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

Hello TC

I'm your Sub-editor for Getting a Meal on the Table on Time. The new version is A87829546 - please subscribe!

I enjoyed this in Peer Review, and I enjoyed subbing it too I have tidied it up for House Style, so I hope that's OK for you so far.

I do have a couple of questions:

In the example time schedule for a roast and two veg, it doesn't say when to put the vegetables on to boil.

When using the chopping board in a logical order from least messy to most messy, do we need to say anything about hygiene in relation to meat and veg?

Similarly, in the Think Forwards! section, I believe rice is a particularly good habitat for germs, so do we need to say something about the safety of reusing rice two days later?

Thank you

Yes - do feel free to point out the hygiene cautions.

The veggies go on last. At 12:40 or 12:45, depending on how small they're cut.

And hey! Don't throw tomatoes!

Reading it again with the distance afforded me by the passing of time, I think this sentence could be a bit more explicit:

>>Things can go wrong: cream or eggs can curdle or separate, and you may have to start whisking or cooking them again. Check the recipe for anything that requires a bain-marie2 or asks you to stir something with eggs in it over a low heat.<<

I don't explain why this is a potential disaster area. Something to the effect that a bain-marie indicates real careful treatment and while it's not absolutely necessary if you have a hob which does low temperatures, you mustn't take your eyes off it for a minute. Keep stirring the eggs and don't let the temperature get too hot.

Thanks TC

Sorry about the tomatoes I couldn't find a less dynamic savoury smiley...

I have added in the extra bullet point about the bain-marie, and when the vegetables are put on to boil

I have added a couple of sentences about the chopping board and rice, but do say if you have a better way of explaining the points.

This Entry is very useful to me as a not very accomplished cook - as well as my not getting the timing right, and not reading the recipe all the way through first, my third blooper was when I cooked for my partner, and I managed to drop a piping hot turkey steak on my foot because I wasn't wearing shoes and I didn't use the right implement for the job of picking the steak up... Luckily my partner sorted me out with first aid on the night, and I later bought a pair of non-slip tongs so the next time I cooked turkey steak, I could hold it properly...

I'm learning, slowly, and this Entry is very helpful

Thank you for the compliment - I am pleased, if somewhat amazed, that there really are things in there that others can learn from. I had hoped for an active PR thread with lots of suggestions from others, but it didn't attract much attention at all, despite Bluebottle mentioning it in "What's New in Peer Review"

Now I see a fault in that schedule. The water goes on at 12.15, but you put the veg in at 12.40. Let me think this through again....

Right - here goes. I have marked the alterations with a

11.00 am - Switch on oven. Lay table, put water on to boil for potatoes.
11.15am - Meat in oven, along with a tray of fat to take the potatoes. Peel potatoes.
11.25 am - Potatoes on to boil. Chop apples, make crumble, grease dish for crumble.
11.35 am - Drain potatoes and transfer them to the oven. Peel, wash and chop vegetables.
11.45 am - Check that drinks are ready in fridge, turn the potatoes, do any interim washing up or other odd jobs. Get some fresh air!
12.15 am - Put serving dishes to warm.
12.30 am - Put crumble into oven, make gravy, put water on for the vegetables.
12.35 am - Put vegetables on to boil and make custard.
12.50 am - Take the roast and potatoes out of the oven, switch off oven, leaving crumble in to keep warm until needed. Drain vegetables and serve them up, along with the gravy.
1.00 pm - Carve and serve the roast.

And we'd better add to >>Chop apples, make crumble, grease dish for crumble.<<

Should be: Chop apples, make crumble, grease dish for crumble, layer the apples and crumble ready to cook.

I see that there is a link to the ancient entry A435160.

In that entry there is a mention of Spätzle (which are very very wrongly translated as "dumplings" - they are nothing LIKE dumplings.

Could that old entry be amended, to include a link to the Spätzle entry, A63875794? Do you have the wherewithal to do that?

I've only just discovered the Edited version of that Spaetzle entry. I probably got an e-mail at the time, but I didn't bookmark the new version. I wish all editors would contact the authors, like you have. And I wish that the author could automatically be subscribed to the edited versions when they are uploaded. But I've said that before somewhere, so I think it's on Milla's list.

Oh. Now I discover that I was involved in a conversation attached to the edited entry, so I must have known about it after all.

Thanks TC

I made all those amendments and I'm happy with the Entry. If you could check it over and let me know if there's anything else you would like me to change, I'll do that and then send it on its way to the Edited Guide

You did get a few suggestions in Peer Review, which is good, although more is always better, but I for one think you did a grand job of compiling great hints and tips - the Entry seems very comprehensive to me

I do indeed have the functionality to edit the Ten Minute Meals Entry - it only has two links, so adding more will improve it a lot Doing a quick internet search, I see Spaetzle are sometimes called dumplings, but more often noodles, so I will change that too

I added the link to Spaetzle into the Entry A435160, plus some more links and I tidied up a couple of places as well, so that's good, thank you

Just moving this up my conversation list - I see you had a good holiday

Are you happy for this to be sent on its way to becoming Edited?

Yes - it's OK like that.

Of course, I am always having thoughts and could continue adding to it until the cows come home. For example, I say that all ingredients should be served up separately, but on the other hand, a one-pot meal is a great time saver, too.

The sentence >>How can we prepare for delays, and how can we save time to counteract this?<< could be improved by using "them" instead of "this" at the end.

But thanks - do go ahead and FP it.

Thanks TC - that has been tweaked.

Yes, best not to overthink it - you do mention casseroles and saving dishes, and the bit about serving items separately is for the case that your diners have allergies or dislikes, so it sounds fine to me

The magic button has been pressed to send the Entry on its way

Congratulations! Your Entry is Edited and on the Front Page today