We’ve all heard the phrase “Mommy guilt.” It seems every woman who has bared down at one point in her life is resigned to continuous doses of this “condition.”  Last night was one of those nights for me.

My daughter has been coughing on and off for about two months. Some days it seemed to be barely present, other days it would be a bit more pronounced. But all the while, she was her happy, go-lucky self;  running, playing, dancing, laughing. I’m not just saying this to make myself feel better. It’s actually true. She never had a fever. And she seemed just fine.

But Friday night I couldn’t help notice that the cough was still lingering. It seemed a bit more pronounced. I decided that we’d make a visit to the doctor the next day. It was time, if not long overdue.

So, I woke the next morning worried about my daughter, and with that came this strong desire to prepare a warm, comforting home cooked meal for dinner that night. So I decided that before we made our way to Urgent Care we’d first head to Central Market to purchase the ingredients for a pot roast.

When you live here in Amish country the ability to procure ingredients for a meal that is both organic AND comforting is pretty easy.  I love our city’s Central Farmers Market. It’s a gathering place on Saturday mornings where you are sure to run into at least one friend and one person you haven’t seen in ages. It happens every time I go. And I simply love that. Market is a staple in our community, and when you stroll through the aisles, politely excusing yourself as you try not to bump elbows or walk into the many locals browsing and sampling the flavors of the week, the whole experience really makes you feel a part of this town. It’s one of my favorite things about living in Lancaster county.

So, I visited the grass fed beef farm stand and purchased a lovely boneless chuck roast. Because the beef comes from 100% grass fed cattle, it costs a bit more. But it is so worth it. Trust me.  We then strolled to the organic vegetable stand and purchased two onions, some rosemary and thyme and some potatoes.  There was only one thing left to purchase: coffee for me!

I’m a marketing strategist by day. So, I respect when people can piece together a good argument…you know, littered with logic and facts (something, for example, we’re not seeing in say, the current Presidential race). So, what happened next at market both impressed and frightened me.

“Mom. Remember you said that the coffee at Lancaster Cupcake is like crack?”  Horrified and ashamed I responded “Um…well, maybe. Why?…And what do you know about crack?” She informed me that crack is some “dumb drug” that people “died from” in the 80’s and 90’s. She went on to remind me that I enjoyed the coffee at Lancaster Cupcake. AND, since we “forgot” to purchase dessert in market that we should simply “walk around the corner” to Lancaster cupcake to “pick up some treats that will make US feel better.”  She then let out the loudest, most horrifying cough I have ever heard.

The girl is good. She worked all the angles brilliantly. She knew I wanted (NEEDED) a cup of coffee. She knew she wanted a cupcake. She sensed I must be feeling worried and guilty about her cough. So, of course, we went to Lancaster cupcake where we not only bought cupcakes for dessert, we also bought two to enjoy right then and there. I will admit that I’m a little shocked at just how easy it seems to be for her to piece together a winning argument. She’s got some natural persuasive abilities. If I wasn’t so horrified, I’d be impressed

I headed home to prepare the roast. I wanted to get it in the oven before we went to the urgent care place.  I felt a little crazy leaving the house with the oven on. But I simply rationalized that the roast would be in the oven cooking at the same temperature for 4 hours. And what were the odds of the house blowing up just because I stepped out. Would I be concerned about the oven blowing up if I were there? No. So,  I guess you could say I used my own strategic chops to deduce that we’d be fine. And we were. Well, kind of.  While the house didn’t burn down, Abby was diagnosed with bronchitis.

When I was explaining to the doctor about Abby’s cough he looked at me and said with a disapproving tone: “She’s had this cough for nearly TWO months??!.”

(gulp)

I hated myself in that moment. I knew I should have taken her sooner. I explained that she didn’t have a fever and that she was her happy self so I didn’t worry too much. But deep down I felt like the worst mom in the world.

Fortunately, Abby is doing just fine. She’s on an antibiotic and Prednazone. She feels great and she will be perfectly fine to go to school on Monday. And I I think the roast I prepared for dinner last night was a good call. It did it’s job of providing both comfort and nourishment.

I will share that I learned two valuable lessons this weekend:

1) Don’t ignore a cough, no matter how healthy she appears to be

2) A pot roast makes everything better. It just does.

So, if you want a little comfort of your own, here’s how I made the pot roast: 

1 -4 lb Grass Fed Boneless Chuck Roast. Salt and pepper it really well on both sides.

8 Organic carrots (halved and not peeled because I like them to taste a bit earthy)

One large onioin

A few sprigs of rosemary and thyme

I heated a dutch oven on the stove top and then placed some butter and olive oil in the pan.

I then sliced the onion in half and browned it in the butter/olive oil mixture. Once browned on all sides, I removed it from the pan. I then tossed in the carrots for about a minute, giving them a good stir in all that onion-ey goodness.

Then I removed the carrots and placed the chuck roast into the pan, browning it on all sides.  When browned, I removed the roast and deglazed the pan with some red wine, being sure to scrape all those delicious bits from the bottom of the pan. I then tossed the meat back into the dutch oven with the carrots and onions….and then placed the rosemary and thyme on top of the roast. I was out of beef stock, so I placed some red wine in the dutch oven, covering the meat about half way. I wasn’t sure how this would turn out….but, oh my…it was delicious!

I placed the lid on the Dutch Oven and roasted it in a 275 degree oven for about 4 hours.  Easy. Perfect. Delicious.

I also made mashed potatoes using small gold potatoes with the skins on. Just because. Mmm….potatoes.