Off to the Poor House But At Least We Had a Good Meal

 

I think everyone has heard the saying, "The way to a man's heart is through his stomach." Well, this is true in the Macrae household. Terry loves it when I cook or bake for him. Last night (Wednesday 8.10.23) was one such night. I thought it would be good to make a larger meal, one that isn't cooked all the time. Suzie Homemaker I am not, but I thought a good roast would be nice. So, off to the store where I almost became a vegetarian after seeing the price of roasts. 

Looking around at the available roasts, I was having a difficult time figuring out which one to choose. They were either far too small or way too fatty. A good roast was hard to find. I finally chose one that was about medium, but flat. It was a round roast, and it rounded me off into debt. Twenty bucks for a roast that at first, I thought was a steak. Ridiculous. Inflation does suck. 

The poor house wouldn't be too bad though, right? At least we would be together. We could sit around a campfire at night and play Bingo or Tiddlywinks. Although that may not be possible either if we couldn't afford to buy one or both of those games. The new car would become our home and the Xterra our home for pets. Both dogs could have the front seat, cats in the back. Build a campfire for all of us. I love campfires. We could enjoy that. 

No, I am not making fun of the homeless. I'm just thinking with prices so high; we might just join them. It's one of those things that popped out of Covid. Suddenly everything had to raise in price because we were apparently having some dreadful issues with shipping things across this country. Covid has calmed, but prices still rise. Illness related? I think not. It's greed. Pure and simple. 

Anyway, back to my roast made of gold. I finished up my shopping list and loaded groceries into the car. What a discouraging little trip that was. The car was loaded. I say "loaded" as though I have a mountain of groceries in the back. It was one bag that caused me to give my first-born child. Although my daughter Dawn might have issues with that, I'm hoping to convince her to take one for the team. 

Once home, most of the jewel-lined grocery order went into the dinner I had planned for my sweet man. Nothing but goodness! Not to share all of my intimate secrets here, but I began a good rub down for the expensive meat I purchased. I guess costing that much, it deserved a nice massage. 

Season All, pepper, parsley, garlic, and Everything Seasoning was carefully rubbed into the meat. I hand rubbed that slab of beef gently, methodically, in order to get every inch seasoned and tenderized. Roast would be the star of the show, so it had to be perfect. Rubbing in circles, I pressed the seasoning into every crevice, every inch of the flesh. That roast got a seductive, sensual rub down before becoming our meal. I even whispered sweet nothings to it as I caressed every inch. Sorry, honey. But you've got to do what you've got to do. 

I poured in some beef broth, a mixture of potatoes, celery, carrots, cherry tomatoes, onions, and garlic. The beautiful meal was prepped and ready to go into the oven. 

Time spent giving the roast a massage paid off in the wonderful aroma released into the air of my home. I could pick up on the tones of fresh veggies, the tomatoes, onions, and even the beautiful smells of fresh parsley leaves. This is the magic of cooking. I put the lid on the roaster and into the refrigerator it went until a bit later. I don't want it to overcook, and Terry would not arrive for quite some time. It was now time to go into dessert mode.  

There were cupcakes to be made. Sixteen lovely, triple chocolate fudge moist morsels of heavenly deliciousness. I was almost drooling over them, until I read the nutritional information on the side of the box. The cupcakes alone were about 18 grams of sugar. That's without the beautiful coconut pecan frosting that contained 15 grams for two tablespoons. Two tablespoons. My mouth dried up with less moisture found in Death Valley. No German chocolate cupcakes for me. 

But Terry loves them, so I continued with the process of making sugary death. Hey, it's only once in a while, right? I whipped the cake batter until it was fluffy and smooth. Grabbing an ice cream scoop, I poured a scoopful of batter into sixteen muffin cups. These went into the oven before the roast. In 20 minutes, out they came, filling the air with another enticing aroma. No air freshener can beat food cooking and cakes baking in an oven. None. And bread? Bake some homemade bread if you want to welcome someone special into your home. Yum. 

Cupcakes, done. Frosting, done. Roast? That delicious, amazing roast that cost me my month's pay, done. Now came the real test ...

It was a hit. My sweet man loved it. Can we please our spouse or partner through their stomachs? Absolutely. After eating a good meal, a nice home cooked meal, it says, "I love you" in a way nothing else can. So, for our first night of the weekend, we did alright. Good meal. Great company and special moments spent at the dinner table. 

Our movie was "The Sweetest Thing," which we have seen before but it still cracks us up. All in all, a special, wonderful night that allowed us to grow even closer, if that is possible. Can a meal speak volumes to a man or woman about how much you love them? Yes, it can. 

Hoping you all can spend that special time together, no matter what your shared interests are. Spend some time sharing your day or how much you care for each other. This doesn't have to be over a meal or even an in-depth conversation. Just the idea of sharing time and activities together can keep you close and open your hearts for each other. Count your blessings! Have an amazing weekend and hope you join us for the next post on Friday!