When I think about slow cooking, I don't mean like
crockpot cooking where you set it and forget it
for several hours. I mean food that takes a long
time, but you have to mind it (at least casually)
the whole time.
Yesterday, I bought a package of Chinese chives
at the local Chinese food store. I wonder how
they can make a profit, selling a big bunch
of greens for only $0.87, wrapped in plastic
over a styrofoam tray. These are similar to
green onions, except they are flat instead of
round in cross-section, and they have a distinctive
garlic-like flavor.
I chopped them finely and slow-dried them
in my big cast iron pot on the stovetop over
low heat. This is one of those times when
I wish I had a food dehydrator. I stirred them
every several minutes for a few hours to ensure
even drying.
I ended up with enough dried, crunchy, garlicky
onion bits to fill up most of a Cara Mia
artichoke hearts jar. (I recycle those;
it's a pity they started gluing a label
on them -- I used to buy them both for the
artichokes and the jar, but alas no more.)
Today, I'm doing the same thing with Thai
chili peppers. The long-range plan is to have
nearly full jars of both, which will be used
under a blanket of melted chese covering
Trader Joe's Middle Eastern Flatbread.
The cheese varies, but it usually includes
genuine Parmesan and dry Monterey Jack.
Recently, I've also used an aged Manchego
sheep's milk cheese. The Parmesean and Manchego
both came from Whole Foods.
There's something relaxing about spending
a weekend afternoon tending a slow food
while also playing on the net. It reminds me
of how much fun it was to BBQ, back when I'd
barbeque almost every day (even when it was
raining). I stopped because I was concerned
about the cancer risk from eating so much
heavily smoked food -- though once I looked
into the matter I found that the evidence
for risk was rather slim, and that cured
meats were a far more well-documented risk.
A long cooking process also fills the indoor
atmosphere with good flavor. There's nothing
nicer than the aroma of food. I can't
understand the mentality of people who buy
artificial floral "air freshener" products.
Especially the ones that plug in the wall
and constantly maintain the air in that
foul state. Genuine food is the only aroma
I want to inhale.
I should get back into the habit of barbequing.
And have cats again. But this time, no
Siamese.