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

interested in cookbooks but more in history..
(* I hadn't found thos links yet.. *)
but since I'm living in Europe and in the previously (40-45) occupied territory I am certainly interested in that piece of history!

a few years ago we were on holidays in Normandy.. great (almost no Germans).. we've seen the beaches, and lots of museums! (every village over 1000 people has it's own liberation museum! showing photographs, maps, equipment, stories, and .. with a bit of luck.. a guide (~ 70 years old and speaking 5000 rpm French)). very impressive!

:: (~ 70 years old and speaking 5000 rpm French)):: Sounds a lot like how I remember my grandmother. The French my father's family spoke is the same as that spoken in France, and not the corrupted Louisiana Cajun French. Dad could read the maps and speak to the locals in French, which was quite useful as no one else in his unit could.

I'd like to see Normandy one of these days. Currently saving for a trip to England which, with any luck, will be next Spring or Summer.

The enigma, collosus, and ultra code are compelling stories.
http://www.codesandciphers.org.uk

Cajun Recipe Links:
http://www-2.cs.cmu.edu/~mjw/recipes/ethnic/cajun/
http://www.coonass.com/recipes.htm
http://www.recipesource.com/ethnic/americas/cajun/

Almost forgot this one: http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/ww2/
One of the newest h2g2 sister sites on the DNA platform.

the recipe sites are great as well! (* I'm not sure I can ever find alligator meat around here .. ALLIGATOR MEAT ?? never knew you could eat alligator our local butcher certainly doesn't sell it *)
I'll try and make some of the other recipes.. the ones with chicken are easier.. (alligator meat indeed .. this comes a bit as a surprise to Dutch citizens.. it may take some time before I can think of it without "")

I'm still going through the other sites... for that

Eaten alligator, refuse to try possum. Fried alligator tastes a lot like fried chicken. Alligator sauce piquante is my favorite, so far.

I hope those sites are as useful for you as they were for me.

definitely have to try and make it.. with chicken meat I guess..
I'll not try and buy alligator meat over here although it could be good for a laugh

Duck works well in a sauce piquante.

http://www.cajun.ca/rec/section1/wild_duck_andouille_sauce_piquante.htm

Andouille is a spicy pork sausage.

Andouille is common available in most food shops; the French version of course.. (ignore the list of ingredients..)

I did an experiment with a (remote) buthcher and alligator meat.....
I got out as he called the happy home to come and take me back.. in the van .. with the long sleeve shirt

As for ingredients .. few months ago I had haggis (Scottish).. made of .. well.. there's sheep in it.. and some sheep's meat as well..
That tasted very good! I quite liked it, even knowing the (main) ingredients

@ butcher story...

The Louisiana version of Andouille is just as startling. Have you ever heard of Emeril Lagasse (chef, restaurant owner, has a couple of televised cooking shows)? Andouille and Tasso are his favorite ingredients next to garlic. I can't post the website link(commercial), but the name of the website is foodtv.(com).

Here's a link for the butcher...(rattlesnake, possum, and armadillo etc. recipes)
http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/martin/newsletters/newsarticles/wildrecipes/list.html

While looking for international recipes I found this site. Can't help but at the intro..."These recipes are sorted in order of increasing use of animal parts that would normally be thrown away".

http://www.smart.net/~tak/haggis.html

the wild meat site.. (bear beaver but RATTLESNAKE ) my traditional European background makes me raise eyebrows I now see I'll have to travel to USA to update food knowledge

Oh, and the comment at the Haggis site is consistent with the remarks on Haggis made by hard core Scottish..
Colleague of mine is Scottish, I had Haggis at his place.. Note that most Haggis seems to be pre-cooked instant available at (Scottish) food shops.
Really quite good (eat with closed eyes).

A trip to the U.S...definitely. There are fifty states and in some regards it's a lot like fifty different countries.

I'd eat the Haggis instead of hog's head cheese anytime...

This is a link a friend emailed to me. The site is about how to make sure you are from(or in) Louisiana. Some of it is just too true...

http://www.fromthebayou.com/cajuntalk/cajuntalk.html

some of it may be tru.. but some of it is nothing special really.. I mean ..

"You don't worry when you see ships riding higher in the river than the top of your house." .. what's there to worry about .. start worrying when you cannot see the ships anymore

"You know an old person that can "treat" you for warts." - can do it myself ( grey hair society member.. old enough )

well.. some of them are but none of them .. in fact all of them are

By the time we can't see the ship any more the levee would have broken: New Orleans is five feet below sea level. Baton Rouge is at sea level. Thankfully, I don't have waterfront property...well, until it rains...

Every soda or fizzy drink *is* a "coke". It really is "ya momanddem" in the Southern accent. And, I actually do have a chocolate brownie recipe that calls for chopped jalapeno.

Does your wart "treatment" entail cutting a potato, rubbing a piece of potato on the wart, then burying the potato by the light of a full moon?

most of the country is a few feet below sea level very few houses in the real low parts of the country have a cellar.. those who have a cellar usually have close friends in the fire brigade .... useful after heavy rain!

and the wart treatment involves broad beans.. (fresh.. limits the cure to early summer)..... full moon helps but mostly to impress younger patients

The recipe collection has progressed quite well. Even included a couple of recipes for non toxic home cleaners. Now, to uniformly format them with the word processor, add some clip art, save to a CD, and print one copy for my niece. No rush as long as it's done by Christmas.

You might find this link interesting: http://www.junobeach.org/main.html
I've branched out from Omaha Beach and the U.S. army.

How was your week?

My week led me to Bucharest.. very nice weather.. 30++ and .. there's electricity (!!) compared to New York, most of France, parts of Moscow.. ideal!

Our weather has been hot and bright with only a bit of rain here and there. There are only two more months left of hurricane (storm) season. It's always the season for a Hurricane mixed drink...

My visa for the Russian federation expired. Renewing it takes over a week so.. While renewing the visa I'm home, without passport, without visa. This of course is a disapppointment

I really should do some w*rk but.. oh well..

Aw, that's too bad about the visa... I can tell you're heartbroken

Work? Don't do it...

absolutely shattered and to pieces..

and w**k.. oh well.. it's almost 2am here and I expect I finish around 4am

serves me right.. making too many promises