Slow Cooked Wednesday's

I am sitting here watching the glowing fireplace feeling lucky: lucky for the rain, lucky for the slowness of life right now, lucky for creativity and love to fill up my days.

Today has been that sort of slow day, with a little homework, a (really) little housework, and a lot of cooking. I am a very seasonal cook and feel the strongest urge to cook when I can feed off of the seasons, so to speak. This morning I light all the scented candles, asked Eric to light the fire (though it sort of smoldered itself and gave us secondhand smoke, so we opted for a presto log that wasn't damp and defective), and began cooking. Lately -- with the exception of when we have people over -- I try to cook in a way that I don't waste ingredients, and today this ingredient was buttermilk. There are only 3 days left on my poor buttermilk's shelf life until it becomes as stomach curdling as some people thing it normally tastes. Plus, I love cooking with buttermilk, and having it on hand, rather than making the lemon juice or white vinegar in milk homemade buttermilk concoction that I normally do, was a luxury. So, I made delicious buttermilk biscuits, although I didn't have unsalted butter, so I used regular butter and omitted the salt the recipe called for. If I were to make them again with salted butter, I may not omit the recipe called for salt, but simply reduce it. Either way, they were the best biscuit's I've made yet (not the baking soda rock I once made). I also was impressed that I was able to successful make the whole recipe in my food processor. As a firm believed that dough should be hand-led only by hands, this experience may have proved me wrong, as the "pulse" button on my food processor seemed to do the trick. Guess I'd have to try mixing the cold butter in the floury mixture with my hands to really compare the difference. Oh, yes, and here's the long awaited recipe:

http://www.food.com/recipe/southern-buttermilk-biscuits-26110

Then I made a slow cooked chuck roast that would most likely be highly recommended by my husband who loves meat that "falls apart." This recipe was from my great aunt:

1 chuck roast (really it calls for beef brisket by the Alberton's butcher looked at me like I was crazed when I asked for one)
1 can whole cranberry
1 can beef broth
A generous dash of garlic powder
About 1/4 cup of red wine
1 packet of onion soup mix
Water if it looks like it needs more liquid

Slow cook on high for 4 1/2 - 5 hours (for about 0.9 lb of meat). Can be served over mashed potatoes, in a thick breaded sandwich roll, or with vegetables and a simple starch. I actually served it with:

Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes (recipe adapted from Food Network cite)

1 small-medium whole cauliflower cut into 2 inch pieces
1 or 2 slats of butter (basically a 1/4 in thick piece) -- this ingredient is optional, can be omitted to cut fat and calories
About 3 tablespoons sour cream (Food Network cite mention cream cheese instead, but I was out)
About a 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese (really to taste)
A generous dash of garlic powder or real garlic finely diced or even real garlic roasted and finally diced. I'd say about two cloves or so
A dash on onion powder
A sprinkle of pepper
Sea salt to taste
Parsley to decorate and sprinkle atop.

Cook cauliflower for 6-8 minutes or until done (cauliflower can simply be cooked in boiling water). Then mash with an electric mixer, adding all ingredients above.

[Yum!]