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

Made a mistake - it was sherry not brandy.

Tonight was pierogi again... two meat pierogi (probably horse and pig for all I know ), boiled, then shallow fried with a little butter and a lot of mushrooms, and a pile of lightly smoked ham thrown on top that I needed to start using up, and then an obscene amount of grated cheddar and grated Austrian smoked cheese on top of that, and I stuck it under the grill a few minutes to get it all nice and melty on top Took about thirty minutes from starting to cook until I'd done the washing up... which probably says more about the speed at which I eat than how fast I eitehr cook or wash up

Been making an Ethiopian spiced lamb stew for dinner tonight. Just realised that not only have I never eaten this dish, I dont think I have ever tasted any sort of Ethiopian cuisine. So I have no basis for comparison whatsoever.

Come to think though that this is good. No preconceptions mean i'll judge the thing I have cooked entirely on its own merits and not based on my pre-conceptions of what it *should* taste like. Make any sense?

FB

I'm in the midst of makin' a possibly messy mezze - baba ganoush, seared haloumi with red pepper sauce, asparagus and parma parcels, sweet potato and prawn patties. I WAS intending to bake a Camembert as well, but I suspect that might just be Too Much Food.

I've been on a 'get rid of the bits and pieces' kick.

For the wife, I made her current fave: herb pita pocket stuffed with shredded lettuce, tomato, leftover grilled chicken, and shredded cheese.
I had made some faux risotto, using up some leftover brown rice and sushi rice, with chicken stock, in a rice-maker. I heated it up and topped it with a couple of fried eggs. Surprisingly yummy!

I went to the butchers today... with no clear idea what I wanted to cook.... Nearly* bought a rabbit, but realised I have never cooked rabbit, so didn't think up what I might do with it, or what other ingredients I'd then need...
bought venison instead, which is currently half way through simmering itself, with some onion mushroom garlic and potatos and stock, into forming what I hope will be some variety of venison stew... Can't deicde wather to have it just with some fresh bread, or maybe do a small pan of bulghur wwheet to go with it... probably just with bread as it'll mean less washing up Of course, if I'd not have fallen asleep this afternoon I'd have started making it at a more reasonable time and would probably have just eaten it Should be enough for two or maybe even three meals worth I think...

Sounds like you're wasting good venison to me.

Diced venison, about 10 peeled garlic cloves, a bottle of wine (minus perhaps a glass for the chef), a few rosemary stalks, and lots of coarsely cracked black pepper. Simmer. Gas Mark 1, 12 hours. Spoon out on top of toasted ciabatta with some curly kale or similar.

B

"Nearly* bought a rabbit, but realised I have never cooked rabbit, so didn't think up what I might do with it, or what other ingredients I'd then need..."

Cover in garlic and herbs, wrap in foil, add to BBQ, cook until cooked, eat.

Or, just whack it in some sort of stew that also involves garlic and red wine.

I love rabbit.

I'm thinking I might experiment with the rabbit in some sort of stew, using my new slow cooker (that I've still not got round to using) I really can't remember what rabbit tastes like, Don't think I@ve eaten it in.... twenty plus years
The venison stew was very tasty... I've always liked venison stew though, with the ten million mushrooms I added to it makes a change from beef or chicken stew anyhow and I'm trying to do plenty of soups and stews at the moment, before spring arrives properly and such things will disappear off the menu until the autumn

Took our monthyl visit today to our favourite butcher/ delicatessen/ cafe, McCartneys of Moira.

http://www.mccartneysofmoira.com/

As well as some pork-stilton-apricot sausage, pastrami, corned beef, green thnunder, barkham blue and vintage cheddar cheese (and some crab apple jelly), we bought a King Seamed steak.

Any cooking suggestions?

