Semi-slow food

I really love to cook, almost as much as I love to eat. Songbird's recent post about slow food got me remembering graduate school, when I was often home studying in the afternoons and could simmer beans, or some elaborate soup, or chicken curry, for as long as it needed to take. I still cook like that on weekends. However, what I cook during the week falls more into the semi-slow category.

We recently joined a food co-op, and one of its pleasures is coming up with new and creative ways to use up things I probably wouldn't have bought on my own, such as pears (thanks, Milton), beets, and cucumbers. Tonight I picked what was left from the bones of a chicken I braised with pears and rosemary over the weekend (that was slow, and awesome), lightly steamed some co-op squash and broccoli, then opened a jar of alfredo sauce (that's the semi-slow part) and mixed all of the above with spaghetti (yeah, fettucini would have been better, but spaghetti was what I had). The Scientist is not a broccoli fan, but I told him to think of this as Alfredo Primavera, and he was fine with that. :-)

Incidentally, here's a plug for one of my favorite websites. If you love food, check out Chowhound. When I'm not commenting on a RGBP blog, you'll probably find me commenting there. Browse your regional board, and if you like to cook, browse the Home Cooking board. You never know what you'll find.