When we were little and my mother was away from home, my father used to make a similar dish for us. He just called it tunafish, but it was so much more: Tuna (many cans) a can of cream of mushroom soup a can of cream of (celery, broccoli, other) soup Peas a pound of egg noodles spices (i'm guessing salt, pepper, and oregano, but maybe not) Mix. Eat. Wonder when mom is coming home.

My Dad had a friend from the D.A.V.,John Hineson,My mom worked nights,slept days,Dad had to cook,we lived on pop tarts and t.v. dinners.John would sometimes come by and make us goulash beef,onions,stewed tomatoes,paprika,over noodles,there is a speacial place in my heart for that man,He also always gave my brother and I,a silverdollar.

sounds crunchy. or is there some cooking going on?

You cook the noodles,you stew the rest in the stewed tomatoes with water added,probably salt,pepper,and a bay leave,I get so discombobulated.

"discombobulated" that's a Great word.

Speaking of Antigone...isn't his birthday this month? the 28th? I formally request the right to administer the paddywhacks.

Damn... Thread, ressurect thyself. And, how did you know my birthday was this month, Gee? When have I revealed that? I did something insane this weekend. Sigh. My ex, you know the one that got me all worked up about my wee willy... We spent 12 hours in bed on sunday. I am such a slut. We're back together. I just came back from spending the night at her place. I just sent her an e-mail, calling her "snookums." No, I'm NOT whipped! Maybe now we can have an honest relationship. Christ.

See,Antigone,she just said it to hurt your feelings,and now it seems she likes your johnson after all.

you're whipped.......and forever forbidden to use "snookums" or anything like it ever ever ever ever again

When I first got married my husband always called me a ho,I asked him what it meant and he said it was a term of endearment,so I wuld call him a ho too.It wasn,t till some years later when Eddy Murphy joined S.N.L. that I figured that one out.

(back to the original thread) My husband makes this awful dish he calls goulash... He takes ground beef and frys it up, then he adds ketchup or sometimes tomato paste if we're out of ketchup. Adds some seasonings. While he's cooking that up he boils a couple of cups of elbow macaroni noodles. When the noodles are done, he mixes the beef in with the noodles and thats his goulash. That stuff tastes like shit though. At first I would eat it, but only after I tried to drown the taste with spices. That didn't work so I had to finally confess that the stuff made me ill. He loves it so now whenever he wants to make it I usually make something else for myself now.

Did he have a recipe,or is that something he just cooked up in his head?

if you want real goulash: 2 lbs beef (stew meat) 6 T manteca 2-3 medium onions 8 cloves garlic, crushed 1 t cumin 2 T hot hungarian paprika (or more) 10 cups beef stock 4 medium new potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2" sq 2 banana peppers, chopped 2 medium tomatoes, chopped a bunch of celery leaves, tied together with string. cube meat to about 1/2 inch square. chop onion finely and saute in hot manteca in a heavy pot until golden browny. stir in garlic. stir in cumin. remove pot from heat and allow to cool. add paprika and stir in well. mix in meat cubes and a little salt. return pot to medium heat. stir occassionally, adding stock if things get dry. when meat is browned, add some stock and allow to stew. when meat is soft, add potatoes, peppers, tomatoes and remaining stock. add bundle of celery leaves. bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer until everything is tender. you can make a simple pasta dough by kneading about 3/4 cup flour into a beaten egg. cover for at least an hour, knead again, and roll into tiny balls (pea size) about 10 minutes from serving, bring goulash to boil. add the little pasta bits, reduce heat, cover partially, leave for 5 minutes. stir carefully. remove celery leaves. ladle into bowls.

What's manteca?

lard you can use canola oil.

There was a thread somewhere where a bunch of people said when their birthday was. I forget what it was called. Good luck with your girl, Anti. I'm still doing the paddywhacks.

J -- I don't know if there ever was a recipe for that but he swears there was. He didn't have one though. He said it's one of his families recipes... I don't know. Most of the other one's (family recipes) he's made have been pretty good. I hope he really just got confused.

Your just lucky that he cooks!:)

My life is the goulash at the moment. It was a lame metaphor, but I couldn't resist. I'm going to break up with her. Again. After less than a week. Last night was practicaly blissfull. But that's how it started before. The definition of insanity is doing the same thing twice and expecting it to be different the second time around. How can I expect things to go differently than before? It sounds crazy, even to me, but I feel selfish because I want to end it before I get hurt again. Why do I feel that way? Why am I asking you? Ah, well. Wish me luck.

Good luck.

move ahead, don't look back

Why do you feel that's selfish? Seems very healthy to me. I'm hoping for your sake that she's not evil, that she's not doing this to you on purpose, and that she is in the same state of emotional turbulance as you are. Because if this is NOT the case, let me assure you there's going to be a lightning bolt with her name on it.

Thanks, Rhiannon. I don't think she's evil, though, and these days she's being downright pleasant. She wasn't when we broke up last: harpy would be an apt description. That's not her description, though. She called herself an ogre. :-) Our relationship now is exactly like it was when we started dating the first time. I just don't know if it'll end up the same way. I got in a discussion with my aunt and uncle a couple of nights ago about the whole thing. They think I'm being very foolish and that this woman is wrong for me. Of course, this comes parents who have disaproved of every boyfriend their daughter has ever had. But they did have some good insights. One thing they said was that it's not my job to solve this woman's problems, that she can only help herself, that I can't change her. This I know. But, can't I be supportive? If that means I go through a little pain, isn't it worth it if that helps her? Is this unhealthy? Unrealistic? And this is also why I was/am afraid of being selfish. If I think only of myself and duck out now when there's the possibility I could do some good, wouldn't that be a bit selfish? Then again, is it right to go into a relationship with that attitude? There is the danger of adopting a paternalistic/maternalistic atitude towards her. But can you want to help someone and not have elements of those two attitudes within you? I guess the trick is to not let those feelings dominate the relationship. Well, I'm just pontificating now. And it's time for breakfast.

