You can NEVER have too many bikes....

We were looking forward to giving our eldest a present he had been coveting for some time.

His 13th birthday provided the perfect opportunity to give it to him.

We are bike enthusiasts here.

I think that bikes are one of the most spectacular design objects of all time.

They are beautiful examples of the perfect marriage of form & function. 

My bike is all about comfort.   It has baskets on front and back and a comfortable seat for pootling around.  It is sooo not about speed and all about comfort.   Much like me really!

For others in the house it is about different things; road riding, mountain biking, riding fast.

Hubster has a collection of various bikes for various purposes.

Too many bikes?

NEVER!!!!

We have just finished 3 weeks of lost sleep watching Le Tour de France.

Hubster & I stay up watching in the dark & silent night whle the children are asleep.

The kids watch the highlights the following day, eagerly listening and watching the intricacies of this amazing event!

It was an amazing Tour this year...but then every year is really.  An incredible feat of endurance, strategy & downright hard work!

I wrote in my previous post that our eldest turned 13.

And so he received the item he had been dreaming of for quite some time.  A bike he had designed himself.

Here it is....hiding in the shed before meeting it's new owner.....

www.mojobike.com.au

To say he was happy with it would be a fairly LARGE understatement.
We all think it's a pretty spectacular machine. What do you think?

For his birthday dinner he requested Homemade Hamburgers.

We love doing that.  A spread of different & delicious ingredients on the table so you can add what you want and omit what you don't.
Simple fabulous food using quality ingredients.  You can't go wrong.

GOURMET GIRLFRIEND'S HOMEMADE HAMBURGER RECIPE:

This mix will easily make enough for about 9 burgers.  Adjust up or down for the amount of people you want to feed.  And you can play around with what you add into the mix too.  The golden rule is to use quality ingredients (as always) and REALLY good bread! You'll never want a bought burger again. Have fun!


WHAT YOU WILL NEED:

• 1kg organic beef mince
• 2 onions
• 3-4 cloves garlic
• 1/2 bunch Italian parsley & other herbs of your choice - last night I put basil in too
• S & P
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 loaf of day old sourdough (strip of crust and cut into chunks)
• a generous glug (4tblspns) good quality tomato sauce or relish - of course we used our 'Made in Tassie" sauce (see here for our blog about that)

 METHOD:

In a food processor combine the onion, parsley (use the stalks too) and garlic. Blitz till combined.

Remove from bowl and place crustless sourdough loaf in.  Blitz till it is crumbs.

In a large bowl add all ingredients and combine with your hands until mixture is well integrated.

Roll into fist size balls.

Flatten and cook on the BBQ (or frypan in a little oil) for about 4 minutes each side.

Serve alongside ingredients of your choice.

We have all sorts of things including;  cheese, pickles, caramelised onions, bacon, beetroot, my beetroot confit, tomatoes, lettuce, mustards, horseradish, different sauces, chargrilled eggplant & zucchini, home made mayonnaise, and lots more.  It's different what we have each time.

Here is the birthday boy's hamburger!

I was so sure he wouldn't be able to get his mouth around it. He proved me wrong.....

 I have been listening to Kings of Convenience lots this week. In amongst the busyness it takes me to a peaceful place: