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

Grits are a Southern dish here in the States. I would be VERY surprised if you found a resturant in New York that served them.

They are dried corn that has been coarsely ground, then boiled for about 20 minutes and served with butter and pinch of salt. Some people like sugar with their grits. (This would be sort of like corn meal used to make cornbread only not as fine a texture.)

I don't like grits myself, I would much rather have oatmeal.

If you have ever watch the movie "My Cousin Vinny" there is a scene where Joe Pesci and Marisa Tomei are served their first down home breakfast. He asks what "this stuff" is, and the cook explains they are grits, what they are made from, and how to cook them.

You can now get "Instant Grits" just tear open the package and add water for those in a hurry. But no self respecting REAL southern cook uses THOSE.

(I eat "Instant Oatmeal" all the time.) I can cook, I'm just not to proud to take the easy way out for the clean up after.

Never heard of potato fried in batter, unless your talking about potato pancakes. Some folks do make those useing a type of pancake batter and adding shredded potato in it. Ususally we just slice potatoes real thin and pan fry them if we are going to have them for breakfast.

Hope that helps.

Pancakes with shredded potato sound a lot like what we call Reibekuchen. mmmmmm with apple sauce or cranberry jelly.

I guess, that's one of those things I've seen "made on TV" and read the recipe, but don't think I've ever eaten.

While we're on the subject of food...

I have a question. About

In the area I live, in the Southern Appalachains, we have a cake that apparently is common only here.

We call it a Stack Cake. The cake layers very thin (about 1 to 1.5 cm) and hard, like a cookie or tea bisciut. The filling is made with dried apples that have been soaked and cooked, sweetened and spiced with cinnimon then pressed or mashed until the consistancy of apple sauce. The is usually 7 or 8 layers high. It is best if left to set a day or two before serving, in order for the layers to soak up the moisture in the filling and get soft. There is no frosting or icing (what ever you call it over there.)

Do you have anything like that on your side of the Atlantic? People from other parts of the States have never heard of this cake, even folks from other parts of the same state I live in.

We give these things as Christmas over here. If someone has a talent for making them. (and the time)

The story goes that flour was so hard to get back in the old days in this part of the country. (The land being so hard to farm, and sugar expensive.) That when a couple would get married, each woman going to the wedding would bring one layer for the wedding . Everyone had apples or dried apples for the filling. After everyone was gathered the women would "Stack" all the layers together, and that was the wedding .

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No, I breastfed Laura 27 years ago and I can only remember the abject pain, feeling like my nipples were in clamps my breast felt like I had boulders strapped to my chest, and I couldn't lower my arms.

The last time I ever fed her breastmilk, she had an unusually long sucking session, I went to swop boobs as I'd gone numb and was aching, she was smiling but then spat out a mouthful of blood! I got such a fright it never occured to me that it was *my* blood, and with the agony came my decision to give up.



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Did you know I included that quote on my Michael Hutchence entry, Sho>
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...and he liked Helena Christensen covered in butter and cream...

Stack Cake - that sounds like layer cake to me, although I never heard of people bringing layers to a bride - sounds a fun tradition though!

I hope you lot go see Harry Potter, saw it yesterday with Andrew and will definately be treating myself to the DVD when it's out.
I'm disappointed with what they left out - they didn't make nearly enough of Rita Skeeter (a part Paula Yates was born for, unfortunately)- when I was reading the book I had Paula's image in my head, and her voice for Rita's.

I can imagine TC will pass out when she watches Daniel Radcliffe topless in the bath, and trying to cover himself with bubbles when he gets disturbed by Moaning Myrtle.



And the moment that Cho smiles at him, and he smiles back, and he slops his mouthful of pumpkin juice all down his robes - pure cinematic joy and totally made the film for me.

Love that pic of Jake Gyllenhaalmmmmmmmmm

That link of yours, Sho, was absolutely brilliant - men categorised by "hands" "feet" and "in skirts" or you can call up one bloke and ogle him in all categories.

Ewan McGregor in a kilt. And nothing else.

Oh yes - and if the roads aren't frozenn I'm off to Mannheim tomorrow night to see the Harry Potter in the English. Actually it's my birthday, but I don't care - I'm going to choir practice and then dashing off - should just make it.

