h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

This is great! I love mushy peas, really love them. I always did wonder, what is the secret of mushy peas? They are inimitable. No imitation can come close. Thanks folks. The secrets revealed! Great entry.

So funny, well, almost funny. Where you wrote steeping tablet, I read it as sleeping tablet. At first.

That could* be a typing error; We may have meant* 'sleeping tablet'! well... no actually... but would be amusing...
\There just is something special about mushy peas... they're sort of associated with 'working class', I guess, not high cuisine... but... they're so satisfying.... warming... filling... tasty... and really not actually drefully 'bad' for you... that mix of lentally earthness in the flavour, the blend of textures, and overall creamy texture, which gives them their warming potential... just the thing, to smother on a nice fresh made steak and ale, or lamb and mushroom, or potato and beef, or chicken, ham and cheese, or chicken n asparagus, or minced beef and onion, or venison, or game pie... damnit... it almost makes me want winter to arrive quickly so I can get back to the winter warming foods and mushy peas mmm fish n chips and mushy peas

mmm , oh mister you made me so hungry with your poetic descriptions, I have to find mushy peas now! now! grrrr now. heheh. Except it's midnight. So I'll have to read your entry again, and look at the photo, and then eat my laptop.

I was thinking about mushy peas earlier too!; I've a bag (unopened) of new marrophat peas (dried), sitting in the cupboard, and they've been there ages* now... I keep meaning to get em soaking, and make some fresh mushy peas... and I keep forgetting!

Where the (translate as intercourse) can a Continental (translate as intercourse) buy the proper sort of peas?
I know someone here () is married to a kitchen magician, so help might come.

I got this bag, in the end, just from a big out-of-town Supermarekt, (Tescos), ... but that's here in the UK... not sure elsewher.e... maybe Ethnic food shops//? or mail order?; I'm sure I saw them on the internet for sale... somewhere...

Amazon has just about everything else (as do other online retailers)... Yep, just did a search, and it was just .com, not .co.uk

Just checked Amazon uk also, there they are! The sought after marrowfats! specially for mushy peas. What a changing world. Peas on the internet! . Now I'm amazed. And hungry.

I'm always supprised, to hear on the news (as I did a few days back), just how little* overall percentage of 'retail sales'/shopping, is done on the internet; I'm sure they said 10% of total sales were online (this would have been in the UK), maybe I'm a bit unusual then, as I do get a lot of stuff online heck, I even have a repeat order set up for my razor blades for shaving (because it is so* much cheaper than buying them anywhere in a physical shop) and I'm seriously considering setting up a simular, repeat order online, for shampoo and conditioner and soap as I always tend to use the same stuff, and get through it at a fairly predictible rate
I do an online grocery shop every month or two, to stock up on frozen, cupboard, cleaning and bathroom stuff, and then shop locally for fresh fruit, veg, meat, and other oddments I need (lucky to have a couple of really good Asian and chinese supermarkets near me, which catters for my spices, noodles, rices, beans/lentals, and a hippy whole foods shop where I now get my bread flour from ) In a few weeks, as the temp starts going down here, I'm going to start making pies/pastys again and mushy peas to go with them

Mind, when the weather really* starts getting towards the wintery, I've a new (to me) slow cooker, which is very* big, and I've an evil plan to make a massive black bean, Brazzilian style beanstew,..... with beef I think (or follow the Brazzilian method, of having beef, plus various pork bits in it too ) if I can get the recipie just* right for the bean stew, then I'm just going to be living off it for most of the winter hmmm.... looking at the size of the slow cooker, living off it all winter, from a single batch quite probably

4 LB beef.
4 LB sausage (half smoked half plain)
2 LB ham/pork on the bone
loads a onions, loadsa garlic, and a bag of black eyed peas/beans oo... couple tins tomatos maybe too ... bayleaves.... damnit... I'm half wanting* winter to arrive, yet I still want the summer to last a few weeks or months longer I've still some salad eating to do before stews are back on the menu (and my Stilton and leek soups )
Damnit... now I@m feeling hungry

That is one huge slow cooker

I was given it, by someone who has a family, and who had been given a new slow cooker; though looking at this one, its in such good condition it can't be that* old itself (NO I've not tested it yet, so not quite sure how much I'll be able to fit into it in reality )

Sounds great, the slow cooker! And if its really huge, there's some stew left over for us teehee (gets first in the queue)

We used to live in a community, sharing a small-ish kitchen with 25 people. Nightmare. Anyway, we had this Community Stew Pot, a huge pot. The idea was that a couple of people would make a stew, and everyone would add to it through the week, so we would all have something to eat in the evenings.



It didn't work out like that. . Once the stew was cooked, people would slink in out of nowhere, and eat it all.

Except there was always one portion left.

Ahhh, , the community left a portion as a gift for a passing stranger?

No. Whoever ate the last portion had to wash the empty pot, so everyone avoided it, lazy ***s (translate as turf).

I think online shopping is great, it can reduce the stress of circumstances, economics and time etc. In our town there's a lot of small, independent businesses, a couple of wholefood stores, the bookshop, a record store, so we try to support them as much as possible. The wholefood store will do deals on bulk orders, and will deliver, so it's almost as good as online.