I want those cheeses! and sausages... I've no idea what that steak is...
Can't decide what to buy from my butchers next, either the rabbit to I guess stew maybe in the new slow cooker, or, maybe something like goat, which I saw he had, and which, to my knowledge I've never eaten before... Or just go for the useual pile of sausges and bacon or beef for stewing or soemthing hmmm... actually maybe lamb, to slow cooker-into soemthing

Cooking suggestions, no - sorry. But do take photographs of them please.

I'm trying to think what other animals I can eat, which have 'names', I've eaten 'Bambi', maybe 'Peter Rabbit', (or Roger rabbit I guess), next week, I might revisit eating 'skippy' (the bush) kangeroo, I can always try asking the butcher if he does 'Black beauty', horse again, though he was a bit ... err unamused the last time I asked for horse

When I think of rabbit I think of Thumper.

I had Ermintrude for dinner last night and Babe for breakfast this morning. Actually, more Babe for tea tonight too.

Deb

Thumper, good point
and I do get through quite a lot of Ermintrude and especially Babe < The last time I had Skippy it was in sausages at the pub... they did zebra sausages one time too...

No idea what to do now, for dinner tonight... either pierogi with mushroom and maybe ham, or a quick chicken biriani/pilaff type thing with mushroom also or... just give up entirely on the idea of cooking, for today at least, and get a pizza/kebab/chinese/fishNChip/Indian takeaway... Everything else I've got in at the moment, food wise, requires 'thinking' about in advance... which I've clearly failed to do (no beans soaking, oddments bought to go with what I have, etc...)
Must decide what to get from the butchers tomorrow... goat, rabbit, beef, lamb, or, just get more of their yummy sausages I really oughta cut down my red meat intake, asides bacon I hardly ever used to eat any
hmmm.... I might be able to cobble up a failed version of fish N chips... well I've some oven chips and some haddock fillets lurking in the freezer I think... hang on

I've seared the King (rump) steak on both sides, and am currently simmering it in beef stock, red wine, sliced chestnut mushrooms and a handful of porcini. I'm going to prepare a samphire salad to go with, using broad beans and new potatoes.

Pork Indad for us tonight (insert joke about my father if you wish).

Basically a hefty Indian sweet-n-sour stew made with mint, poppy seeds, tamarind and raisins among the usual spice culprits.

Remarkably good, despite the apparent clash of flavours and cultures.

B

That is one of those list of ingredients, or recipies, that on reading it, and knowing all the ingredients.... I can't taste it... or rather imagine how it'd taste
May get some lamb (or mutton if they have it), from the butchers tomorrow, do somethign Indian/spicey... can't quite make my mind up though

My daughter saw some pictures of raw vegs dipped in sauces and asked for it.

I´ve prepared two sauces: guacamole and yogurt with olive oil, lemon and some herbs I don´t know now the name in english.

the vegs: carrot, celery, lettuce, small red radishes, and cucumber. I have to add some roasted bacon and a boiled egg.

Vegetarianism seems hard, maybe I need better sauces...

I just did The Singing Swede, which is a tip I picked up at my slimming group. I think the name has something to do with the noise it makes whilst cooking, although as my microwave is in my outhouse I didn't hear anything.

All you do is put a whole swede in the microwave on a plate, cook for 7 minutes, turn over and do for another 7. The theory is that it is then soft enough to scoop out of the skin. Easy peasy. Possibly due to a combination of cheap microwave and larger than average swede, it was only about a third cooked well enough to scoop out, but that was all I needed. I mixed it with the same quantity of instant mash*, spinkled liberally with pepper and, hey presto, almost effortless clapshot.

This is a revelation for me as I gave swede up years ago as not worth the effort after peeling one, cutting it into small cubes, boiling it for half an hour and still finding it impossible to mash.

I did it with a pork loin steak, brocolli & sprouts. Totally yummy and diet friendly. I'm sure the clapshot would have been even nicer with a dollop of butter, but it was really lovely anyway.

Deb

* I'm only cooking for one and I find it's really not worth the effort to make real mashed potatoes.