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

Sorry. Morning Speckly *waves*
'BACK ON THE BENCH NOW!'
rats have to
take care
owwww!

You ok Boots?

I don't cook either.

But I have volunteered to do a pasta salad, (interval refreshments at a dance in about a fortnight). It was the only way to get out of doing a pudding. Doing pudding is way too competitive. After last year's flan fiasco I grabbed the last salad option. If I make a really good job of it I could become the pasta salad person (like J is the boiled eggs person ) and never be faced with doing pudding again .

Anyone got any hot pasta salad tips? I never eat it. I never see anyone else eat it either, which is what I'm really banking on.

OK maybe I told a tiny fib

Tuna pasta salad
Penne pasta (large packet fresh)
Two tins tuna (in brine
I can sweet corn (sugar added)
I packet petis pois (sugar added)
Dollops of Hellmans Mayo full fat (the brine was a bit of a waste of time really)
1 Coz lettuce
2 hard boiled eggs (sliced)
a little malt vinegar (don't bother with the white wine or the balsamic the malt works bet with this one)
method
cook pasta,
chop rest of ingredients (the mayo is a bit tricky!)
mix and serve.

Smoked mackerel warm pasta
I large packet tagliatelle with garlic and herbs (fresh)
Packet of smoked mackerel (at least two pieces).
Tub of marscaponie cheese (large tub)
med tub double cream.
loads of black pepper.
method
cook pasta
while cooking warm marscaponie and cream with a little olive oil. shred smocked mackerel and mix through DO NOT ALLOW TO BOIL.
mix with pasta and add loads of black pepper. (if you are rich you can use smoked salmon and caviar instead of mackerel but I think the mackerel actually tastes better!)

roasted vegetable pasta.
Packet of penne large and preferably fresh
red onions
garlic
mushrooms
red peppers
yellow peppers
cherry tomatoes.
Cook pasta in water with a little olive oil. cool.
chop and roast all vegetables on baking tray with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Cool and mix into pasta.
loads of black pepper and shavings of fresh parmesan (not grated or pulped...shavings) on top.

Always keep fresh herbs to hand and chuck in a few whenever the moment grabs you. Basil is good with tomato and coriander divine with just about everything. Keep a glass of wine handy for stressful moments.

Angela makes it all divinely - do you want to borrow her?
take care
boots
who really doesn't cook

Easy Pasta Salad

12-16 oz. package of tri-color rotini (or plain rotini), cooked and drained
1/2 cup chopped red onion
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped bell pepper - any color - your choice
1/4 cup chopped black olives
1/4 cup chopped green olives
4 hard boiled eggs, 3 chopped, 1 sliced for garnish
1/2 cup chopped pickles - your choice - I use bread and butter pickles

Dressing:
Mix until creamy -
1 1/3 cups mayonnaise
1/4 cup prepared dijon mustard
1/4 cup milk
1 Tablespoon vinegar
2 Tablespoons sugar

Pour dressing over pasta and chopped vegetables and mix. Garnish with sliced eggs. Makes a lot.

H

These are great, thankyou! My cook books, and my mother's cook books don't have pasta salads and googling for them was a nightmare. The only easy looking one had reviews ranging from delicious to worst ever tasted. I will try out the one with sweetcorn and peas (like those) and the v. colourful easy one, I think. The mackerel is a bit strong for this occasion and keeping the warm salad warm would be a problem.

Boots - you show off ! 'doesn't really cook', 'tiny fib' humph. Yes I want Angela. Can she be delivered?

Hypatia, what is 'a lot' - before I try it out. They say 4oz pasta per person over here, so sounds like enough for about eight to me, as a main meal helping.

Waz, (with apologies for cooking in the fan club. Now where'd I put that crochet pattern I couldn't work out...)

Waz, I've always used it as a side dish. If you use the 16 oz. package of pasta it should serve 12-15 as a side dish or 6-8 as a main course.

I was going to learn how to crochet once. I can make a granny square and a chain stitch, but that's as far as I got. do you cross stitch? I'm good at that but don't have any time for it anymore.

H

I cross stitch quite well, even taught that rather un-femme lizard of mine. Never learned to crochet though, or knit. Did intend to learn embroidery, but never got aroung to it. Probably just as well, I can't even manage french knots.

