First Try. Not Bad.

We had guests join us for dinner on Sunday evening. I wanted to serve a full course meal with an appetizer and all, but "things" didn't go as planned. My friend and her daughter did leave our place with a full stomach anyhow.

The appetizer never got served. I wasn't aware that my friend's daughter doesn't like shrimp, which ended up being the main entree because the round tip beef roast was no where near well done when everyone wanted to eat. The mashed potatoes, roasted brussel sprouts and cornbread, turned out the best and these side dishes are what saved the night. Shaking my head.

I did get to send some slices of the roast home with my friend. It was completely done minutes after we all ate. My eldest daughter tasted a few pieces and told me that it was very good. Go me! I am shocked because I usually get a "good" or an "okay" from her about the cuisines that I make. I try.

At around the age of 17-years old I made the decision to stop eating meat. Not only red meat, but poultry and seafood as well. I was successful until I became pregnant with my eldest when I was 19-years old. My prenatal care physician recommended that I include meat within my diet so I welcomed seafood and poultry back into my life.

To this day, still no red meat. Only one voluntary encounter with a beef rib on the fourth of July a couple of years ago because I was drawn in by the barbecue scent while it was cooking on the grill. I also wanted to see how my body would react since I hadn't eaten any beef for so many years. No negative effect, but I haven't craved for anything beef since that very rare moment.

I have on more than one occasion, accidentally ingested pork since giving up meat. Accidental ingestion how, right? Well, both instances happened when I dined out. Once from a fast food chain and again at a Jamaican Restaurant. I only knew after consuming the food I had ordered. My digestive system was not happy with what I ate and I'm convinced "it" contained pork.

Recently, I've been purchasing beef to cook for my daughters. Much of their diet at home has consisted of poultry and seafood since they grew old enough to chew solid food. I made the decision long ago, that I wouldn't cook what I don't eat. Now that my eldest is a teenager she's become very vocal about her preferences. She loves steak and says, that I always cook chicken.

She's enjoyed the steaks I've been practicing with. I decided to be bold and slow-bake a round tip beef roast for the first time this past Sunday. I followed a recipe that I found on the Internet and began early preparations for "it" on Saturday evening.

I was so disappointed that it wasn't ready for Sunday dinner because I had undercooked it on Saturday night. It needed more than reheating to complete Sunday's meal so I felt like I had failed on "this" first attempt. I'll need a bit more experience cooking different cuts and types of meats to increase my confidence with doing so.

My friend hasn't said anything about the roast yet. I took a plate to my mother yesterday and she shared some with my niece. They said it tasted good and tender...