Oh my! Our house smells like Carnivore heaven!
    The pot roast is just beginning its second hour. Our house is so fragrant my mother has arisen twice to comment on the wonderful aroma since she went down for her nap at 1615. Believe it or not, this is the first time I've cooked a pot roast. I don't think my mother ever did a classic pot roast, either. Her roasts were always done in a pressure cooker. She's throw all the accompanying vegetables in there with the meat, a bay leaf and a generous sprinkling of seasoning salt and let 'er rip. By the time it was done, while the meat may have been good, the vegetables were crumbly and barely distinguishable from one another; rather like canned. I liked my mother's roasts, but I can tell you, her roasts never smelled like this! She always made gravy for my dad, but she was never good at it; thus, after the first try when I was probably just beginning to eat solid food, I eschewed her gravy. No one else ate it, either, that I can remember; except my dad. Whatever juice leaked out of the plated roast was enough for me. And, anyway, our family was not big on potatoes. If a starchy side dish seemed to be required, and it rarely was, it was white rice, usually Minute rice, for which I didn't care, either.
    This meal, though, the one begin prepared as I write, is going to be completely different than our typical born-into-family roast dinners:

1. First, the pot roast isn't being pressure cooked. I've never used a pressure cooker and can't imagine every needing one.
2. I followed a recipe, as much as I am able (which means I made only a few adjustments) since I'd never made pot roast. This recipe appears to be a winner.
3. Although I have decided to cook the vegetables with the meat, which the recipe doesn't cover, I'm using my own technique to do this to keep the vegetables from turning into mush:
   • The vegetables have been cut into large chunks and include: 1 russet potato, one and a half carrots, 2/3 of a green pepper, 1/2 a Bermuda onion, some left over Portabella mushroom slices.
   • I'll add them as follows: Potatoes: one hour before the roast is done; carrots: 45 minutes before it's done; Onion: 1/2 hour before it's done; green pepper and mushrooms: 20 minutes before it's done.
4. I used bacon fat to brown the roast.
5. The simmering liquid includes a cookbook suggestion: After browning the roast, add approximately 2.5 cups of finely chopped (I used a food processor) onions, celery and carrots, to which I added 1/2 a finely chopped green chili, sizzle them in the fat until they "begin to color", then add beef broth (canned; I've got home made chicken and vegetable broth in the freezer, but not beef broth), a bay leaf and, the recipe suggested, fresh or dried thyme. Instead, I used a bouquet garni; 1/2 tsp per pound (the roast is almost four pounds, I used 1.5 teaspoons, knowing that dried spices are extremely concentrated and can sometimes be overwhelming). For body, I added 1/2 tsp. allspice. You can't really tell it's there, but when I don't use it the meat and juice aren't quite as rich. I also splashed some apple cider vinegar into the liquid; not a lot, maybe an eighth of a cup. Oops, hold on, time to turn the roast.
6. Although I salted (kosher salt) and peppered (four peppercorn blend) the roast before browning, salted it very lightly, since the canned beef broth and the bacon fat both contain salt.