I think I'll spend my twilight years eating mushy peas. Bulk orders on the marrowfats. A weekly truckload.

I do try to buy, and support the local independant shops where I can; Mainly because I value having the ability to get things locally, and so by helping (in however small a way), to keep them profetable, helps ensure they remain, as anasset to me, and anyone else locally who shops at them

I use the small independant coffee bean shop in town to feed my caffine addiction

I use a mixture of places for fruit and veg; Mainly the stall on the market which I like, (especially their fruit, their garlic, chillis, peaches, forell pears, and duck eggs) But also the nearish Indian 'supermarkekt' which has really good fresh fruit and veg (especially their chillies, ginger, spring onions, mushrooms, and garlic etc) plus, the Indian shop, is near the butchers and one of the bakerys I use...

My nexdoor 'corner shop', (actually two shops away, takes me less than a minutes walk from my front door), I use to buy all my cigarettes, and also oddments I need (olive oil, butter if I run out, plus their veg is very good as he buys it da daily, each morning in London markets; plus he's really cheap on some stuff; olive oil, instant coffee, chilli sauce, 5KG bags of Himalaian basmati rice, all as cheap as Tescos)...

I use one of two locall bakerys if/when I buy bread, The Polish supermarekt for my pierogi, ham, smoked Polish cheese, and gudar cheese

We've a small Tesco store at teh top of the road, which I do use, for a few things, as they sell fresh pasta (no one else locally does), and soemtimes for bits of other stuff too...

I love this way you write about food, Mr Mahatma 2legs, heheh, you're a bit of a culinary master I suspect. It affects me, I like the details.

Apart from making me hungry all the time heheh, it makes me interested in the subject of food, and this is a very detailed picture of the shops in your local area.

I'd like to hear other voices on the subject of local shops, different towns, countries, who buys what, where and when.

Ahh I remember our village stores, way back when, they cut the bacon with a slicer on the counter, wrapped it up in greaseproof paper, tied with a string from a pulley above the counter.

Maybe you'll be putting out some more collaborative Guide Entries?

I do like my food... Problem is, I sometimes find it hard, to make myself to cook something new; so I tend to go through phases; at the moment, for example, I'm eating pasta salads (fusili with tuna, lettuce cucumber, dressing and cheese, useually; soemtimes with ham instead of tuna, occasionally with filled pasta instead), Chicken n mushroom risottos, (often with a side salad), and the Polish Pierogi that I like (useually boiled, then fried with sausage and mushroom, and served with plenty of cheese) oh, and the occasional ceaser salad (chicken or salmon useually)... at lunchtime I seem to live off bacon and eggs, and soemtimes sandwichs (ham or cheese useually) which makes my diet sound really restricted
Mind, a couple years ago, all I ever ate was Indian food (home made of course), dals, dansak, biriani, home made onion bhajis, etc...
I keep thinking I must be due a return to the Indian food soon (afterall I've cupbaord full of whole spices and herbs, for Indian cooking)
I've not cooked much Chinese (singapore noodles, stir fry veg with chicken or pork, chicken/pork chow main etc), for ages an ages
But, soon it'll be into winter ocoking, so I'll be back doing soups and stews, and traditional British stuff like tode in the hole, and things with dumplings and stuff

I do need to add some more dishes to my regular range of stuff I cook though... ; one problem I've never been a huge fan of things like roasts, and they're always a bit of a hastle when cooking for one... I could do things like cottage pie/shepards pie moreoften in the winter, as thy are good and I can make and eat them over several days and I must find more things to cook with fish; though, having said which, there isn't a single fish-mongers in the entire town/city! (which always confuses me.... )

Have copied your recipe suggestions for the Brazilian bean stew 2legs; it sounds gorgeous! and shall certainly be putting my slow cooker to good use with that one.

Back to the subject of mushy peas (did we really go off topic here) and ex-pats getting their hands on the wherewithall to make them. I constantly have mushy peas; making them a couple of times a week even in Summer. I was recently visited by a friend; who currently lives in Turkey. They can't get dried peas over there for love nor money and despite the weight restrictions on flights, she took back two dozen packets from my local shop - cleared the poor man out completely.

Another thing I would love someone to tell me is this: Visiting friends just outside the New Forest, I was invited one night to go to their local chippie and guess what they have there? Pea Fritters - they are absolutely orgasmic - no not organic. I need someone to tell me how to make the bu**ers though. When you have a handful of mushy peas, how the devil do you coat them in batter without the whole lot turning into a soggy mess? The chippie owner - needless to say - wasn't telling. HELP 2legs. You're the expert here!

heheh good trade for the local shop though! Would your friend think about purchasing the peas online? Would that be possible? How strange not to be able to get peas in Turkey. That does surprise me somehow. I don't know why.

Pea fritters? mmmm. Never heard of them! Amazing! Where's the Mahatma to enlighten us on this matter?

That's dried peas of course. Mahatma! We need you! Why can't you buy dried peas in Turkey?

In Nottingham Mushy Peas are normally served with Mint Sauce as an accompaniment. This is even true of the work canteen.

Must nip over there Rosemary. We're not so lucky in Derbyshire