Mom gets a gift of time while waiting

I left work one day last week in time to catch the second half of my granddaughter Katie’s field hockey game. Or at least I would have, if I’d gone to the right place. Going to the wrong field wasn’t the worst of it. As soon as I’d parked, I dialed my daughter’s cell phone to see where they were and got out of the car to try to spot them.

When I found out the game was across town and reached for the keys to unlock my car to get there, I realized they weren’t in my purse. Yes, you guessed it the keys were in the driver’s seat of my car. I’d very efficiently raised my windows, closed the sun roof and locked the car (the clouds looked like rain), closing my keys inside.

At least I had my cell phone to call AAA. I ask you: is there anything that makes you feel any more like a nincompoop than locking yourself out of your own car?

So, there I was with half an hour to wait — nowhere to go (had to stay with the car) — and an unexpected gift of time.

If you think about it, half an hour to oneself is quite a gift. As I looked around I realized there were several teams of fourth and fifth graders playing football and soccer in the athletic fields around me. The kids were all in motion up and down the fields in uniforms of different colors. The grass was bright green. Overhead, some puffy charcoal gray clouds were scurrying over the sky ahead of patches of cerulean blue and bright bursts of sunshine. It was gorgeous. A cold front was pushing through — goodbye humidity.

Several dogs of various sizes and descriptions passed by. Most stopped long enough for a sniff, a pat and a wag. As I stood there taking it all in, I decompressed.

By the time I made two short phone calls to report my whereabouts, counted the cars in the parking lot (there were 17) and thought longingly about the pot roast I’d put in a slow oven at 7:30 that morning, the big red tow truck showed up right when the dispatcher had said it would.

With a long, bright pink flexible rod between a door and its rubber seal, the driver had my car open in under 30 seconds. The car responded with an indignant beeping noise that would for sure have had car thieves on the run, should there have been any in the general vicinity.

So, let’s think about it: I’d been forced to relax for half an hour on a beautiful fall afternoon in a park. My granddaughter’s team lost, but not by much, I saw some beautiful sights, and we ate pot roast on a cool fall night. I was definitely better off for the unplanned pause in my day. All in all — a really good day.

Beef roasts are on sale now go, get one, and make a pot roast to celebrate fall and cool weather.

MOM’S POT ROAST

1 lean 3-pound chuck roast

Garlic salt

10 large whole cloves garlic

1 48 ounce can beef consommé

1 10 1/2 ounce can College Inn or homemade chicken broth (reserve 1 cup)

6 large peeled potatoes

1 package baby carrots

1 firm apple (Pink Lady works well)

1/4 cup flour

Juices to make 3 cups

Preheat oven to 200 degrees.

Preheat a large, heavy Dutch oven over medium high heat on the stovetop. Sprinkle garlic salt on both sides of the roast, also on the edges. Place roast in Dutch oven to sear all sides, turning it as each surface is seared.

Add consommé, chicken broth (it should come to the top of the meat) and whole, peeled garlic cloves. Cover and place meat in preheated oven.

Allow meat to slow-roast in covered pan for 6-8 hours. Remove pot from oven and meat from pot.

Leaving broth and juices in pot (add *water if needed to make 3-4 cups), cut potatoes into slices about 2 inches thick. Place potato slices, whole baby carrots and cored, peeled and quartered apple into pot. Boil gently until potatoes and carrots are tender (potatoes will turn a beautiful shade of brown). Remove vegetables to serving dishes.

Stir flour into reserved cup of broth; mix well. Add to remaining juices and stir over medium heat until thickened. Serve gravy along with meat and vegetables.

Serves five to six.

*You can replace water with dry red wine or dry Vermouth.

Linda Conway Eriksson can be reached by e-mail at ieatatmoms@gmail.com.