Richly unctuous, oxtails are a great satisfaction on a cold winter’s night. They must be cooked slowly, preferably in some sort of braise. We had some last night over mashed turnips drenched in a sauce from the pot juices infused with red wine. Such a simple dish, the meat delivered quite economically by our local dairy, yet [...]
Our lavender plant was completely flattened by two and a half feet of snow. The rosemary was splayed all over the ground as well. But the greens we planted last fall were unfazed and have bounced right back. Like these “Champion” collards, which received another dusting of snow last night. I am always amazed how [...]
With snow being cleared, the ice skating rink in the Smithsonian Institution’s Sculpture Garden finally reopened yesterday. Daughter invited friends to walk a little over a mile over not-entirely-shoveled sidewalks to the rink. But first, they sat down to pancakes. Marion Cunningham, in The Breakfast Book, says, “This basic pancake tastes better than all the others [...]
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
