despite the fried egg fiasco that I am going to pretend I didn't see. Arctic char, mushrooms, leeks, asparagus, red wine and Jameson's whiskey all in the same recipe = WIN! Dude knows his fish.
Ignoring the guidelines again, I am turning my student cooking version of the second fish course into a vegan main course. I hope that any readers who actually know what they’re doing with Indian food will not be too unkind about this recipe that I made up for my vegan cousin! Purists will indeed be dismayed, but this is a great weeknight recipe. I made a curry completely from scratch once and it was fabulous; almost worth the investment of time and effort.
1 medium yellow onion
1 medium aubergine / egg plant (the long thin ones that I buy in my local Indian store seem to work better than the fatter, darker ones I’m more familiar with from European cooking)
Okra (optional, I know lots of people don’t like it. You can always throw some green pepper in with the onions if you want to break up the predominantly red / orange colour of the dish)
1 can chick peas
1 can baby corn
Madras curry PASTE (NOT curry sauce. Patak’s is good)
1 large (and I do mean the LARGE size) can of diced tomatoes
Garlic to taste
Cumin powder to taste
Dried thyme to taste
Fry the chopped onions and garlic in oil. After a couple of minutes, add the cumin and thyme. At this point it will already smell fantastic and people will think you are a genius.
Meanwhile, roughly dice the aubergine / egg plant and boil for a couple of minutes. This prevents it from soaking up too much oil when you add it to the main pan. Drain and add to the onions; cook for another few minutes.
Stir the madras curry paste into the onions and aubergine until they are well and truly coated with the spicy goodness. The amount to use is a matter of taste. I like mine reasonably hot and add a good few tablespoons. If you’re not sure, just use a little bit and you can always add more in later, although it does seem to taste better if you add it all at this stage.
Add the can of tomatoes and stir well. Continue to stir frequently as the tomatoes come up to a gentle simmer. If you are using okra, add it now and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring every couple of minutes. This prevents the dreaded sliminess… most of the time. And the rest of the ingredients mask most of it anyway. I happen to love okra enough to put up with a little slime. If you are not using okra you don’t have to wait the full 15 minutes, just wait until it looks ready and then…
Add the chick peas and halved mini corn. It is always a good idea to rinse the chick peas in water a few times before adding them if you know what I mean.
Serve with rice, mango chutney, hot lime pickle and an icy cold beer.
See also:
Amuse bouche
Salad
Appetisers
Ignoring the guidelines again, I am turning my student cooking version of the second fish course into a vegan main course. I hope that any readers who actually know what they’re doing with Indian food will not be too unkind about this recipe that I made up for my vegan cousin! Purists will indeed be dismayed, but this is a great weeknight recipe. I made a curry completely from scratch once and it was fabulous; almost worth the investment of time and effort.
1 medium yellow onion
1 medium aubergine / egg plant (the long thin ones that I buy in my local Indian store seem to work better than the fatter, darker ones I’m more familiar with from European cooking)
Okra (optional, I know lots of people don’t like it. You can always throw some green pepper in with the onions if you want to break up the predominantly red / orange colour of the dish)
1 can chick peas
1 can baby corn
Madras curry PASTE (NOT curry sauce. Patak’s is good)
1 large (and I do mean the LARGE size) can of diced tomatoes
Garlic to taste
Cumin powder to taste
Dried thyme to taste
Fry the chopped onions and garlic in oil. After a couple of minutes, add the cumin and thyme. At this point it will already smell fantastic and people will think you are a genius.
Meanwhile, roughly dice the aubergine / egg plant and boil for a couple of minutes. This prevents it from soaking up too much oil when you add it to the main pan. Drain and add to the onions; cook for another few minutes.
Stir the madras curry paste into the onions and aubergine until they are well and truly coated with the spicy goodness. The amount to use is a matter of taste. I like mine reasonably hot and add a good few tablespoons. If you’re not sure, just use a little bit and you can always add more in later, although it does seem to taste better if you add it all at this stage.
Add the can of tomatoes and stir well. Continue to stir frequently as the tomatoes come up to a gentle simmer. If you are using okra, add it now and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring every couple of minutes. This prevents the dreaded sliminess… most of the time. And the rest of the ingredients mask most of it anyway. I happen to love okra enough to put up with a little slime. If you are not using okra you don’t have to wait the full 15 minutes, just wait until it looks ready and then…
Add the chick peas and halved mini corn. It is always a good idea to rinse the chick peas in water a few times before adding them if you know what I mean.
