Mom's Pot Roast

I'm sitting in my mother's dining room, on chairs that are 40 years old...surrounded by photos of family long gone, religious icons of Jesus and his Blessed Mother, and STUFF...it's early but I'm enjoying the lovely scent of Pot Roast cooking. I've been sleeping here whenever I can, which makes my poor little mom happy, but honestly it kills my head. I'm tired. All told, my head doesn't matter, it's my Mom that matters.

Since my Dad died I'm here as much as I can. It's become my childhood again, only now I'm an adult. It is my childhood home and every nook and cranny of it holds a memory. Even the scent of food cooking will whisk me right back to a place or a time long gone. Life is long, thank God. And I am blessed.

Today my mother is cooking a big dinner for all of us. Her blood pressure is high, though, so I'm trying to help her and make her rest. Pot Roast in summer has to be cooked early, so as not to heat up the house:

Mom's Pot Roast
A big slab of some sort of beef
Dredge it in a little flour, salt and pepper and brown it on all sides (I'm hungry smelling it.) In a nice dutch casserole, something heavy, add water to the pot 1/4 way up, not filling the pot and not covering the meat.) Cook until soft, adding water every half an hour or so. It should cook for a few hours or more, depending on the size. When it's almost done, add carrots and an onion, and a clove of garlic for good luck. When it's cooked take out the meat, make a roux for the gravy, add it to the water in the pot, and voila.
Serve with mashed potatoes, fresh stringbeans, carrots and a strawberry shortcake for dessert and you have one of Willy Walsh's favorite meals (or is it mine???)

xoxolisa

Death Food



It was exactly one month to the day that my father, Willie Walsh, died after a 7 and 1/2 hour long surgery at Sloan Kettering Hospital in NYC. We went through many stages of food, to keep him healthy, and in the end he stopped eating, and died anyway. Damn. We tortured him. I think he left because he couldn't stand what we were doing to him. I was all set to make him soy protein shakes with ice cream and bananas...he must have gotten wind to that.

First it starts at the hospital.
Hospital Food:
The food at Sloan Kettering is ordered like room service. Anytime. Just call and order from the menu:
Baked Chicken
Real mashed potatoes
Green beans
obligatory jello, beef bouillion, canned peaches
Burger and fries hospital style (not bad, not bad..)

Then it was rehab at the worst rehab facility in NJ:
Rubbery baked chicken
boxed mashed potatoes
green beans
obligatory jello, bouillion, canned peaches
gray burger, old fries, rehab style
(No wonder the poor codger decided to go on a hunger strike and lost 9 lbs in a week)

Then he was dying, only we didn't know. And we were giving him anything he wanted to stop the starvation diet: milkshakes, rootbeer floats, doughnuts, cake. Anything he wanted, Will, please eat. Cherries, watermelon, cold foods, warm foods. Make it hotter, colder. Two bites, three. Eat dad, eat. Farina, did he eat the farina? How about yogurt?

Then he was dying and we knew it and we ate anything we wanted while he was finally left alone to rest and we were doing anything to wait: Italian food, Delicioso, by Aunt Joe. Meatballs and sausage, crusty italian bread, salad, a carafe of cool water. Who even cared. Leftover cherries, watermelon, cold foods warm foods. the foods we didn't feed him because he was too sick to chew. He could only have sips of water. A cool washcloth to his lips.

After death we ate Funeral Food:
Panini sandwhiches & cakes sent over by the Undertaker
Muffins by Mrs. Sweeney
Chicken Marsalla & pasta by Diane
Sloppy Joe sandwhiches by Aunt Carol
A spiral ham by Katy
More sandwhiches, more pasta.

At the funeral we ate The Body and Blood of Christ.

At the repass we had a brunch: eggs, potatoes, salad, pasta, chicken francais, beautiful desserts. coffee, bloody mary's..

Only he wasn't there. Dad's gone.
RIP Bill Walsh, August 2nd, 2008