Thomas Fleming
Thomas Fleming is president of the Fleming Foundation. He is the author of six books, including The Morality of Everyday Life and The Politics of Human Nature, as well as many articles and columns for newspapers, magazines,and learned journals. He holds a Ph.D. in Classics from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill and a B.A. in Greek from the College of Charleston. He served as editor of Chronicles: a Magazine of American Culture from 1984 to 2015 and president of The Rockford Institute from 1997-2014. In a previous life he taught classics at several colleges and served as a school headmaster in South Carolina
Excellent episode. Thank you. My father-in-law is Polish and his family makes some very good haluski and golabki. Two more things to do with cabbage. My wife makes an excellent turnip slaw, which we serve on St. Patrick’s Day. I prefer the sharp taste of the turnip, though cabbage slaw is good, as well. My mother-in-law is Italian and she makes all sorts of greens, sauteed in olive oil and garlic, often with different types of beans and/or chunks of aged Italian meats.
I was not expecting to hear Ray Collins! As with all of these, I find the information and advice quite valuable for tempering my tendency towards culinary atrocity.
Around here the creamy slaw is usually associated with barbecue, but I like the vinegar slaw with it as well.
If you buy any kind of slaw in the grocery store, it’s as sweet as candy and disgusting, probably full of corn syrup, though I have bought some good vinegar slaw from the deli. My mother used to put a little garlic (only a little) in her vinegar slaw and that made it better. She used garlic powder, because I can’t imagine how fresh garlic could be used without overpowering everything else. She discovered this when she ran out of onion powder and had to substitute while she was making slaw using the house recipe in a fish restaurant where she worked. That restaurant soon gained a reputation for having the best slaw in this part of the state, until she left. Half onion and half garlic works best.
Home grown greens are always best after a slight frost. Sticking them in the freezer is a substitute but not a very good one.
Folks around here make wilted salads by sprinkling hot bacon grease on greens or spinach, even lettuce. It will keep your heart healthy and regulate your blood pressure.
Around here pickled peppers are referred to as pepper sauce for some reason. People also use it as a remedy for congestion in the throat.