The Pie Auction Today – Sunday.
Recipes for the Village.
Capricorn moon today. A practical day.
Aries Sun – moving forward (a bit).
Venus Mercury Chiron in Aries. Trying to move forward.

However…
Two retrogrades – Mercury & Venus.
And Saturn & Neptune in Pisces.
Neptune (other worlds, etc.) is at the very last degree which is a critical degree of Pisces.

Taking these into consideration, all of humanity, could be feeling a bit tired if not exhausted & wonder why each day.
Retros & Saturn & Neptune in Pisces – living in the past, under veils – it presents a challenge to all of us.

Today, Capricorn moon – Moon/Mars, Moon/Saturn, Moon/Chiron, Moon/uranus. Sun sextiles (friendly) Pluto – Sun illuminating anything in shadow, hidden, dark & seeking light.

A Pie Auction Today.
I have written about this before. Where we live, deep in the woods, in a tiny village that has a mountain & a valley near a long winding river…we have our own fire department, the village people as volunteers. To maintain the upkeep of the fire department, the village has a yearly Pie Auction.

So, We are once again offering two pot roast dinners.
I realize that after all these years, these two pot roast dinner (along with the turkey dinner) are now part of our Ashramic cookbook. So what are we making today & how – the recipes.

Pot Roast w/ Potatoes, Veggies, gravy. Cole Slaw. Green Beans sauteed in garlic w/ almonds. Apple Pie.

Pot Roast
Brown in hot oil (grape seed, avocado, rice bran) & butter or bacon fat…onions, carrots, celery, bell pepper (cut in 1/2 or quartered), garlic cloves.
Take out of pot & set aside.
Be sure the dutch oven (searing pan) is searing hot has enough oil & butter –
Add Chuck Roast (salt & pepper generously) w/ good marbling.
Sear in oil or bacon fat on both sides.
Add 2 T flour (I use chickpea flour) to the pot after the meat is seared. Stir flour into oil.
Add veggies back into pot.
Add tomatoes (fresh or paste or dried), anchovies (in oil, use the oil), Worcestershire sauce, spices (onion powder, garlic powder, basil, tarragon, thyme, rosemary
Add red wine or chicken or beef broth.
Meat & veggies should be 1/2 way or more covered in liquid.
Place in oven (350 degrees) for four hours.
3 lb chuck roast for 3 hours. 4-5 lb chuck roast for 4 hours.
Check every hour if there is enough liquid in the pot.

In the last hour of cooking the meat, add quartered potatoes & several more carrots (to serve whole with the meat).
Or make mashed potatoes.
A gravy can be made out of the liquid & the original veggies added to the meat. Use an immersion blender. Taste if there is enough salt & pepper. Add if needed.
Serve w/ sprinkled parsley on top w/ potatoes, green beans & cole slaw.

Cole Sław
Red & green cabbage, carrots – (shredded), green onions, bell peppers, parsley. Lemon juice, mayonnaise, sour cream, vinegar (rice wine is good), dijon mustard, salt & pepper – mix in jar, add to slaw mixture. Refrigerate for several hours.

Green Beans w/ Almonds Onions/Shallots & Garlic.
Clean & trim green beans. Steam for a few moments. In skillet, add peanut oil or olive oil & butter. To hot skillet, add chopped onions or shallots, green beans, garlic (chopped), sliced almonds. Saute til green beans are slightly charred. Add salt pepper & sprinkling of lemon juice & zest.

I made the pie yesterday –
A strawberry, blueberry apple pie.
Served on the side.

Someday we will all cook & eat together in our village community.
And publish the Ashram cookbook.
Someday – together.
I’m off to prepare the foods now.
Wish you were all here with me. love, Risa