there is this unique thing that happens in madison every august 14th: all student apartment leases end at noon. and the new ones don’t start until noon on august 15th. it’s called hippie christmas.
it’s a logistical nightmare for the city and a dumpster diver’s dream. just think about this – thousands of people, all in a relatively small downtown area, all moving at the same time. it’s nuts. there are traffic jams and an unfathomable amount of unwanted items thrown into the streets. not to mention the 24 hours of being homeless, where many people sleep in their cars packed with stuff or just dump their belongings on the lawn of their new apartments and stand guard.
on my walk home from the gym yesterday, i took some photographs of the streets. and i don’t even live in a heavily student populated neighborhood. so imagine what the aftermath looked like on campus. the city tries to control this by having garbage trucks basically running all day, and the dumpster divers do their fair share in grabbing things that look salvageable. some college students make claims that they’ve furnished their entire apartments by being aggressive during hippie christmas. man, i don’t miss those days.
in my years as a student in this city, i was lucky enough to be able to move in early due to previous tenants moving out for summer. or i at least had a place to go for the interim night. i remember each and every move i’ve done in this city. while some of my roommates got away with moving in later, i feel like i was consistently the person there the entire summer who dealt with the cleaning, painting, and discovery of interesting defects: the basement door that had no hinges, the chimney that was full of bats, the doorhandles that ripped off, the extra-creepy laundry room, the slanted floors (i summarized all these moves on my old blog, so many good memories).
i promise i’ll get to the ginger chicken burgers.
but first, while we’re on the topic of moving, i have some exciting news. jason and i bought a house!
we’re moving again at the end of september.
it’s not all finalized yet as we still haven’t closed on the place, but we are getting there. and of course we still have our condo to sell (interested?). trust me, you’ll hear much much more about the house soon. but for now, just know that it’s out there. in the monroe street area (dangerously close to brasserie v and gates & brovi).
okay, now time for the burgers. why burgers? think college students moving and needing something quick to eat. i realize they aren’t making these, given that they are homeless for the night, but hopefully they are somewhere on state street eating a burger. and just think: in five years they’ll be making these for themselves.
now that’s progress. or is it the circle of life? anyways, the recipe:
- 1 cup cilantro, chopped
- 2 tablespoons ginger, grated
- 5 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 large scallions, chopped
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground pepper
- 1 lb ground chicken
- 1-2 tablespoons olive oil
- ¼ cup mayonnaise
- 1-3 tablespoons sriracha
- whole wheat, ciabatta, or your preferred bun
- arugula, avocado, tomatoes, or other accouterments
- In a large bowl, combine ¾ cup cilantro, ginger, garlic, scallions, salt, pepper, and chicken. Mix well. Form into four patties.
- In a small bowl, combine mayonnaise and sriracha.
- In a large pan (preferably cast iron), heat olive oil. Cook burgers, about 4 minutes on each side, covering pan for the last minute.
- Toast buns, then assemble the burgers with some of the mayo sauce, extra cilantro, and your favorite accoutrements.
recipe adapted from serious eats.
Congrats on the house, Vicky!! That’s very exciting. Also, Bridge and I will definitely be making these burgers sometime :)
writes Phil Miles