Good evening all,
Well today was interesting and quite busy. Got the solar tube installed in my office/studio.
The company is in Tucson. The one and only day we had a chance of rain...you guessed it. While it was not raining where we lived they got a major down pour. Rained so hard they had to pull over on their way here and wait almost an hour for it to ease up. Then they arrive. Yep. You guessed it. It is now pouring here!
Thankfully it only lasted an hour.
By the time they got done laying down the protective plastic sheeting, taking measurements, moving things and doing what was necessary inside it had stopped raining outside. They were finally able to get up on the roof and start working. Needless to say the weather put us back a bit today. We only got the solar tube in the office/studio installed and the one in the guest bath all ready to install. Tomorrow will go much faster I am sure.
At least the weather will cooperate; sunny and in the 90s. May just get it done.
Dinner tonight was outstanding if I do say so myself.
I will brag a bit and say this was one of the best pot roasts I have ever made and the husband agreed. Made a pot roast in the crock pot. It was the Choice cut Angus beef one we got earlier. Very little to no fat on it; so what was there I just left. Figured it would help flavor wise as an enhancer when searing and then again when making a gravy later. (I was right.)
Used EVOO and a good amount of butter in a very hot pan to sear the roast. I had rubbed it earlier with crushed dried sage, thyme, garlic powder, onion salt and a little cayenne. I also dusted it in flour seasoned with Kosher salt and black pepper. I seared the roast well on all sides until it formed a nice crust and released easily. I then took the pan off the heat.
I put the roast in the crock pot with a 14.5 oz can of diced tomatoes in juice, some Worcestershire sauce, tomato paste, ketchup, red wine, beef broth, and some other goodies for flavor. Added some carrots and onions. Turned on the crock pot and let cook on high for 4 hours. I then switched to low and let cook 7 hours.
In the pan I sautéed some garlic that I quickly deglazed with some wine, beef broth, A-1, and ketchup. I then scraped the bottom of the pan to release any browned and stuck on bits. I poured all that in the crock pot. Everything cooked in the crock pot until the 6th hour when I check the vegetables.
I had removed the carrots and onions around the 6th hour of cooking as I did not want them to disintegrate. The veggies came out great. There was a gratuitous 2 or 3 tablespoons of grease to be spooned off which I did. There was such little fat on this roast as to begin with that this hardly seemed necessary but I did it any way.
I also left two small chunks of carrots behind on purpose. I wanted them to purposely cook down and get very, very soft and turn 'mushy'. That way they would add body and thickness while releasing a natural sweetness. when they disintegrated into the sauce. It would help thicken the sauce and add brightness to it without sugar or other additives. I also allowed the roast to continue to cook another 4 hours until I could turn a fork in it and the meat was so tender as to be falling apart on its own.
Perfection!
We made some simple oven potatoes and just gave them a sprinkling of fresh parsley and lots of butter. Very good with the roast, carrots and onions.
Wine tonight was Gnarly Head Authentic Black. Very, very good. If you like black berries/dark fruit flavors and a big hit of chocolate you will love this! Very easy to drink, smooth and flavorful. I can see it with complex and robust dishes like roasts, stews, game dishes and any flavorful meat based pastas, complex egg dishes, Asian, Indian, Greek, Mexican or other big, bold flavors. It is a big bold wine and suits bold flavored dishes. Very good and very reasonably priced too.
I just put the meat in a pot with the gravy and warmed on low for tonight's dinner. Nuked the veggies in the microwave for 2.5 minutes. They came out great. Cooked the potatoes and served with butter and parsley. Dinner was fabulous!
Tomorrow is lamb chops on the grill with simple pesto. Asparagus and a salad will probably be the sides along with simple yellow cilantro rice. Simple, easy and quick as well as good.
After that have plenty of leftovers to eat and will need them. OMG my house is such a mess and will be for a while. As soon as they are done with the solar tubes they will be doing my floor next.
My house won't be clean until June! Arrrrrrrrrgh!
That's o.k. What would I be doing in this pandemic if It weren't cleaning?