Serve with rice, mango chutney, hot lime pickle and an icy cold beer.
See also:
Amuse bouche
Salad
Appetisers
Monday, September 22, 2008
Recipe sniping: appetisers
Two fish courses?!
TWO FISH COURSES??!!
Are you guys serious?!
Seeing as I'm just playing spoiler anyway, I'm not gonna play by those rules. I am a relative beginner in the fish cooking department, and I follow recipes to the letter. (I might be trying this week's two proper recipes soon - I prefer PhysioProf's recipe, but Isis' cooking method sounds like more fun). And there's no point in me just copying a recipe that you can find elsewhere - it's much more fun to post recipes that I've adapted or invented myself!
Plus there are no vegetarian courses on the original menu, and I think that's a shocking omission.
So here's myfish vegetarian course #1 appetiser!
This recipe is adapted from Crystal Surprise. The surprise is that my awesome local market does not sell polenta. I think the mushrooms work better anyway (sorry, Crystal!) as they hold the topping better.
Ingredients (all amounts are a matter of taste; you decide):
1 large portobello* mushroom cap per person (try to get ones that are shaped more like a bowl than a plate)
Cherry, grape or other small tomatoes, cut in half
Garlic, roughly chopped
Red onion, as finely sliced as you can get it
Black eyed peas or other bean-type things
Cilantro / coriander / whatever you call it**, the chopped fresh leaves, not the powder
Olive oil
Butter
Grated cheese (Parmesan is best)
Gently sauté the onions and garlic in the oil until they start to soften. Add the tomatoes and continue to cook on a medium-low heat. After about 5 minutes, add the cilantro and peas. Turn the heat down.
Place the mushrooms (gill side up, with small dabs of butter on the surface) under the grill. Cook until juicy and delicious. Put the mushroom caps on plates, fill the caps with the tomato mixture, cover with the cheese, and put back under the grill until the cheese is melty and delicious.
Also good as a side dish with pork chops, roast chicken or steak (as pointed out by Mr E Man when I first made them, as a main course with salad on the side. He also thinks my vegetarian quiche would be better with bacon in it, and my vegan curry would be better with lamb. But he also likes them - and me - just the way they are).
*apparently both this spelling and portabella are somehow correct
**regional variations exist
See also:
amuse bouche
salad
vegetable curry
TWO FISH COURSES??!!
Are you guys serious?!
Seeing as I'm just playing spoiler anyway, I'm not gonna play by those rules. I am a relative beginner in the fish cooking department, and I follow recipes to the letter. (I might be trying this week's two proper recipes soon - I prefer PhysioProf's recipe, but Isis' cooking method sounds like more fun). And there's no point in me just copying a recipe that you can find elsewhere - it's much more fun to post recipes that I've adapted or invented myself!
Plus there are no vegetarian courses on the original menu, and I think that's a shocking omission.
So here's my
This recipe is adapted from Crystal Surprise. The surprise is that my awesome local market does not sell polenta. I think the mushrooms work better anyway (sorry, Crystal!) as they hold the topping better.
Ingredients (all amounts are a matter of taste; you decide):
1 large portobello* mushroom cap per person (try to get ones that are shaped more like a bowl than a plate)
Cherry, grape or other small tomatoes, cut in half
Garlic, roughly chopped
Red onion, as finely sliced as you can get it
Black eyed peas or other bean-type things
Cilantro / coriander / whatever you call it**, the chopped fresh leaves, not the powder
Olive oil
Butter
Grated cheese (Parmesan is best)
Gently sauté the onions and garlic in the oil until they start to soften. Add the tomatoes and continue to cook on a medium-low heat. After about 5 minutes, add the cilantro and peas. Turn the heat down.
Place the mushrooms (gill side up, with small dabs of butter on the surface) under the grill. Cook until juicy and delicious. Put the mushroom caps on plates, fill the caps with the tomato mixture, cover with the cheese, and put back under the grill until the cheese is melty and delicious.
Also good as a side dish with pork chops, roast chicken or steak (as pointed out by Mr E Man when I first made them, as a main course with salad on the side. He also thinks my vegetarian quiche would be better with bacon in it, and my vegan curry would be better with lamb. But he also likes them - and me - just the way they are).