I think if you love someone, then you would want to help them through their problems. As long as they are willing and admit they have a problem. I don't know what I would have done if my husband hadn't have stuck by me and helped me through my problems. My family was not supportive. They just told me that I had no problems and to stop making things up. He was the only one who stuck by me and supported me.

Soundss an awful lot like codependency to me.

I just reread that and I don't want it taken out of context... I wasn't replying to your post, Pamela, but to Antigone's notion that "it's ok for me to suffer as long as I'm helping this other person." There's a difference between not being selfish and maintaining your mental health. Rationalizing your own unhappiness is a prescription for chronic depression.

I'm with Simon. You can't be of any help to her if you're no good for yourself. The only way you can help people is if you are higher than they are...then you reach down and pull them up to your level. If you're just as troubled as she is -- and you can make yourself that way by taking on her problems -- you can't help her, and you end up hurting yourself. See? Also, do you really want your relationship to be founded on her problems? She's got them, you'd feel bad if you left her, so you're with her just for her and her problems' sake? That brings you down. I'm sure you care a lot about her, but do you think it's necessary to be in a relationship with her in order to help her? Could you remain friends, work with her with her problems, and then start something more later on?

Maybe I didn't express myself well. Anyway, I don't think it's codependent to go into a relationship with your eyes open. She and I may or may not act the same way this time around. If we do then I won't be around long enough for things to get as bad as they did before. I'm pretty sensative to that right now and, believe me, I'll do a great jack rabbit impression if necessary. If we both don't learn and grow then it won't be worth it and I'll ditch. And I never said that "it's ok for me to suffer," Simon. You're exaggerating a bit much, methinks. But things seem pretty hopeful now, even aside from the bliss. We were at a book store last night. I'm giving a talk at our church group next week about personality types and I bought the new book by David Kiersy, "Please Understand Me II." The section on my personality type, INFP, was titled "The Healer." We both found it really ironic. We were reading parts of the book (and others on the same subject) to each other last night. We both know that what we read made sense. Now all we have to do (hah!) is make sure we walk the walk. I can't make her do it, and she can't make me, but we can allow each other to do so. And I've changed my mind on something I wrote before. I wrote: "The definition of insanity is doing the same thing twice and expecting it to be different the second time around." I was wrong. That's the definition of practice.

Hey! I'm an INFP, too! Have you ever read any of the books on the system known as the Enneagram? It's a personality system that I think works better than the Myers-Briggs/Kiersey temperament sorters. A lot of Enneagram books are crap, but the ones written by Don Richard Riso are very good. You can find Enneagram tests on the internet, like right here. I'd be very interested to know which type you are.

I'm a 4 with a 5-wing, by the way.

Well good luck Antigone, however it turns out. My best advice on the subject of breaking up is: Make sure you don't bury her remains in the same state you buried the last one in.

Hey...Anit, weren't you the one with the chick who wanted you to come over to her house latelate at night and she had these sexy pajamas on and you drove away and drove back to kiss her or something? What the heck happened to her?? Or was that someone else? All you people look the same to me.

It was a different woman. This has been the strangest two weeks of my love life. Does that make me pathetic? Anyway, when I told her I was getting back with my ex she was actually relieved a bit. She was afraid that eventually she'd have to give me the old dear john because work was taking up so much of her time. A gentle let down? Maybe. She is a workaholic, though. I think everything's turned out for the best. So far...

ENFP. the jehovah's just came to my door. coincidence?

FUNK. that's bizarre. about half an hour ago some woman just rang my doorbell wanting to give me some "religious literature." this is starting to sound like one of those illuminati conspiracies.

This is like watching a train wreck. You see it coming. You can't stop it. You wonder what the damage will be. Good luck Antigone.

I think the correct term is "tharn." Or am I the only one who ever read that book?

Just think of watching the train wreck from the engine. But what nobody seems to believe is that I'm riding the brake like a sumbitch. And what's _really_ strange is that my girlfriend is a jehovah's witness... Just kidding.

I read Plague Dogs, too, Simon. And saw the movie. They made me cry.

It's been long enough for me that I should reread both... it would be like a new experience again. Time to update the winter must-read list.

i never knew there was a movie of plague dogs. that was a book i should have read at 13 instead of 23. anthropomorphisizing is easier to swallow when you're young and impressionable.

just wait, someday soon the Church will come up with a way to spread religion by virus. it's inevitable. ansd speaking of the church, what the hell was michaelangelo's problem? fella like that's gotta be smart enough to know when he's been suckered. art fart.

Poor religion. Everyone's always picking on it.

tharn. rabbit in the headlights? watership down? apparently I bit my lip really hard while I slept last night and now it's all swollen. a fat lip. wow. it's been ages.

I was about 12 when I read them, too. I'm interested in seeing what my impression will be like after two more lifetimes have passed.

I read Watership Down in 7th grade, Plague Dogs in college. A story is a story is a story, and I could give a shit about anthropomorphizing in fiction. It's much easier to swallow for me in fiction than when some scary people are indicating their fluffy rat-dog in a sweater and telling me the humanity of Mr. Binky or whatever. I need to get a frigging job.

There's a McDonald's in Thornhill hiring. Ask for Said.

I can see the train wreck coming. Will jump off engine soon, methinks...

Remember to tuck and roll when you land