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

I haven't shared any recipes for a long time. It's not that I haven't cooked, or that nothing was tasty, but rather that I just never really get around to posting about it any more.

Recently I did make a couple of really yummy things.

Inspired by something I read in a post, somewhere, by researcher Space Cadette, I made Hopping John for New Year's dinner. I just made mine veggie friendly. Satueed onion and garlic, some red and green bell pepper, celery, a diced green chili, bay leaf and cumin, black-eye peas, canned diced tomatoes, enough veggie stock to simmer it all in, and a splash each of liquid smoke (as tradional recipes call for ham hocks ) and sriracha sauce. Served over rice. Yum!

Another treat was pot pie, with double whole-wheat crusts. Filled with onion, garlic, carrot, celery, mushrooms, lentils, diced potato, frozen peas. Used veggie stock and tomato paste for the sauce and thickened with a bit of arrowroot powder. Seasoned with thyme, salt and pepper.

Last night I made a wicked soup based on a Portuguese recipe, with white beans, green kale, red pepper, and soy chorizo sausage, in a plain water broth seasoned with saffron and smoked paprika.

And I also found that green kale, tomatoes and adzuki beans make a fantastic curry.

>>Portuguese recipe

Sounds like 'Caldo Verde'.

Similar- except that my "recipe" has beans instead of potatoes. Which is fine- I try not to eat white potatoes too often.

K was asked to bring home a baguette from the Moroccan bakery to have with our soup; instead of one regular one, he brought home three large ones. So I'd better think of some good stews and soups for the rest of the week, too.

Hi,

Reading your recipes is like reading a book about travels. Probably I won´t go to these places as probably I won´t get all those exotic ingredients (not to mention your cookery gadgets!); but I love the picture you give us. I read your words and see the colours so clearly. I imagine the smell of the mixture and the flavour...

Oh! PC!
delight us with your artistic cookery
You, the Queen of flavours, textures and colours!

Oh my gosh, Mar. Thank you for your compliments. I'm just happy to share ideas in case someone is looking for a way to use something. I tend to buy lots of the same veggies and then try to figure out how to make them taste yummy with some beans and rice or noodles.

I have to admit to having a few "specialized" cookery gadget cheat-type things, like a garlic press, a pineapple slicer, and citrus reamers, but I don't have that many fancy gadgets.

Do I ever love my pressure cooker, though. (Thanks once again to our Bel for convincing me of the merits of owning one!)


I've got a hankering for polenta, but fresh tomatoes are so pricey right now, at least the ones that taste like tomato are. Any other suggestions for a tasty polenta topping?

Well there's lots of Italian soup recipes that would use up old bits of baguette. In some you put the bread in with a tomato-ey broth so that it goes all soggy. In others you make giant croutons (rub slices with garlic; drizzle with olive oil; toast) and pour the soup over them.

(if you google 'italian soup bread' you get some yummy-looking ones)

Polenta...

I prefer it mushy, rather than sliced and toasted. Mix with white beans and garlic and serve with tons of butter and parmesan.

Polenta is a staple in Romania, and was usually the only vegetarian thing on the menu, topped with mushrooms fried with onions

I never make croutons because I hate them, and I can't stand dunking bread (or crackers, either) into my soup. But you should see K, putting the bread in first and then slopping soup all over the top of it.

I've always preferred the firmer polenta to the creamy sort, till recently; now it's even-steven except I haven't quite acclimated my texture sensors to appreciate the porridge-y texture with tomato-y sauce. Yet. But since I'm trying for something non-tomato-y, I was thinking creamy would do just wonderfully. Especially as I can set it in the rice cooker and leave it, rather than stirring. And stirring. And stirring. And stirring.

I'm thinking the substitute "parmesan" I use for pasta wouldn't have enough flavor to use with just garlic and butter-replacer... but maybe with mushroom and onion...

Has anyone ever tried polenta with a marsala sauce? I've got heaps of mushrooms and fresh sage. It's a pretty thin sauce, usually, but I could probably thicken it up with more onion. Hmmm.

I'm the wrong person to ask. I'm not really a fan of sauce of any kind, though I'll make an exception for a few things, like eggs in mustard sauce or cheese sauce on noodles. I hate dipping bread in soup, too. I like things crunchy

Really must think of something good to make for dinner. I've basically been surviving on cornflakes for the last week while I finished my big Uni project.

Yeah, I like soft things soft and crunchy things crunchy; no stale bread (should be soft, not hard) or crackers (should be crisp, not soggy). The only time bread comes close to my soup or sauce is for sopping up the sauce off the dish when I've finished eating.

I don't hate all sauces, though I have never been a fan of creamy sauces, nor did I ever like gooey cheese. Alfredo, carbonara, etc- they literally make me gag. Bechemel sauce is OK in some things, though.

Carbonara can be acceptable the way I make it, because it doesn't involve much beyond cheese, eggs, and walnuts, no cream

Now I'm getting *really* hungry, but can I be bothered to go get a pizza?

Yeah, I can't eat cheese, eggs, or walnuts, so carbonara's pretty much out.

This making me hungry, too, and it's over two hours till leaving time, and then I have to stop at the grocery store. Maybe I'll get more mushrooms for my polenta- I did a quick peek around teh interwebs, and apparently polenta is good with mushrooms and brussels sprouts in a marsala sauce (shallots, olive oil, fresh sage, marsala, that's it).

Maybe I'll have time to make this for dinner tonight. If not, I can save the polenta for tomorrow night and toast it a bit instead of serving it mushy.

Or maybe some poached figs instead of the sprouts?

Yes, I guess that is a reason to eliminate it

Decided to just make pasta, with garlic toasted in olive oil and, yes, walnuts I eat rather a lot of those; I go through about 400g/month.

If I could eat nuts, I imagine I would eat lots, too. When I was a kid I loved pistachios.

Dragonprincess made real nice burgers of tofu, peanuts and cashew nuts for dinner. They were served with potato casserole and a mixed salad. Yummy!

Unfortunately it was the last dinner she will cook for me until July, since she's going back to the Far East tomorrow morning.

Dragonprincess sounds like a fantastic cook!

By the time we got home last evening, I was too wiped out to cook a "real" dinner, so so we had some seitan in barbecue sauce, on buns, with corn on the cob.

It's frickin' freezing this morning, so I'm thinking something warm and hearty for dinner.

She is a good cook - and very good at messing up the kitchen I don't know anyone that uses so many bowls, spoons, plates, cooking pans etc as she does when cooking.