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

My sister-in-law knows how to make Brussels sprouts taste good. No one else I know can do that. But broccoli has many of the same nutrients, and I like it, so I don't feel so bad.

This Sunday evening is a pot-luck dinner for the church choir that Mrs Rev is a part of. Here is the anticipated spread:

Us (2) - iceberg lettuce salad w/dressings and chopped celery-carrots-radish-mushrooms-bacon-green onions, bread-rolls w/Becel margerine, baked potato wedges, baked ham (chilled)

Choir Lead (3) - turkey chili

A couple (2) - gluten-free desserts, perhaps shrimp

A lady (1) - hot bean casserole

Another Lady (0) (may arrive later, after volunteer affairs)

And another Lady (1) - gluten-free chocolate pie

A guy (1) - veggie nachos, soft drinks

The idea is to also each bring a wrapped Christmas ornament (up to $5 value) for exchange, if you wish.

Nick will bring a simple sound system with Christmas and other light music.

(I have quietly added two jugs of iced tea, tea bags from England, and the grind and filters for 3 pots of coffee)

We went to a dinner last night which is a really slapdash affair. The local British community, a crazy lot, mainly consisting of ex-students from the university, who remained here when they'd finished their studies, book a local pub and get a caterer to roast turkeys and cook the usual vegetables. Actually, the food was very good, except that it was just dolloped on to the plates by a couple of them, in no particular order, stuff on top of each other, etc. Mind you, they only had a minute kitchen to do all this in, and they are certainly not professionals!

The three "waiters" spent most of the time propping up the bar, waiting for the next plate to emerge from the kitchen. There were about 40 of us there.

After the meal was eaten and the plates cleared away, all were divided into teams and the traditional quiz - the highlight of the evening! - was carried out in an equally slapdash way.

I had baked four trays of mince pies to take along, which went down well with a cup of coffee after the results were announced and the prizes distributed.

So, what did we have for supper? Roast turkey, roast potatoes, carrots, brussels sprouts (both of which were absolutely delicious ) stuffing, mushy peas (people had to be asked if they wanted that or not!)and gravy.

I made Pakistani beef curry for supper last night, but it's not a recipe I particularly love. I have better curry recipes that I would share. This is one of the few that call for beef.

I have warned Mrs Rev, never EVER let me go to the little Bavarian butcher shop without a specific list.

Supper today will be a double strip of pork tenderloin, roasted in a well aged Romertopff, some cheese perogies, basic carrots, and some barely remaining apple crisp

A typical blustery, snowy January day. So a large crock-pot of slow and low chili is a-burble, to be met with thick slices off of a french loaf - slathered with garlic butter.

Greek bean soup with chicken and potatoes.

Last night's supper: A pie with 'what the fridge could reveal'.

Most of our supermarkets and other food shops have joined the 'Don't waste food' movement. So, food with an imminent use-before date, is sold at a discount. I bought some ready made coarse pie mix the other day, and the pie was eatable. So much so my husband suggested pie again yesterday. I decided to let the web guide me as how to produce the pie dough. Very easy that was: 100 g. white flour, 120 g. coarse flour, 1 dl water, ½ dl oil - and mix. The next time I'll add a bit of salt. Pie filling: 250 gr. turkey bacon, fried - (the other day we used pieces of salmon, fried) half a red bell pepper in small squares, 10 cm squash, ditto, 3 (something - cloves?) of garlic, chopped, 1 cm fresh ginger ditto, three handfulls of spinace, steamed, mix together, season, (my daughter was visiting so no milk products - otherwise I would have mixed 200 g cottage cheese with the vegetables). 5 eggs whipped with a bit of water. Everything spread out on the pie dough (which have been pre-cooked a bit in the oven at 200 C.) The eggs on top of the mix - 30-40 min. in the oven at 200 C. Et voila!. Grated parmesan or other cheese on top is nice. Velbekomme.

One day, I will again buy a 'scale' for kitchen measures. We had one once, as a part of Mrs Rev's diet scheme. But so many good ideas and recipes appear by weight rather than volume as I work ... grams versus ounces and cups ...

Just to amuse PaulH and other seasoned North Americans like us -

I did once buy some stainless measuring spoons from Amazon. Measures of 8ths and 3rds of teaspoons and tablespoons, and even 'pinch' and 'dash' measures.

I've a set of plastic spoons for the same... I only use them for the tiny tiny tiny one, to measure tiny amounts of yeast

Supper tonight is probably either tunasteaks, or wild salmon, with wild rice... probably mushrooms and onion and some seeds (likely fennel) with the wild rice, and probably something involving yoghurt and chilis and corianda with the salmon, oh, and green pepper too (using up stuff)

Nice, 2legs.

My supper tonight will be chili. In such cold weather, a hot dish can be comforting.

We make do with curry as a warming spice. Sig. S. was scared off chili years ago. I make it for myself, though.

I did the salmon fillets, in the oven, with olive oil, tons of black pepper, then threw on the cooriander and green peppers towards the end, so it wasn't overly cooked, and made the wild rice pilaf with mushroom and onion whilst htat ocoked nice n quick too toniight's supper, many hours from now will involve chicken, as I just got it out to defrost maybe with the remainding bit of coriander and... whatever else one finds so, probably onions and mushrooms and... garlic and ginger and... sort of soup thing perhaps maybe with bulghur sheet for a change err... wheet even ... err. or wheat... I'm sure its spelt one way of the other

Electrical skillet roast, 2 kg 5 cm thick beef slab on top of a tsp of black peppercorns, topped with a light sprinkling of coarse ground black pepper, light application seasoning salt, liberal application cumin, peeled and halved 4 - 6 cm yellow onions, cut faces down on top of beef, all surrounded by 5 cm lengths celery and scraped carrot, 250 gm halved mushrooms, quartered five x 10 cm peeled white potatoes with a dash of bbq spice on the potatoes, sufficient water to fill barely to the top of the beef, bring to boil, cover and simmer on low till onions are tender.

Served with sourdough sesame onion roll.

For one person, makes about a weeks' supply of dinner entrees, beer stew and roast beef sandwiches.

Damn my astigmatism. "beer stew" should be 'beef stew'.

There's a good chance that beer stew would cause astigmatism if you ate enough of it.

PP.