Slow-roasted perfection

Roasted pork shoulder, studded liberally with garlic and herbs, then roasted in an open pan at 325°F for about 4 hours. 

Tender, juicy meat, basted continually by the layer of fat, and an an irresistibly crisp skin, which you can peel off, break up, and snack on while finishing up your meal preparations. 

This was an 11-lb, bone-in, whole shoulder roast. 

I made some stock in the morning, and used a few tablespoons of the rendered fat to make a silky gravy. 

Seven-word wisdom

Eat everything.  It's not medicine.  Nor poison.

My entry in a long-ago New York Times contest for a seven-word 'haiku,' mimicking Michael Pollan's words of wisdom: Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.   [For you sticklers out there, yes, I understand that it's not a haiku, as typically defined, but more an aphorism, a distilled, concise statement of principle.]

I didn't win, but I still like my entry. 

It's a sentiment echoed recently by chef/writer Michael Ruhlman in recent blog entries, which led me to dig out that 'haiku' I entered into the contest.