Oh, the lizard was salivating madly at all those pasta salad recipes. Wants to know what you cheffy types could make with avocado. And if Angela is being posted about could she be sent on here when you're done with her Waz?

Phew guys! Angela is just checking her diary but it's not looking good. She's fully booked till Christmas and I'm claiming her for the rest of the festive season!
Sorry Waz not a hope on the crochet front...there really is no beginning to my talents.
take care
boots

no beginning and no end, there's a really nice tai chi move called that.

No Angela . Perhaps she could just send the pasta. If we send stamped addressed jiffybags?

I haven't done any cross stitch - used to do a bit of embroidery, bits of allsorts really, but what do you do with all the bits when you've done them? That's the problem. It's been glass engraving recently - glass is so easily broken it almost counts as a consumable.

I used to do needlepoint until the RSI got me, then I had to give it up. But it is soothing to do, and if you do it in an embroidery frame you can make the resultant things up into cushion covers. The cat is currently asleep on a very heraldic lion I made for my father, and there is an aquarium of fish swimming across a footstool on the other side of the living room.

On a seasonal cooking note, is anyone else about to make mincemeat? I feel mincemeat coming on... It is a great excuse for buying some more rum, anyway! It is the easiest thing in the world: chop the ingredients in a blender, (substitute apricots for currents, whatever else you do), whop them into a bowl with acholol and sugar, and two or three months later get out the just-rol and everyone thinks you are clever!

Love to all, and abject adoration of Useless Hound. (How is the week after next looking for you, my dear? Fancy a get-together then?)

B

Oh dear I really am surrounded by culinary expertise.
Mincemeat cripes. I just but the standard jars and whack in any leftover alcohol . Best mince pies are Tesco's. Not the finest and not the cheapies...the bog standard ones. Fill one of those travel syringes (you know the ones in the first aid packs that you never actually need) with favourite tipple, You don't need the needle. Then puncture each pie and inject with desired amount of cointreau/rum/whatever...quite delicious.
Hey abcB *waves*. Not bad but not good either and yes a meet would be great. Week after next looking good. Time and place?
take care
boots

*eyes the two provocative agents warily*

An update on the pasta salad - I'm converted!
H, I ran out of time to experiment so went with boot's tuna one, because I love sweetcorn. I've no idea if it tasted as it's meant to but I really liked it. Didn't realise until I was making it that that recipe was... slightly vague on some quantities - I think the packet of petit pois I got was a large one. So I just used what I felt like.

I could relax and enjoy the evening without dreading the moment when The Puddin's appeared.

*slips the CD she won in the draw into the duke box*

...Donald, where's yer troosers?...

*sighs*
Andy Stewart - such a manly voice...

juke box even!

It's the rum in the mincepies, or Andy Stewart

...by day and night she's my delight, the bonnie, bonnie lassie o'Dundeeee...

Hey Waz glad the pasta went down well! Never could understand quantities...bit of this, bit of that...it makes for originality every time
take care
boots

Getting around to it. As I've said before, though maybe not on hootoo, I'm ever so slightly addicted to your work. It has a style and flow to it that I've not seen elsewhere. Reading your work has made joining hootoo worth the effort and the headache of SSO.

Still patiently awaiting your next masterpeice.

Hey Sneaky, there's a new one in the AWW now .

Patience is rewarded! Now I just need to go read it.

Hi Sneaky. Thanks for kind words. From across the pond are we? Glad you like the ramblings. You should come over and join the never starting story sometime, the buses are filling up nicely now eh Waz?
take care
boots (saturday off! saturday off! saturday off! Bliss!)

We? *starts looking over shoulder*

*gasp* There he is! Get him!

Yup, I'm an American, happily living in Florida, land of the warm winters. Thought about hiding that fact, but realized that my spelling alone would give me away and since I can't really spell American English I have no hope of learning to spell British English.

Where might I find the never starting story? Sounds like an interesting time if you and Waz are involved.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/alabaster/F1599167?thread=334552 It's quite a long read now but it's worth the effort. Pin threw it out as a challenge to get Ben to come back to hootoo. I arrived late (as usual) but we have had good fun. There is a lot of everyone in the story and as those wretched buses roll more travellers join us. Waz looks over us with an incisive eye and there are some dreadful flirts and serious drinkers but mixed among all of that there is some fun writing and a random bit of genius! Ben tells me we're up to over 40,000 words! take care and good to meet you boots