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

Since I seem to have quite a few friends who are brilliant in the kitchen, I wanted to start a separate journal entry where we can share "recipes" or suggestions with each other when we make something tasty. This way, if anyone else wants to try, they can find the postings more easily without having to sift through my long-winded rambles.

For those of you who cook with meat, feel free to share ideas here anyway. I've been off meat long enough to know when and how to substitute and with what.

So now I'll have to cook something amazing again reallysoon and share it here.

Hi PC... I only cook basics luv n make it up as I go along... Like today, it was a chicken stew, nowt special... I'll keep tuned tho' for summat different...

Hi PM, and if you ever care to share a good stew, I'm all for basics as well as gourmet. Some people are wickedly good at making it up as they go, no matter what the fare. I certainly wouldn't call a stew "only" or "nothing special". Especially if you like stew!

PC... It was made of diced potatoes, diced chicken pieces, with all fat cut off, and barley... Don't ask amounts as I don't weigh... Added water and brought to boil, put on low simmer, added chicken stock to flavour, also 2 chinese Oxo stock cubes to flavour, as well as a sprinkling of dried mixed herbs and a pinch or two of garlic granules, or fresh crushed... Cook on low heat bout 10 mins, then add chopped broccolli and cauliflour, bring back to boil, then low simmer till all tender... Chopped onion is optional, but I omitted it as daughter not keen... You can vary veg to what you fancy... Obviously, keep an eye on pan and stir regularly......
There you have it, one basic chicken stew from the mad

Another thread I can get plump on...

Good idea PC. I rarely get time to cook although I do love to invent stuff. Will let you know if I have any good ideas.

Ah, now...I'm not sure I have 'recipes' so much as 'ideas'. Some recipe books are written as if you're meant to follow them to the letter (Delia Smith being the most obvious example). I like them better when they're more 'Why not try these together' or 'Why not do it this way' or 'In the Punjab they...'.

Following my tofu 'n Chinese cabbage stir fry last night, I discovered that my intestinal bug of the last few days hadn't gone away after all. I'm not sure I can think about food in any detail until it has.

Oh dear hope that flushes out soon....




I'm sorry.....bad BAD me...

Really those are the worst...

Edward, I hope the bug clears up quickly, too. Those are indeed the worst!! Especially ones which pretend to have gotten better, only to return with a vengeance the first time you try to eat properly again.

I'm afraid I haven't any ideas just now myself. It's too cold to go to the grocery store.

Vix, naughty girl!

Speaking of basic stews (and 'basic' is good!)...one of my easy, default meals is to just throw some potatoes in a pan (never peel!) with some chunks of carrot, swede (rutabaga), onions cut into chunks (or sometimes leeks) and a can of kidney beans. Add water and a veg. stock cube or two and boil until the spuds are at melting point. Serve with wholemeal bread and butter and brown sauce. Sometimes I also add dumplings (self-raising/ all-purpose flour and vegetarian suet).

Oh dear...now I have to run again...

That stew sounds great, too, Edward! I love darn near anything with rutabagas and/or potatoes in it. And dumplings! I've only made potato dumplings from scratch- grated potato mushed together with flour (the starchy fluid from that potatoes releases the gluten and binds everything together)- very simple, albeit messy. And the potatoes must be peeled for that... I hate peeling potatoes, and always cook them with the skins on. That's where most of the nutrients are, anyway!

Now I'm hungry...lol...
Sorry. but this is another meat one... To liven up a pork chop...., grill as per usual, then remove from heat and spread apple sauce onto chop(s), then top with grated cheese and return under grill until cheese has melted.... Rather yummy.......

Mmmm, anything broiled or grilled with cheese on sounds lovely to me! Share all the ideas for preparing meat you like, PM, don't deprive the carnivores on account of my dietary restrictions.

I used to LOVE apple sauce on pork.

Thanx PC... If I think of anything else I'll add to thread...

The German dumplings (Knoedel) you can buy are pretty weird. They are dried and in little packets. You drop the whole things into water and it sells up as it cooks. Then you cut them out of the packets.

The most popular brand is Fanni. Their slogan is 'Freudig auf Fanni' which means (approximately) 'Happily waiting for Fanni'

I must post my recipe for Welsh Cakes. Soon.

Try roasting sliced apples and potatoes. In German it's 'Himmel und Erde' (Heaven and Earth)

more food stuff what I'm probably* going to have tomorrow:::

groundnut oil in my big heavy pan, just a bit.
onion chopped finely, garlic choped finely celery diced, mushrooms sliced (two different kinds or more), fry them in the oil on hot for five mins or so, till their softened up a bit, meanwhile, througherly rinse some basmati rice, once its rinsed, and the vegies pretty much cooked (remember to add the garlic near the end of the frying as it goes bitter otherwise), chuck the rice in, then add just* enough water to cook the rice, about twice as much volume water as there was rice (use veg sock or chicken stock if you have it), then if your not using fresh stock, crumble a couple of vegy stock cubes in it, bring to the bil and simmer, and add the juice of a whole lemon and simmer with the lid on about 14 or so mins till all the water/stock is absorbed Oh forgot; add about a teaspoon heaped of ground cumin whilst the vegys are first frying together actually stick other herbs in if you have them, parsley kinda works, oragino is very good (espeically if you can spel it properly), dill, basil all work nicely when they are fresh espcially I'll have it with a ceiser salad when cooked properly it shouldn't be dry* but rahter moist but with most of the water absorbed so it isn't 'sloppy'

That sounds worth a try.. Something different, for me at least...

I have it all the time its one of those handy all in one pan dishs; I lived off stuff like it at uni, which impressed the hell out of everyone else who could only manage to burn frozen pizza It seemed I useually do it with chicken; diced or cut into strips and put in with the onion and celery and whatnot at the beginnign you can add sliced red or green or yellow or whatever colours they do now peppers to it too the sweet pointed peppers are rather nice in it