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

I'm awake at an unusually early hour this morning. I woke up at around 5:00 to use the toilet, and couldn't fall asleep again. Around 5:40, I finally decided that if I got up, I might feel drowsy enough to head back to bed in a while.

I've nothing terribly exciting planned for this weekend. We've got a couple weeks worth of laundry to be done, and I'd like to wash my floors. I've got a short week this week; Wednesday the office closes at 2:30 and Thursday and Friday we're off for the holiday (US Thanksgiving). I always look forward to short weeks, though I find myself completely unmotivated for a good part of the last day.

This evening, there's an anniversary shindig at a local bar, in honor of a neighborhood record shop owned by friends (K used to work there several years ago). $9 each, two live bands, and (apparently) all-you-can-eat hot dogs, in which I have no interest but I suspect is K's primary motivation for attending. I'm bracing my lungs for the occasion: while an indoor smoking ban has been in effect in Chicago for a few years, some bars which were opened before the ban went into effect have been allowed until January 2008 to enforce it. So, some places are still a bit smoky. But not for long...

Last night, I made a banana cream pie with peanut butter in the custard. It's . We'll probably have last night's Middle Eastern take-out leftovers tonight, to save room for K's hot dog feeding frenzy. But I'd like to make another nice casserole tomorrow, so we'll have something for lunch Monday, too. Suggestions, anyone?

What about a potato casserole? Peel and slice potatoes, wash and slice leek, peel and slice two large, sour apples. Heat fat in pot, throw everything in and simmer for a while. Fatten your form, fill in the potato mix, make a suace of flour, eggs and cream, pour over it. Cover with grated cheese, bake.

Oh, I forgot: spice with salt, pepper and whatever else you like.

Yum! I love potato casseroles. Not only would this be wonderful, but now I don't want to wait till tomorrow.

I've never thought to add flour and egg to the sauce for a casserole similar to this before, BTW. Yogurt and cream on their own are nice, but this would be *so* much creamier.

This is my 'for all casseroles-sauce'. It was once mentioned in a recipe for quiche, and now I use it for practically every casserole.

It sounds *so* tasty! I'm definitely going to give that a try. Quiche is another thing I never used to like but has grown on me. The last one I made didn't come out so well, though- I used fresh artichokes and didn't peel them enough.

Oh, try leek next time, it's very tasty.

Just leek? Sliced the round way? That sounds absolutely divine!! What sort of cheese do you use when you make leek quiche? Would Gruyere or Comté work?

(Sometimes I cheat when I make casseroles and gratins, and use a jar of "ready-made" fondue they sell at a local little deli, for the sauce)

I think Gruyere should work fine. I never use it as it's extremely exensive here, so I usually use Allgäuer Edamer. I imagine a ready-made fondue will be just as fine.
And yes, just leek sliced the round way - but you can use the green parts, too, just rinse them very well.

I'm about to go run some errands. Basically, we're going to three separate grocery stores. K's company gave him a $25 gift card as a holiday gift, and we're going to pick up a few items for a donation box at my office building. We're also going to a shop that has some rather inexpensive rosé Cava wine for Thursday (going to my grandma's, my uncle likes this particular wine) and some sparkling soda. Then we're going to the Whole Foods market, for some odds and ends, and I'll get some leeks and pie crusts (they do lovely whole wheat pie crusts on the premises, freshly made!) while we're there. So perhaps we'll have a leek quiche tomorrow.

Gruyere isn't always inexpensive here, either. I'll look see if they have any Allgäuer Edamer. Though as they're both imported, it's likely they'll be equally pricey. The only really "local" cheeses we find are cheddar and Monterey Jack.

Cheddar costs an arm and a leg here.
Does it melt well? If so, I'd go for cheddar, it's so yummy.

Cheddar melts nicely, especially if it's blended with something else. It's not always as expensive as other, imported cheeses. Prices vary, but we get a nice vegetarian cheddar for about half the price of Gruyere or Gouda. Shredded cheddar, evaporated milk (or heavy cream), with a dollop of Dijon mustard and a pinch of cayenne pepper or paprika, makes a lovely sauce for all kinds of things.

I did pick up some Gruyere and some leeks yesterday. I also got a small bunch of lovely beets, with huge, bushy greens. So in addition to making a casserole, I'm going to make some baked beets, and some sort of salad with the greens. Again, if anyone has a suggestion, I'd love to hear it- I've never cooked beets before!

What's beets, same as beetroot? If you just cook them, they taste very earthy. It's best to cook them then conserve them in vinegar (don't forget to add caraway), and the you can use them for saldas, or as a side dish.
For an exact recipe, I'd have to ask my mom, though. I've never done it myself.
Oh, and is there a none-vegetarian variant of cheddar?

Vegetarian cheddar means that rather than using normal rennet in processing, a "rennet" derived from non-animal sources is used. It's not always easy to find vegetarian cheeses (especially hard cheeses, Parmesan in particular). I tend to buy a good-sized chunk when I find one and then freeze for future use.

I hadn't thought to use caraway. I am almost positive that what we call beets is what is known as beetroot. Purple root vegetable, big bushy greens? They're heavenly pickled, one of my favorite foods in the world.

Yes, sounds as if we're talking about the same vegetable:

http://obst-gemuese.bitpalast.net/images/objects/rote_beete.jpg

And we do have a guide entry about it:

A11454491

Yep, that's the one!

I chopped the greens, set the beets on top, tossed in a half a cup of water and a handful of caraway seeds, and baked for a couple of hours. Peeled, sliced. Lovely. There were only three, so not enough to reserve.

Haven't made any casserole yet. I'm feeling a bit tired today and a cold sore is popping up, so I might be fighting off a cold (wouldn't surprise me, they keep it really hot in the office at work, and that's what does it to me).

Hope you've had a nice weekend, Bel, in spite of your tooth?

Yes, very quite, thank you.
Getting tired now, though, spent large parts of last night awake, coughing.

Beet(root) - Caraway is essential for a decent borscht. Cumin is a close relative to caraway. I serve baked beetroots, split open with fried cumin, garlic, ginger and chilli and a dollop of yoghurt. Cumin also works well with grated beetroot and carrot in a salad (add lemon juice, olive oil, salt)

Tonight I took some mushrooms - regular and shitake - and fried them with garlic, shredded leeks and a dash of lemon. Then I added a drained can of cannelini beans, warmed them through, and added a good handful of parsley. I servedd this atop some crostini which I'd made by taking some slices of old Italian bread, rubbing it with garlic, drizzling with oil and scattering with sea salt and baking in the oven until golden. On top of the whole lot was coarsely-grated parmesan, a little crushed chilli, a poached egg and more parsley.