By The book has a pre-order page now. Sarah sent the link on Monday and I looked at it for a long time, at the cover image and the description she'd written and my name and the publication date: May 14, 2024. I forwarded the link to Tom, who forwarded it to everyone he knows, which is more people than I would have guessed. I forwarded it to Cole and to Margaret and to Linda. Linda said "I'm ordering three copies." Tom ordered ten and wouldn't explain why.
There's a particular experience that I wasn't prepared for: seeing the description of the book written by someone else. Sarah describes it as "a year of essays about Montana ranch life, cooking through the calendar, and the long work of becoming the person your land and food require you to be." I read that several times. That's the book. That's what I was trying to write. Someone who read it from the outside put it in a single sentence and got it exactly right, which is both humbling and clarifying.
Dr. Crain and I had our quarterly session on Thursday. The last several sessions have felt less like excavation and more like inventory — not looking for something wrong but checking on what's right, making sure the structure is still sound. She asked about relationships this session. Not clinically, but in the way a person who knows you well asks about a thing they've been watching. I told her the honest answer: I'm ready. I don't know what form it will take or who it will be, but the readiness is genuine and not anxious. She said "that's the one you want." I said I knew.
Cole's therapeutic riding program now has four regular clients, including Theo. He hired a part-time assistant, a woman from Lewistown named Becca who has a background in occupational therapy and who, Cole says, has changed the way he thinks about what the horses actually do for the riders. I like the idea of Cole building something — a small, necessary, specific thing that exists in the world because he decided to make it exist.
Spring minestrone this week — the soup that arrives when the winter pantry still has canned tomatoes and dried beans but the windowsill has the first seedlings pushing up. Both seasons in one pot. The year turning over.
The soup I mentioned at the end of the week — the minestrone — got me thinking about the larger category of food it belongs to: things you make from what the winter left behind, when the year is visibly shifting but hasn’t fully committed yet. This pot roast is that same idea in a different form. The pantry has the sauce covered; the slow cooker does the long work; and by the time it’s done, the whole house smells like something was decided. That felt right for a week where a lot of things — the book page, Dr. Crain’s question, Cole’s program taking shape — all felt like they had quietly arrived.
Sweet ’n’ Tangy Pot Roast
Prep Time: 15 minutes | Cook Time: 8 hours | Total Time: 8 hours 15 minutes | Servings: 8
Ingredients
- 1 boneless beef chuck roast (3 to 4 lbs)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 can (8 oz) tomato sauce
- 1/2 cup ketchup
- 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
- 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon dry mustard
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 medium onion, sliced into rings
- 3 medium carrots, cut into 2-inch pieces
- 3 medium Yukon Gold potatoes, quartered
Instructions
- Season the roast. Pat the chuck roast dry with paper towels and season all sides with salt and pepper.
- Layer the vegetables. Place the sliced onion, carrots, and potatoes in the bottom of a 6-quart slow cooker, spreading them into an even layer.
- Make the sauce. In a medium bowl, whisk together the tomato sauce, ketchup, brown sugar, red wine vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, dry mustard, and garlic powder until well combined.
- Assemble. Set the seasoned roast on top of the vegetables. Pour the sauce evenly over the roast, making sure it coats the top and runs down the sides.
- Cook low and slow. Cover and cook on LOW for 8 to 10 hours, or until the beef is fork-tender and pulls apart easily.
- Rest and serve. Transfer the roast to a cutting board and let it rest for 10 minutes before slicing or shredding. Serve with the vegetables and spoon the cooking liquid over the top as a sauce.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 375 | Protein: 40g | Fat: 13g | Carbs: 22g | Fiber: 2g | Sodium: 560mg