A Cook’s Journey, Slow Food in the Heartland
“There is more to life than increasing its speed.” Mahatma Gandhi
This quote so closely describes the essence of a new book by Chef Kurt Michael Friese, A Cook’s Journey: Slow Food in the Heartland
To get to the core of what slow food means, Chef Friese traveled the heartland. What he found were farmers, artisans, restaurants, and community outreach all working toward sustainability and encouraging people to slow down and enjoy the food they are eating. Through many stories that stretch from Minnesota to Oklahoma, he shares what brought the people he met to this movement. Some people are sons and daughters who refused to let the family farm go and decided to take it over and go back to the way farming used to be, providing food for neighbors and their own tables. Others have decided that a slower lifestyle fit for them and it brought them to the heartland, where they could put into practice what was most important to them.
While there are recipes shared at the end of each story that is shared, this book is more about those stories and how each of us can work toward incorporating the Slow Food Movement into our own lives. It is not preachy, but rather brings up the importance of supporting local agriculture and sustainability. As Chef Friese says in a later chapter, “If you think about the very best times of your life, I’ll bet that most of them were spent around a table with great food in front of you and the people you love all around. If the Slow Food movement is about anything, it is about making as many of those moments as possible.”
There is a rebellion against the factory farms that is growing, and more and more people are listening to it. Pick up this book, and you’ll be inspired to purchase locally grown ingredients and take the time to create a meal and memories with your family.
I made the Garlic Confit that was included in the book. It has a pleasant aroma as it cooks, and the flavors infuse the oil, which can later be used for cooking. The garlic comes out soft, as if it had been roasted, and is spreadable on a piece of crusty bread.
Garlic Confit
Source: A Cook’s Journey, Slow Food in the Heartland
Ingredients
1 cup whole garlic cloves, peeled
1 bay leaf
1 sprig fresh rosemary
1 pint extra-virgin olive oil
1 pint grapeseed oil
Directions
Place the garlic, bay leaf, and rosemary in the bottom of a 3-quart saucepan. Add both oils and place the pan over medium heat. Stir the mixture occasionally. After about 15 minutes, the oil will begin to boil lightly. Adjust the heat and watch carefully because if it boils over, a nasty fire could result; that’s why we use a 3-quart pan for a 3-pint recipe.
When the cloves turn lightly brown after about 30 minutes, remove the pan from the heat and allow to cool completely. The garlic will cook a little further, and that’s a good thing.
After it is cool enough to handle, strain the cloves from the oil. Discard the rosemary and bay leaf, and store the confit in the refrigerator, tightly covered, for up to one week. Reserve the oil for cooking.
Makes 2 pints of garlic-flavored oil, and 3/4 cup of garlic confit.
Photo courtesy of Amazon.