*apparently both this spelling and portabella are somehow correct
**regional variations exist
See also:
amuse bouche
salad
vegetable curry
Monday, September 8, 2008
Recipe sniping: the salad course
Mmmmmm, both of the fancy salads look awesome (except for the melon, yuck). I am sooo hungry now and my stomach is growling away. Here's my quick'n'easy alternative.
This is my favourite weekday lunch in the summer (and now beyond - thanks to this awesome programme that delivers fresh local blueberries to my office, I am stocked up with five pounds of frozen berries to get me through the winter).
See also:
amuse bouche
appetisers
vegetable curry
This is my favourite weekday lunch in the summer (and now beyond - thanks to this awesome programme that delivers fresh local blueberries to my office, I am stocked up with five pounds of frozen berries to get me through the winter).
- Lettuce of choice
- Cheese, cubed (feta is best, aged white cheddar also works)
- Blueberries
- Cashew nuts
- Avocado, sliced (I pre-mix all the other ingredients at home, then slice and add the avocado at work, just before eating)
See also:
amuse bouche
appetisers
vegetable curry
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Recipe wars - sniping from the sidelines
I am not a domestic goddess. I still cook like a student at least half the time - lots of pasta and stir fries. So here's my quick'n'easy alternative to the lovely but fancy amuse bouche recipes from Dr. Isis and PhysioProf.
Ingredients:
Assorted hot peppers. A mix of fresh green jalapenos and pickled red and yellow banana peppers works well for me.
Cream cheese.
Smoky bacon.
Instructions:
Cut peppers in half. Stuff halved peppers with cream cheese. Wrap each half pepper in half a rasher of bacon. Secure with a toothpick. Bake at 375F until the bacon is cooked.
Beverage suggestion:
Beer.
See? No need to boil pears, marinade anything, or buy little cups with lids on...
See also:
salad
appetisers
vegetable curry
Ingredients:
Assorted hot peppers. A mix of fresh green jalapenos and pickled red and yellow banana peppers works well for me.
Cream cheese.
Smoky bacon.
Instructions:
Cut peppers in half. Stuff halved peppers with cream cheese. Wrap each half pepper in half a rasher of bacon. Secure with a toothpick. Bake at 375F until the bacon is cooked.
Beverage suggestion:
Beer.
See? No need to boil pears, marinade anything, or buy little cups with lids on...
See also:
salad
appetisers
vegetable curry
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Now let's get one thing straight
I am not a muppet hater.
Yep, Mad Hatter has unleashed her minions on me.
I think the muppets are Teh Awesome. I grew up watching the show, and then watched the new version when I was a student. I went to see Muppet Treasure Island at the cinema when I was 19, for fuck sake.
I just think it is lame to listen to Kermit the Frog on your iPod. Especially when you've never even seen the show! Mad Hatter obviously agrees, or why would she put Kermy at the top of her list of, and I quote, "shitty crap music [that] is on my iPod"?
And as for the fact that muppets is UK slang for idiots? Not my fault, dude. Just reporting a fact. If you'd ever heard Newcastle United fans singing "sixty thousand muppets" to the Manchester United fans in their own stadium, you would know this.
Honestly. Yanks.
Anyway. To prove my love for the muppets, here's a classic clip with John Cleese.
ARE YOU HAPPY NOW, MINIONS??!!
On the original thread I also mentioned Peter Jackson's finest hour, Meet the Feebles. Here's a taster. Rent this movie today, it is AWESOME.
Would anyone like to volunteer to be one of my minions? Might come in handy...
Yep, Mad Hatter has unleashed her minions on me.
I think the muppets are Teh Awesome. I grew up watching the show, and then watched the new version when I was a student. I went to see Muppet Treasure Island at the cinema when I was 19, for fuck sake.
I just think it is lame to listen to Kermit the Frog on your iPod. Especially when you've never even seen the show! Mad Hatter obviously agrees, or why would she put Kermy at the top of her list of, and I quote, "shitty crap music [that] is on my iPod"?
And as for the fact that muppets is UK slang for idiots? Not my fault, dude. Just reporting a fact. If you'd ever heard Newcastle United fans singing "sixty thousand muppets" to the Manchester United fans in their own stadium, you would know this.
Honestly. Yanks.
Anyway. To prove my love for the muppets, here's a classic clip with John Cleese.
ARE YOU HAPPY NOW, MINIONS??!!
On the original thread I also mentioned Peter Jackson's finest hour, Meet the Feebles. Here's a taster. Rent this movie today, it is AWESOME.
Would anyone like to volunteer to be one of my minions? Might come in handy...
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