Beef Pot Roast (Or, temperamental crock pots need therapy)

Tonight’s dinner was a beef pot roast with petite red potatoes, sautéed onions, and baby portabella mushrooms; it was cooked with Campbell’s French Onion soup and an au jus gravy made from a McCormick package.  I am sad to say that my first real cooking post is also the first post to receive a “failure” tag.  I cannot decide whether it was the cut of meat, which did not take flavor even though it marinated for 48 hours, or the crock pot, which is temperamental and unreliable even though it cost $40 and is supposed to be awesome, or the red potatoes, which were particularly potent. I was terribly excited about this adventure, but it seems that it was a let down. However, I will write about this anyway.

We marinated a five pound beef roast in Hot & Spicy Marinade from Allegro, which I happen to like a great deal even though it has a fairly high salt level, and it was seared in an iron skillet for maybe three minutes per side. I’m not sure of the actual time because my father did the meat and the au jus (which came from a bagged mix). Prior to the searing and au jus, I sliced petite red potatoes and boiled them with two beef bouillon cubes to begin their cooking process and eliminate some of the very strong potato flavor and smell.
                      
While those were boiling and my father was searing meat, I sliced baby portabella mushrooms and half a white onion. White onions are a hotter than yellow, which are really sweet, and I personally think they have a nicer flavor. I sliced the mushrooms first and then onion, so what you see on the cutting board is mushroom in the onion pictures. 
        
        
The onions were sautéed in butter with some garlic and other spices, while the mushrooms and potatoes went straight into the crock pot on top of the beef. This was followed by the French onion soup, sautéed onions, and au jus. I stirred all that together and let it simmer until the meat was cooked and the potatoes were tender.
        
In the end, however, the potatoes were still far too strong and the meat had no flavor. It was like eating paper, but at least it wasn’t tough. Such a disappointment. And I really was hoping to report on a successful cooking adventure for my first cooking post. Next time will be better.

Reflections on the Significance of Food

First official post with legitimate content! Exciting!

OK, tonight was a "store-bought" night, meaning that I didn't really make anything from scratch, unless you count frying the chicken. I did fried chicken (breaded with seasoned cornmeal), Kraft home style macaroni (the kind in the bag with bread crumbs), and fried okra out of a bag. I didn't take pictures of the meal or the messy kitchen because it was really nothing special. OK, moving on!

This will be a Food For Thought post, meaning that I will post some kind of reflection on cooking or food. Tonight's thought: The Significance of Food.

Most of us take food for granted, unless we are craving something or worrying about our weight. But food is a lot more than something we put in our mouths to satisfy our cravings and our hunger. Something as small as a bowl of rice can be the difference between life and death for someone; now, this is slightly exaggerated, but the point remains. I find it sad that in the United States, we have people dying to be thin and starving themselves, while in some countries mothers feed their children dirt in hopes that some nutrients will help them survive. Our parents used to say "there are starving kids in Africa who would love to have your dinner, so clean your plate." And as kids, we'd roll our eyes and wonder who would want whatever vegetable we didn't like, be it peas or carrots or something other food. But its true. There are starving people all over the world who would love to have your food, including this country. We take for granted the fact that we are a wealthy nation; we assume that because we are a wealthy nation all our citizens are able to feed themselves. But that isn't the case. We have people who can barely afford a loaf of bread. There are families going hungry, and a lot of the time that doesn't even register. I rarely waste food, mainly because I was raised not to, and knowing that there are people who are starving to death makes me think about what I am eating, how much I am eating, and how much I throw away. It also gives me pause when I go to a restaurant and my meal is expensive or I get lousy fast food on the way to a meeting or class. I think that it should make everyone think. Food is a basic necessity that many of us take for granted.