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

I wanted to place a link here, where it's not buried in the depths of backlog in an already existing thread, to my new Wordpress journal.

http://wyrdsister.wordpress.com/.

With luck, it will alleviate the need for journalling here.

Good grief, another one! I'll check it out soon, right now my tummy is demanding food.

Sorry about that. Wordpress offers a few features that made the switch worthwhile.

What's wrong with radishes?

I was in Orlando on business with my friend-and-colleague, Teuchter Iain. After a buffet lunch, he asked me 'What were those crunchy things with the red coating?' Well - he was brought up on tatties and herring,

Edward. You still haven't answered with your list.

az

I can't tell you what's wrong with radishes, other than I don't like them.

I like turnips, rutabagas, beets, etc. But I do not like radishes.

What's a rutabaga? Compared to, say, a potato? I have to associate all vegetables with potatoes. My upbringing you see...

Deja vu all over again.

A rutabaga is what the English call a swede but the Irish call a turnip. That is, it's a large root vegetable with a purplish/brown skin and yellow flesh. What the English call a turnip is smaller, white fleshed and with white skin, sometimes tinged with red. I have no idea what the Irish call them.


How about mooli? I grew lovely mooli last year.

Ah. Our ones are kind of brownish or purplish with yellow inside. A bit like a conical potato, when you think about it...

Parsnips. Now that's one evil vegetable. I had this argument once with a French person who swore to me that such vegetables didn't exist. Not only do they taste goddamn awful, but they only exist in some people's reality.

>Parsnips. Now that's one evil vegetable<

I used to hate them, too, but they've grown on me. I like them steamed, then mashed with butter like a potato would be.

I keep forgetting the turnip/swede/rutabaga thing. From my experience, in the US, the smaller, waxy, purplish ones are the turnips and the large, whitish ones are the rutabagas.

And then there's kohlrabi. I've no idea what the hell those taste like. K says they're good. Unfortunately, I can't provide a description as such, as he's only ever seen them sliced up, and I've never seen one in person.

Oh, and what about the lovely jicama? They're large, round and brownish on the outside, white on the inside. They're frequently used in Mexican soups and stews. When they're raw, they have the consistency of a water chestnut, and when they're cooked, they're like potato. I like them in salads and stir-frys.

Grrr!! Root veg wars, that's all we need! I am qualified on all counts:

Half Irish/half English

Owned restaurants in Pakistan

Now live in France

OK: My personal definitions:

Turnip = round, white, with purply bits at the top & maybe some green bits.

Swede = Rutabaga in USainian; orangey thing, bigger than a turnip, blueish bits at the top. Related to Mangold Wurzels, which are supposedly only fit for cows, but i have made fine stews from them.

Parsnip = delightful things, not often found in france, lovely roasted like potatoes.

Mooli = the long version of turnips, found here in france, seem to taste the same as the round ones.

Ed: When i lived in Pakistan, Ilias, my cook, made a fantastic curry from Mooli, can't track it down, any ideas?

Cooking times: Turnip = longest, longer than carrot or potato. Swede = about same as potato.Norwegian = very quick indeed, ask any Viking. Parsnip = dead quick if boiling, quite a long time if roasting without parboiling first.

zdt

got called a vegetable, by a doctor, years ago, to young to hear it(still working on it)think I'm winning

Mooli: Simply grate it, fry it up in mustard oil with some hing, green chilli and kalonji seeds. Garnish with coriander. Eat with parathas. Or, even, use to stuff parathas.

Mustard oil might present a problem. Remember in the '70's they had that problem in Spain with adulterated, deadly toxic olive oil? Well they had something similar in India in the 80s. As a result, all the mustard oil on sale in the UK (and, presumably, EU) is labelled 'For external use only'. However...it comes in 2 gallon tins, and nobody needs *that* much massage. Double standards: The olive oil problem was sorted out.

Parsnips - I'm not mad keen. Nice roasted, but a bit too sweet to have more than occasionally. Add a little mashed to bread dough for a nice, moist loaf that keeps well and toasts beautifully.

Kohlrabi - the most pointless vegetable known to humankind.

Jicama - you can get them sometimes in Afro-Carribean shops (of which there's only one in Glasgow . I think they're called Eddoes - or are they something different?

Oh...Kohlrabi. Light green, sometimes tinged with purple and resembling an HR Giger Sputnik. http://macktez.com/users/matthew/kohlrabi.gif

I love the idea of the French denying the existence of parsnips. It reminds me of a conversation I once had with a French student:
Me: What's French for 'brandy'?
Him: 'Un Cognac' or 'un Armagnac'
Me: No...I mean, isn't there a generic word that covers the two?
Him: pfff! No! You'd just ask for 'un Armagnac' or 'un Cognac'
Me: OK...but what if you wanted to order a Spanish brandy or a German one?
Him: Why?

<>

Well, I don't! As this seems to have extended to Spain. Cannot find them here at all.

Mmmmm... roasted potatoes and parsnips and a few carrots thrown in, with red onions - it's just not the same without the parsnips!!!


az

Well they *are* meant to be a vegetable of cold weather climes. I mean - you wouldn't expect olive groves in Scotland.

Actually...parsnips are said to taste better after the first frost.

An eddo is another name for a taro, which is another kind of South American tuber. Taros are quite similar to potatoes. Jicama is seen here: http://www.agric.nsw.gov.au/Hort/Fmrs/Asian_veg/yambean.htm

and taro is here: http://food.oregonstate.edu/v/taro.html

They look a lot alike, so I wonder if they have a similar consistency when cooked? I don't think they're the same tuber, though.

Jicama is awesome. I've never tried taro yet. I will endeavor to do so soon- with all of the ethnic groceries around, I should be able to locate some without too much effort.

You *can* get parsnips here; but only for around two weeks a year. According to the dictionary:

parsnip = panais (nmasc)"légume courant dans l'alimentation brittanique" ie: only the bloody daft Brits eat this.

They also look aghast at Brussels sprouts, but this could be partly due to the inherent in jokes about Belgians.

*resists temptation to quote Xenophobic song a friend of mine performed onstage with Victoria Wood many moons back*

zdt

The joke that got Chris Evans sacked from Radio 1:

Q. Why are Brussels sprouts like pubic hair?
A. You push them both aside and carry on eating.