I carry no phone An aspiring Luddite In a wired world. Mastodon Verification Link	Jeff Berry is an early adopter of the Internet and the Web, a late adopter of Twitter, and declines to adopt Facebook. With the death of Google+, he migrated to the Fediverse. He admins a medievalist Mastodon instance. He hates cell-phones.

The weather has finally turned, which means that it's really and truly slow-cooker season. (I have to emphasize the "really and truly" part since I cook with my crock pot all year long.) It's also time to eat more oxtails.

As some of you may recall, I've written before about Stewed Oxtails, and if you don't recall, shame on you for not studying the archives, which are mostly-handcrafted for your pleasure. In any case, this is a more stew-y variation, in which the oxtails are not quite so up front in the mix, although certainly present. Once again, it features an array of stunning seasonal vegetables.

• a nice biggish oxtail
• 2 sweet red peppers
• 1 medium tomato
• salt and pepper
• cumin
• 4-5 small potatoes
• 3 carrots
• 2 leeks
• a bulb of fennel
• 1/4 - 1/3 cup water

When you return, the meat should be tender, but not exactly falling off the bone, although it's not really a problem if it is. This makes it a good time to add some vegetables. Cut the leeks, potatoes, carrots and fennel into chunks. I went for a bit more than bite-sized, but not huge. Chop the fennel green pretty small, though. Add the fennel green first, then the rest of the veggies. Give 'em a decent hit with salt, cover and let cook for another hour.

Now, with any luck, your oxtails should be about ready to fall off the bone. Fish them out of the crock pot, and remove the bones. Stir the veggies down into the broth and check for doneness. They probably need more time, so put the meat back in on top of the veg without stirring, put the lid back on and go have a cocktail. Every 45 minutes or so, check to see if the veggies are done. When they are, you can serve. Although it won't hurt it much to let it keep on simmering.

If the meat doesn't come off the bones without almost no effort on your part, then don't force it, just add it back to the pot on the bone, and the next time you check the veg, see if it's ready. Once everything is ready, if you're not, you can also turn off or unplug the pot; it'll stay warm for quite a while.