Billy Boyd's also got a section on that site. He's just ...yummy .... so edible!! Here it is again....

http://handson.provocateuse.com/


You can get hooked on it!! And the pictures open so quickly. All our favourites are there: Keith Hamilton Cobb, Christopher Ecclestone, Viggo Mortensen. I have bookmarked it for rainy days.

Bl**dy H*ll talk about a hormone surge - there's a page of wet ones as well - you want Ben Browder in a wet T-shirt? Colin Firth, of course. In various poses.

Ahem.

Better get on with the dinner.

oh wet ones? where's the link - all those feet must have blinded me to wet ones, somehow

I can't wait to see HP3 - But I'm going to watch in German first. And then I have to decide if the Gruesomes can cope with it. Then, hopefully they can, we'll try to catch it in the original.

Sounds like a nice birthday to me!

I seem to have developed a crush on the lead singer of Franz Ferdinand Think it is those cheek bones...

Must find out his name and see if there are and pics of him on that website...

Stack cake vs. layer cake. Most layer cakes over here start out very moist and soft. You use a batter that is poured into a pan. They usually have a butter-cream and sugar based filliing and frosting can be flavored with vanilla, chocolate, well, just about anything. Sometimes marzipan is used to cover the outside of the cake and a fruit jam is used for the filling betweed the layers.

A popular wedding cake over here is Italian cream cake with white butter cream frosting. We also have a "Grooms Cake" at weddings, usually chocolate. This one is more of fun and will be decorated to reflect the groom's interests or personality.

Stack cake is different in that the layers are make from a dough and can actully be rolled with rolling pin and cut with cookie cutters if you wanted to make cookies. In fact my grandmother used the same recipe to make her sugar cookies. Also you don't cover the outside of it at all unless you want to sprinkle a little sugar on top, some people do that.

thanks for the grits explanation.. i was well off course with my potato fritters....i've been to florida 4 times and have heard of them but never tried them..........

no wonder we didn't see them on any menus in NY we did learn the delights of a polish sausage though.... we thought it was like a chilli sausage..very nice...

i also made a point of trying an egg creme but i didn't like it much, but at least now i know what it tastes like.. it looked as if i'd like it.. maybe i'll just stick with a thick milk shake

Did you find the wet ones, Sho?

http://wetmen.provocateuse.com/

(Slightly more appetising than a bowl of grits!!!! )

mmmnnnn ho hum [checking thru wet men] mmnnnnn try the risqe ones 1st....sean bean mmnn mmnnn, vin diesel oh yummy... one for the favourites methinks...

Oh yes - I tried that (the risque ones first). That fantastic photo on the front page of the wet ones is Christian Bale. But who cares?

Phwoar

Alex Kapranos is the lead singer of Franz Ferdinand. And yes he is rather dishy!

Paula Yates? I had Janet Street-Porter in my head as Rita Skeeter when I was reading the books . Miranda Richardson is far too sweet to play such a scheming minx.

I dragged my family out the door at 8.00 am to see the new Harry Potter film last Saturday. A lot was left out but it was still the absolute business! It's a shame that they don't release special extended DVD versions of the Harry Potter films as was done with LotR.

Did anyone see Rufus Sewell in the adaptation of The Taming of the Shrew of telly last Monday evening?

I saw HP4 last night, and I thought it was fantastic, but way too dark and scary for my Gruesomes, unfortunately. But I was a bit peeved that the new Doctor Who appears to have gone dark side

and Phwoar Rufus Sewell was absolutely gorgeously droolingly fantabulous, dahling, on Monday. Brilliant.

And it wasn't until I saw HP4 that I remembered where I'd seen "the Shrew" before - moaning Myrtle.

And now, off with my to the Wet Ones Webbie!

Moaning Myrtle was Bridget Jones' friend Jude (or was it Shazz?) That's where you'd seen her before.

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0376602/

I saw the film last night, too. David Tennant was the only bit of but he was such a horrible character that it wasn't possible to dwell on it for long.

On searching for him I notice he's playing Casanova (you all probably know about this) in a film that came out this year - written by Russell Davies!