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"Quality food cannot exist without respect for the environment, for species of animals and plants, for the workers who produce the food and the consumers who eat it. Slow Food is about much more than food itself."

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Shouldn't there be a forum where Beethoven is at home?

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I remember when the other thread was active, I was thinking, "This is a fantastic idea!" Then I realized that there are no chapters near the Kingston area. Then I realized that if I wanted to belong to a chapter I would have to start one. Then I realized that if I wanted to start one, I would probably have to know how to cook.

But you know, lately I brought my little one over to a good friend's place, and my friend and I cooked supper together while the kids played. It was wonderful. Such a great experience, hanging around the kitchen together, cooking supper, talking about food and recipes and cooking, and not only that but learning a new recipe from her!

It was so nice.

So maybe the way to start a "chapter" is by doing it informally - getting a couple of friends together on a regular basis (once a week? bi-weekly? monthly?) and just cooking a nice meal, whether we cook it together or host the others.

The cool thing was, my son, normally very picky about eating anything "mushy" or with sauce, actually ate a portion of casserole made with cream of mushroom soup base (unbelievable), because I told him that if he didn't eat it, we would have to leave and go home. He ate it and liked it!

Yes, more time to eat with friends and family would be wonderful. I should invite my mom over more often for supper. Or go there and help her cook supper. The world is too atomized.

I know I was provocative on the McDonald's thread, but the truth is, I really DON'T like McDonald's culture even though I contribute to it by going there occasionally with the little one. I've really been enjoying the Middle Eastern Food thread, and I'm almost feeling inspired to start cooking.

Wipe your mushrooms, trim any long stems, and set them all cap-side-down on an oiled cookie sheet. Sprinkle them with olive oil (if you don't have a dribbler stopper for your oil bottle, then just use a finger to control the flow), a bit of salt and pepper, and whatever nice herbs you have about -- maybe a bit of basil, or chives, or parsley.

You will have preheated your oven to about 375. Bake the mushies for about ten minutes -- maybe longer -- you'll see them turn colour a bit.

Meanwhile, scramble a lot of eggs. There are lots of good things to do with scrambled eggs. After you've got them half-cooked, you can add some cream, and/or crumble in some feta cheese, eg, as well as more of the nice herbs.

At the same time, toss up a nice spicey tomato salsa. Cheat and just warm up some prepared salsa. Or chop up some tomatoes and stew them with some sliced onions, adding some honey, balsamic vinegar, and a few crushed chilies. Just keep tasting it until it's both sweet and spicey.

Here's my six cheese recipe, you can pretty much omit everything except the noodles, sauce and some cheese, if need be. You can also use some frozen brocolli instead of spinnach if you have it on hand.

8 no-boil lasagne noodles.
1 jar of spaghetti sauce
1 package of frozen spinach (thaw it in the micro)
3 (or more) cups of chopped mushrooms
2 egg whites (or one whole egg)
3 cups of mozzarella cheese
1/3 cup of cheddar cheese
1 tub of cottage cheese (the middle-sized one)
1 tub of ricotta cheese
¼ cup of parmesan cheese
A bit of feta cheese
As much garlic as you can handle.
1 small onion, whatever colour you want.

1)Wash your hands.

2)Shred all of your cheese. Chop your garlic and onions. Set aside.

3)Preheat oven. I usually aim for about 325, or 350. Whatever.

4)Squish all of the excess water out of spinach.

5)Put spinach in a skillet on med-high, about sevenish. Bit of olive oil is good.

6)Wash and chop mushrooms.

7)Cook mushrooms with the spinach, lower temperature and stir them sometimes.

8)In a bowl, combine egg whites, parmesan, ricotta & cottage cheese.

9)Pour spaghetti sauce out of jar, into baking pan, leaving about a quarter of the sauce. Stir garlic and onion into it. Lay four noodles across the sauce and stuff.

10)Spread cottage cheese goop over noodles. Dump and arrange the mushrooms and spinach on top of the goop. Sprinkle the cheddar over it, leaving a teeny bit left over.

11)Lay the last four noodles over the mushrooms and spinach.

12)Pour the rest of the sauce over the noodles.

13)Crumble the feta over the sauce. Spread mozza evenly, and top it off with the bit o’ cheddar you have left over, for colour.

(I don't actually ever measure anything except maybe butter)
A buncha mushrooms, washed and quartered (I'm thinking 20 or so)
2 portobello mushrooms (optional)
A buncha chicken, diced (maybe a kilo or something?)
A buncha fresh dill (actually quite a bit)
An entire garlic, minced
A bit of fresh ginger, minced
Half an onion, minced
One red and one green pepper, diced
Lots of parmesan cheese
Oregano (a few pinches)
Basil (a few pinches)
Olive oil
3/4ths cup Flour
3/4ths cup Butter or margarine
6 cups Milk (I think!)
A buncha fettuchine

1. Heat a little bit of oil in a non-stick wok.
2. Fry the ginger, garlic, and onion and let them turn fragrant.
3. Slowly add oregano, basil, and some of the dill.
4. Add the mushrooms (all of them) and let them sautee in this mixture.
5. Add the chicken, and some more dill. You can start adding parmesan. Let it all cook until the chicken is done. YOu can add some more olive oil, if you like (you probably should, it needs to soak).
6. Add the peppers, don't let them get too soggy.
7. Remove from heat.
8. In a large pot, melt the butter. Slowly stir in the flour. Let it bubble a bit but don't let it turn brown.
9. Then add the milk. Let it come to a boil.
10. Dump a tonne of parmesan into it.
11. Dump the chicken mixture into it and stir.
12. Let stand a bit so that it thickens.
13. Boil and drain the fettuchine.
14. Serve. Refrigerate the leftovers. Keep some crushed peppers and some more parmesan around.

Be warned, this also takes a while to make

Oh, and, garnish it with a few more brushes of fresh dill. Stir it in exactly at point of serving. You can also sprinkle some more oregano and basil.

[ November 06, 2002: Message edited by: Mandos ]

I haven't come across many good recipes on the internet, although there are a few good cookbooks out there that include seitan recipes.

Other slow foods that I make on special occasions only are perogies and fresh pasta. My "Hunky Bill" perogie maker ( I got mine in the 80s - I saw one for sale today for $25!!!) helps, although mixing and rolling the shells, and making the filling, are fairly involved endeavours.

As with perogies, making fresh noodles involves a lot of preparation. Like home-made perogies and seitan, though, the results are worth the effort.

[ November 16, 2002: Message edited by: Arch Stanton ]

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There's a good mushroom moussaka recipe in the Moosewood cookbook, if I recall correctly.

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