    As per the recipe, I'm keeping the liquid on a low simmer, using a tight fitting lid. Our dutch oven's lid isn't particularly tight, so I wrapped aluminum foil around it to create a better seal. I just turned it for the third time (turn every 30 minutes) and it's beginning to yield nicely to the fork.
    It has always been a policy of mine, when cooking for my mother, to find the most aromatic way to do it. There's something about the flavor of favorite simmering foods that heightens alertness and enjoyment, I think. I also think that this is particularly important for Ancient Ones. Despite all the information that tells us that our Ancient Ones lose their senses of smell and, thus, taste, especially since my mother forgot that she used to smoke, although I noticed this before, as well, food fragrances remain, for her, not only enjoyable, but a reliable way to increase her moment-to-moment alertness and interest in life. Thus, I was both surprised and pleased to notice that in Dr. Thomas' book, What Are Old People For?, when describing Green Houses, he talks about the importance of communal kitchens, residents helping with the cooking and the production of tantalizing food aromas throughout the day. You get the idea that he is four-square against institutionalized food, even if it's handier. Access to all the delights of cooking should be available to all Ancient Ones, he believes. I believe I agree with him. I've noticed it's salutary effects over and over on my mother.
    As well, it is also my belief, and my experience, that trying new foods, playing with spices and surprising taste buds with strong, unusual flavors, far from being either wasted on our Ancient Ones or not appreciated by them, are, rather, part of the spice of life that shouldn't be deleted from anyone's life until the smell and taste of food makes them sick or turns them cold. To this, though, I have to add a caveat. During the times in the last four years when my mother was so ill she lost her appetite, she continued to appreciate kitchen produced fragrance. She may not have wanted to eat much, or anything, of what I cooked, but the aromas always brightened her up. If the fragrance was coming from a soup, or something creamy like More Than Mac & Cheese, it wasn't uncommon for me to be able to get a little down her gullet.
    I don't know why we underplay the importance of food in our lives, especially considering that food is fraught with all kinds of emotional connotations, over which we have little to no control, considering that most of them were formed when we were too young to remember and encouraged when we were too young to object. I think that it is especially tricky to consider food of no more importance than simply sustenance when we take care of Ancient Ones. While it's true that dementia may make it seem to appear that our Ancient Ones have very little, and corrupted interest in food, make them a part of a holiday family feast and you might be surprised at the lively consequences.

Labels: pot roast, roasting vegetables, Thanksgiving

- posted by Gail Rae @ 16:44  0 comments   email...this post

 
Thanksgiving dinner, this year...
...will be less than traditional, thanks to my mother's and my nonchalance over turkey and my decision to remain "Home for the Holidays" (good movie, by the way). Here's the menu:

• Pot roast with a spirit sauerbraten accomplished by adding some apple cider vinegar to the roasting liquid. This is one of my yesterday inspirations that sounds promising, don't you think? I don't think I'll go so far as to add sour cream when I thicken the roasting sauce, but, well, we'll see how it "feels" when the time comes.
• I'll be adding a variety of vegetables, including russet potatoes, carrots, Bermuda onion, green pepper and celery, to the roast as it cooks, adding times dependent on how long it will take for the vegetables to soften a bit but not fall apart. I considered cabbage but my mother nixed this. She likes sauerkraut, she says (she actually loves it), but "not with her pot roast, please."
• The recipe I have recommends flavoring the liquid with, among other things, finely diced onions, carrots and celery. On a whim as I shopped for dinner, yesterday, in the produce department, I purchased a large, dark green chili and will add this, as well; maybe forget about the carrot, then again...green chilies aren't hot, but they have a taste tone that should perfectly compliment the roasting liquid. As well, I will be browning the roast, pre-simmering, in bacon fat left over from breakfast.
• The roasting liquid will be thickened into a tangy gravy.
• Although I considered baking a pie from scratch, this year my mother suggested cherry pie. I'm not interested in using canned cherries, so I bought a frozen pie with which we've had mother-success, Marie Callendar's Dutch Crumb Cherry Pie. I also asked her what sort of a la mode she wants and she replied, "Ice cream, of course!" So, I picked up a choice at Baskin Robbins (her favorite): A pint each of Rum Raisin and Eggnog. She'll probably opt for "a taste" of both.
• I still have some rosemary bread left from last week. I figure, if she wants bread, I'll grill some garlic/cheese bread out of that.

    Considering the size of the roast (it's the smallest one I could find of it's quality), I'm expecting roasting time to be between three to four hours. Pot roast "works" best when you turn it frequently, as well; every 30 minutes or so. Prep time will probably take about an hour. Since I won't be using the oven, I'll slip the cherry pie in there about halfway through dinner so it will have time to bake and cool to an acceptable, ice-cream-half-melt temperature.
    My mother is very excited by the menu and even more excited about how fragrant our house will smell while the pot roast is sauerly simmering away. My guess is that we'll probably eat only two meals tomorrow, since dessert will probably be preferentially served an hour or two after dinner, so I'll make sure that breakfast is hardy.
    I might take stats in the morning...then again, I might forget about stats for the day. At any rate, if this meal doesn't raise her HA1c a little, I can't imagine what would!

Labels: Thanksgiving

- posted by Gail Rae @ 13:15  0 comments   email...this post