Well, I roasted vegetables and a big slab of beef, but not in a pot. I did it in the oven. I had a top sirloin roast, about two inches thick, and I knew it need a little bit of time to cook and tenderize. So that went into a small, rectangular Pyrex baking dish (7X11), seasoned with oliv...e oil, coarse salt, fresh ground pepper, Italian seasoning blend and a can of Italian stewed tomatoes poured on top. I added several shakes of Worchestershire sauce and then covered the dish with foil and popped it into the oven set at 350 Degrees. It was already 5:30 in the evening, so I was just hoping for the best.
Next I prepared my vegetables. I covered a baking sheet in foil and smeared some olive oil on it. Then I washed and dried some small red potatoes, fresh carrots and turnips, and a few stalks of the gigantic head of cauliflower from the SLO Veg box. (I still have about half of the cauliflower left for another meal!) The vegies were layed out on the baking sheet and drizzled with more olive oil, then seasoned with coarse salt, ready to roast!
By now it was 6 o'clock and I figured I would start the roasting process with the vegies in about 15 more minutes, so I washed up they day's dishes. A few minutes later, into the oven went my vegies on a lower rack. No hurry today...I poured myself a glass of white wine and waited for Lee to walk through the front door.
"Yay! Daddy's home!" The kitties go running to the door before I even realize Lee is home. I swear they are more like dogs as they demand his attention, following him around the kitchen and upstairs where he showers and changes before dinner. "'Meow! Meow! Pet me, Master!" They wail at him until he complies with their wishes. All this fuss, and I'm the one who cleaned their litter box earlier today!
At 7 o'clock, I check things out. Time to remove the foil from the meat and let it brown up on top. My cauliflower has browned on the tips, and the carrots look done as well, so I remove them to another platter and cover them with some foil (the same piece of foil I just took off of the pot roast!). Another 15 minutes...then I take the meat out of the oven and put it on a serving platter. The potatoes and turnips still can stay in the oven for a little longer while I make some sort of a gravy from the meat juices. I start the gravy with a generous pat of butter and sprinkle in about a quarter cup of flour and stir it with a whisk. When it smooths out, I pour in the pan juices and bring it to a boil. I taste it and think it needs something more, but what? I know! I have just enough white wine to refill my glass and then I pour about a quarter cup, maybe almost a half cup, into the gravy as I drain the wine bottle completely. A few swirls with the whisk, a taste test, and voila! Dinner's ready!
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