The term “slow food” has been very much in vogue recently. Slow food is the opposite of the fast, convenient foods our busy lifestyles demand much of the time. It sounds impressive and trendy, but actually slow food is just real old fashioned cooking. Slow food takes time to prepare but the results can’t be found in any canned, frozen or chain restaurant offerings. If you enjoy time in the kitchen, slow food is also therapeutic. It’s not the meal you toss together on a weeknight—it’s a meal that fills your home with delicious fragrances that just seems warm—which is a welcome feeling on a cold, snowy February day.

Baked pasta with pesto. File Photo.

Soups and stews made with fresh ingredients, chicken with mashed potatoes, and homemade pasta dishes are wonderful winter meals that will fill your tummy and warm your soul. Good food brings family together around the table and that’s an important thing you can do for your kids and yourself in a world where schedules rather than togetherness often rule the day. On Runaway Farm, we often just kick back on winter Sundays—as long as there’s enough firewood to last the night, games to play and maybe a good sporting event on TV, the world can just wait at the door until Monday morning. We have some rest to catch up on, and a warm meal to look forward to at day’s end.

Killer Chicken

I’m not sure how this rich and delicious meal came to be called Killer Chicken in our family, but it’s a big favorite. It’s an Amish type of dish, heavy on cream and butter (maybe that’s the killer part) but if you fear the fat, you can “lighten” it substantially by removing the chicken skin, using a low-fat butter substitute, and replacing the cream with fat-free half and half. Serve over mashed potatoes, with broccoli and carrots on the side. Yum!

½ cup butter
Salt and pepper
1 whole chicken, cut into 8 serving pieces (the grocery store butcher will be happy to do this for you)
2 cups sliced fresh mushrooms
1 cup chopped onion
2 Tbs. flour
2 cups heavy cream or half and half
Pinch of tarragon (if desired)

Salt and pepper the chicken pieces. Melt butter in a heavy skillet (cast iron is best) and brown the chicken. Add the mushrooms and onions and cook until onions are translucent. Whisk flour in about a half cup of cream until well blended, mix with the rest of the cream and pour over chicken. Add tarragon, cover and simmer gently for about 45 minutes.

Chicken Mulligatawny Soup

I must warn you ahead of time that this is really slow food. Plan to spend some time in the kitchen, but the results are worth it—my picky teenage son floored me by going back for seconds, when I had been wondering if he’d even taste it!

8 chicken parts (I used four breasts and 4 thighs, both bone-in, so I have both light and dark meat)
3 quarts of water
2 large onions, chopped
4 cloves or garlic, crushed
1 one-inch slice of fresh ginger
2 bay leaves
Salt and pepper (preferably freshly ground)
2 large carrots, peeled and chopped
1 butternut squash, chopped small (I think frozen would work just as well here although I haven’t tried it yet)
1 Tbs. olive oil
1 Tbs. curry powder
½ tsp. cumin
½ tsp. ground coriander
2-3 plum tomatoes, seeded and chopped (or canned diced tomatoes)
1 cup frozen baby peas
1 cup half and half
Handful of chopped cilantro if available
2 cups cooked rice (a combination of white and wild is nice)

In a large Dutch oven, bring the water and chicken to a boil. Skim surface of water (you’ll see why) add half of the onion, one clove garlic, ginger, bay leaves and a big dash of salt. Cover and simmer one hour or until cooked and tender. Remove chicken, strain stock into bowl. Remove bones and skin from chicken and discard. Shred meat into bite sized pieces and set aside. Return stock to pan. Add remaining onion, carrots and squash and simmer for about 45 minutes or until vegetables are tender. With a slotted spoon lift the vegetables from the pan and place in bowl of a food processor or blender, add a cup or two of broth and puree. Return the puree to the stock, add the chicken and simmer on low heat.

In large skillet, heat the olive oil and add the curry, cumin and coriander. Cook spice mixture for about 30 seconds, add the tomatoes and the garlic and cook about 5 minutes more. Stir mixture into soup, add cream, peas and cilantro. Add as much salt as you like to suit your taste. To serve, place about ½ cup of rice in bowls and ladle soup over. Add some crusty bread or rolls and settle in for a warm and wonderful bowl of Sunday soup!

Baked Pasta with Pesto

This is a wonderful, flavorful meatless meal which, compared to the preceding Mulligatawny recipe is a snap to prepare. The pesto gives an ordinary dish a nice boost. It’s easy to double or triple and can serve a few or a crowd. This is one of those recipes that you can play around with, using more sauce, more cheese, more garlic—whatever you prefer. Serve with a big green salad.

½ pound of ziti or penne pasta (half a box)
1 Tbs. olive oil
1 chopped onion
2 cloves of garlic, crushed (more if you’d like)
2 cups canned crushed tomatoes
¼ tsp salt
¼ tsp fresh ground black pepper
1 bay leaf
1 cup ricotta cheese
1 ½ cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1/3 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
¼ cup prepared pesto

In a heavy sauce pan, heat oil and cook onion until translucent. Add garlic, cook 30 seconds, then add tomatoes, salt, and bay leaf. Simmer 10 minutes or more until thick.

Combine ricotta, 1 cup of the mozzarella, half of the parmesan, pesto and pepper.

Place 1/3 of cooked pasta in a greased baking dish, add 1/3 of the sauce. Spread ricotta mixture over pasta, cover with remaining pasta and sauce. Top with remaining mozzarella and parmesan. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until edges are bubbly. Let sit 10 minutes before serving.

Alice Dubenetsky lives in a Starksboro farmhouse with her husband, Dan, two children, and an assortment of house pets and livestock.