Meet Our New Pet Rats (No, Really) 6:16 p.m.

We adopted a couple of young male rats at the Montreal SPCA today. Named them Eegrek and Doublevé, my original spelling of the French letters Y and W. We're just getting used to each other at the moment, but they're terribly cute and have great taste in food, just like their parents. They had barbecued chicken, avocado, blueberries and cheese for dinner tonight. But we're planning for a more grain and fruit-based diet as a rule.

Meet Eegrek, as Joe notices that there is a wee pit of poo on his back (probably acquired during the metro ride in the cardboard box) that needs to be cleaned up.

Meet Doublevé, who's feeling a little bit shy.

The Club Sandwich Made Well 10:09 a.m.

There are many things I appreciate about North American greasy spoons. The club sandwich isn't one of them. You know how there are some dishes that even the sketchiest of restaurants would be hard pressed to screw up? You guessed it, the club sandwich isn't among them. You can screw up a club sandwhich alright - and how. I was reminded of this when I ordered the "flagship" turkey club at a greasy spoon somewhere in Orillia on my birthday. Limp iceberg lettuce, mayo in little packets on the side. I dare not recall the horror in further detail. As for the matter of my being in a greasy spoon in Orillia on my birthday, that's a story for another time.

Clubs are the boyfriend's favourite sandwiches, so I made a couple for us last night. Follow these rules and you'll be just fine.

1. Don't use cold cuts. Like EVER. Use yesterday's leftover chicken or turkey, or cook a breast especially for the occasion.
   
   
2. Layer, you haven't got a choice. I hate sandwiches that fall apart and that's what you're bound to end up with unless you work with three pieces of bread. When building a club sandwich, you're an engineer. Test the viability of your structures on a sample sandwich before applying your blueprint to the whole batch.
   
   
3. Speaking of working with bread, skip the standard loaves and splurge for something gourmet. I tried a lovely olive loaf yesterday and it was worth the slightly outrageous price.
   
   
4. Spreads! Each piece of bread should be spread generously with something. A lovely Dijon, or something spicier if you prefer. If you're die-hard for mayo, you could opt for Dijonnaise. Marmalades and jellies can be interesting as well, just remember not to complicate the taste of your sandwich too much. You've already got tons of ingredients coming together in your masterpiece and need to be wary of a clusterfuck (pardon my French).
   
   
5. Make sure your vegetables are fresh - a rule that applies to all recipes. Limp lettuce is the worst. My preference is romaine, tomato (thinly sliced) and avocado. Simple but classic.
   
   
6. To toast or not to toast, that is the question. In my opinion, it's really up to you. Depends on the bread, depends what you like.

We had ours last night (untoasted) with curry cream of asparagus soup and tabouleh. As per usual, there was too much food.

Envy 6:21 p.m.

Eats me like a thick steak
Masticating at a masterful pace
Grinding, licking, tearing
At every raw and salty bit
Of flesh on the plate.

New Thyme 10:34 p.m.

 

My Mother's Chicken Amman 6:23 p.m.

I have had this recipe scrawled with a dying pen on a crumpled piece of paper stained with red wine for far too long. This was one of the dishes my mother would make when we had company coming over, before my father became a vegetarian, as I recall.

• 600 ml plain yogurt
• 1 tbsp all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp cardamom
• 2 1/4 tsp ginger
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 3 cloves garlic
• 6 chicken legs

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Press the garlic into the yogurt and let it sit in the fridge for an hour or two, if you've got time. Remove from the skin from the chicken, place thighs snugly in a lightly greased pan. Mix the spices and flour together then blend into the yogurt. Pour spiced yogurt on to chicken and bake for just under an hour.

Enjoy!

Bud Light Lime: You Can Run But You Can't Hide 9:58 a.m.

It's everywhere. Like absolutely everywhere. I can't even conceive of the scope of the marketing plan. Saw this driving home from the train station the other day. Joey is determined not to try it; I think I'll cave eventually. Love Stephen Colbert on the product: "It's like drinking Bud Light downwind from an artificial flavor factory."