You leave the house in the dark. You come home in the dark. It's winter, and you yearn for a lovingly-cooked meal. Why not have it ready when you get home? Why not fill your house with the rustic aromas of slow cookery?

But I have a job, or, at least a life, I can hear you murmuring to yourself, shaking your head. I don't have a personal chef. I'll just throw a Lean Cuisine in the oven.

No! Stop! Put away that freezer meal. Freezers are for summer, when you eat ice cream and whir up smoothies with fresh fruit and yogurt. Winter is for slow cookers, for Crock-Pots and baking at low, low heat and, oh, the bountiful braise. Monday, January 23, we'll be celebrating all that is slow - all our recipes will cook at low heats for several hours. Nearly all of them can be mixed early in your day and set cooking, and the flavors will combine throughout the afternoon as the dish gets more, and more, and more tender, until it is meltingly delectable, until it sings on your tongue.

Classic slow-cooked meals were invented long before the Crock-Pot trademark was ever registered. Dishes like cassoulet and baked beans and Beef Bourguignonne hearken from centuries ago. Once, everything was cooked slow. We honor our culinary heritage. We long for food that has nothing "fast" about it.

If you like the sound of this, you can check out some of the recipes linked below. Here are just some of the smells that will be filling the houses of the Slashfood staff this weekend:

• Pulled pork, vinegary and spicy and sweet and so, so tender;
• Almost-vegetarian cassoulet, a variation on the original classic French country dish that won't require you to visit six different meat counters;
• Braised short ribs with homemade barbecue sauce;
• Greens cooked the soul food way;
• Baked beans, full of molasses and spice, melt-in-your-mouth tender;
• My interpretation of Coney Island Chili; I kept going back to get Nick's hot dogs until I got the sweet and tangy spice just right;
• Coq au vin, the classic French chicken braised in red wine. 

We'll also be reviewing the variety of tools used for cooking slow, from the original slow-cooker to Dutch ovens; give you a full explanation of different slow cooking methods; and take you through the pages of some charming vintage Crock-Pot cookbooks. I'll take you on a thrift store tour to find a good bargain on a slow cooker.

Bookmark this post and I'll be updating it throughout the next few days as we introduce you to the world of slow cookery. Soon your house, too, will be filled with the scent of caramelizing onions and molasses and cloves and good red wine and those tender, tender meats and beans and greens, oh my.

Update [January 23, 10 p.m.]: we got a head start on slow cooking day, cooking up Coney Island Chili (Sarah's bootleg version) and told you why you need a slow cooker in your kitchen. Bright and early this morning, Nicole Weston made steel-cut oatmeal the slow cooker way, and I explored the soul of slow cooking. Stefania Butler took us to her native Hawaii, where they cook the luau staple, Kalua Pig, realllly slow. Nicole made our mouths water with her slow-cooked baby back ribs and homemade barbecue sauce, and Andrew Barrow started in on his Spanish chorizo stew.

Later, Sarah Gim took us to Spain with Estofado Catalan. I made sweet-and-slow baked beans, and then took you through the pages of my beanpot cookery book. Sarah Gim gave us some pointers on speeding up the slow cooking, and I wondered if browning was the best policy. Then, we went on a tour of thrift stores searching for a cheap crockpot (lesson: don't try this at home) and Andrew showed us how his yummy stew had turned out.

This isn't all! We'll be posting some more slow cooking recipes and tips on January 24 and 25, and taking you on a tour of other blogs who are doing the slow cooking thing, so stay tuned.