The Onion Delay

Sadly, French Onion Soup did not happen last night. Fortunately, pot roast with celery, potatoes, carrots and onions did. And I was REALLY thankful it did because I had a packed day and knowing that my slow cooker was bubbling away while I worked was really nice.

Why didn't French Onion Soup happen? Because of Libba Bray. The young adult genre (YA) author came to the Central Milwaukee Public Library to do a reading and book signing and I only found out about it one day in advance. She is awesome! Go. Go Now. Go NOW and read all her books. Start with "A Great and Terrible Beauty" and read that whole series. Her newest book, "Diviners" will be just as fabulously creepy as all of them. Ms. Bray described it is "Avengers meets Flappers". Who doesn't want to read that?

Since there weren't many YA books when I was a teen, I jumped right from my favorite Laura Ingalls Wilder and L.M. Montgomery (Anne of Green Gables) books to whatever they made us read in high school, plus whatever else I could get my hands on through rummage sales, used book stores, regular book stores and the ever wonderful library. I'm sure I read things that were way inappropriate for my age, but it's OK. I turned out alright. I just had to catch up on YA lit during college in between reading journals and class-assigned books.

Anyway, I promise that French Onion Soup and cookies will happen soon.

In the meantime, here's the pot roast recipe (super easy):
Ingredients:
1 2-lb or larger pork roast trimmed of fat
2 medium onions quartered or sliced
3-4 carrots peeled and cut into 1-2" chunks
4 red potatoes quartered or halved (depending on the size of the potatoes)
1 packet of Lipton's Onion Soup dry mix or your favorite spice for pork (Penzey's has some great ones)
1 tbsp olive oil
1/4 cup water
1 shot brandy (optional)
Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions:
Put the olive oil in the bottom of the slow cooker. Place the meat in the dish. Sprinkle the meat with the seasoning. Add in all the veggies or any other root veggies that you like. Pour in brandy. Put the lid on and let it cook on low for about 8-10 hours or overnight. (There are no pictures because my husband dug in and started eating before I even got home from the book reading!)

Hint: My mom, who is one of my kitchen crushes, was a home economics teacher among many other things. She always taught her students and children that, "If it grows under ground, you cook it with a cover. If it grows above ground, leave the cover off." I think that's one reason why root veggies like potatoes, onions, and the like work so well in slow cookers.

Enjoy and keep reading for that French Onion Soup!