Black kale, Tuscan kale, Lacinato, Nero di Tuscn, Cavolo Palmizio–whatever you call it, this kale is one of my favorites. It ranks with my favorite of all plants for the vegetable garden for so many reasons. With it’s dark, deeply-etched leaves, it could be an ornamental. It’s a pleasure to look at, like a little palm tree with its [...]
Tags: kale·Portuguese·soup
Yesterday I described the simple process my wife used to make delicious ricotta cheese. Since she made it from fresh, whole milk, it produced lots of whey. That’s the liquid that separates from the protein solids in the cheese making process. We had a pot of whey sitting in the refrigerator for several days trying [...]
Well, it’s finally happened. The kids in the food appreciation classes I teach at a private elementary school here in the District of Columbia have graduated (the older ones, at least) from plastic knives to real knives. The only reason this hadn’t happened sooner was my failure to deliver on promises I’d been making for, oh, [...]
Tags: chicken·food appreciation·kitchen techniques·soup·stocks·vegetables
We are engaging the concerns of a hungry planet--slowly--right here in our kitchen garden in the District of Columbia, about a mile from the White House.
What's in your turkey? We killed and butchered more than 80 birds on the farm of Mike and Michelle Klein in Prince George's County. Thankfully, Michelle did the gutting. Unfortunately, Mike bought his turkey chicks earlier than usual and they did not stop growing. Our prize for helping was a carcass that weighed nearly 40 pounds. It barely fit in the oven. Here, Mike is subjecting a slaughtered bird to the "magic fingers," a machine with a nubby, rotating barrel that removes most of the feathers. 
© 2009 The Slow Cook — Design by Keri Marion
