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

Funny, we had a discussion about what constitutes authentic goulash just a few days ago. Care to enlighten me? I've never been anyplace where they make the "real" thing.

I don't have a clue, Hypatia. I just stumbled into restaurants, pointed to the menus where the goulash was listed, and then waited a long time for the waiters to bring the stuff to my table.

We were arguing over the cabbage. I think it has to have cabbage to be authentic. Others say it never has cabbage.

I don't remember cabbage in any of the goulashes I ate. Sorry.

Paul, from the recipes I've found, you are correct. One did call for saurkraut. It is also clear that prety much any stew with onions and paprika can be called goulash. The recipes vary quite a lot. Leave it to my mother to have her own version.

The goulashes I had were different one from another. What they had in common was a thick, tasty sauce, which was good with bread dipped in it. If you wanted cabbage, there were tasty cabbage dishes you could have on the side. The Czech Republic has a very tasty popular dish that consists of duck stewed in cabbage and probably wine.

Interesting. In my experience, duck goes very tough when stewed. That's one I'd like to try, though.

The duck didn't seem very tough.

I've roasted duck but never tried to stew it. I have made soup with leftover duck and wild rice so would probably like a duck stew.

My biggest culinary disaster happened to be centered around a duck. Many years ago, I decided to roast a duck for New Year's Day. I figured that the duck I bought would fit in my toaster oven. When I tried to get it in, it wouldn't fit. Then I cut the duck in half, took out my other toaster oven, and tried roasting "half" a duck in each. The duck turned out to be edible after roasting, but the fat stuck to the insides of the toaster ovens for years. I finally got new toaster ovens, and vowed no more experiments in roasting.

I can see how that would happen, duck being rather fatty. Course that fat is what makes it so delicious.

I've fixed duck for my mother a couple of times a year for the last 15-20 years. Each time she eats it she tells me that she doesn't believe she's ever had duck before.

Mmm, duck...

it's pretty tasty...when someone else prepares it.

Well, it's induction day tomorrow. I've been searching through papers and on the website to find out if I need to take anything, but can't find owt. And I wonder if there's any reading I should have done, but in all honesty I won't have any trouble with the subject matter and as for reading about the job, we're not sure what things will be like when the new government's finished messing with the education system.

I'll just have some soothing .

The education system? Sometimes a hurricane can improve it a lot. Katrina pretty much destroyed New Orleans, and since then the school children's reading compression has gone up a great deal...

How did it go?

Okay, I am registered. But it seems I never received some post from them - should be able to pick up a spare pack tomorrow.

Good!

Small bumps in the road seem to be an unavoidable part of everything these days. I'm glad this one is easy to sort out.

This is exciting! Baggers is going to be a teacher.