November 13, 2006 by Amy

Julia Child we ain’t

Funny story. Okay, maybe not so funny as disgusting. And indicative of just how crazy busy we are these days.

Several weeks ago we made a Forgotten Roast. What’s that, you ask? Well, I’ll tell ya. A Forgotten Roast is some big chunk of relatively inexpensive meat that you stick in a casserole dish, surround with veggies (carrots, potatoes, celery, mushrooms, some cabbage if you like, etc.), and then drown with Campbell’s Cream of Mushroom soup and a packet of Lipton Onion Soup. You cover it all up and stick it in the oven on 250 degrees and, well, you forget about it. For the entire day. Then, when you come home from work, your house smells all stewy and lovely, and your complete meal is waiting for you. It’s quite good, and I highly recommend it.

So, several weeks ago, when the weather got cold, we were all, “Yeah, Forgotten Roast! Wooo hooo!” Okay, I don’t know that we actually went, “Wooo hooo!” but we were pretty stoked. We made our Forgotten Roast, ate a bunch of it, and had a ton left. Fat and happy, we played with Zozo and went to bed.

Over the course of the next week, when M was out of town, I thought to myself, “Self, some Forgotten Roast leftovers sounds pretty darn good for dinner tonight.” I looked around the fridge, didn’t find ’em, and had some soup or something. Didn’t think anything more about it. Figured M must’ve taken the leftovers for lunch.

M comes home at the end of the week, and another few days go by. Maybe another full week. I dunno. I lost track of time (see crazy busy statement above). One night we decided to make something for dinner that involves the use of the oven. (I bet you can see what’s coming.) I was messin’ around with Zo and M opens the oven and recoils in terror. Okay, he didn’t recoil, but it sounds better that way. He did say, “What the ^%$& is that?”

Yep. That’s right. It was the Forgotten Roast. One of us (I won’t say who, but it wasn’t me, or Zozo, or either of the cats) had stuck it back in the oven after dinner when we went to play with Zo before bedtime, so it could cool down and cats wouldn’t have a second dinner. Then we both forgot about it. For the second time that day.

This all means that we’ve simply created a new dish. Twice Forgotten Roast. It’s akin to Twice Baked Potatoes, I think, only a lot more disgusting. It’s also pretty indicative of how rarely we use our oven.

M insisted I take a photograph for posterity. It was an excuse to use the Big Dog Nikon and its kick-ass newish flash, so I complied. And you all get to share along with us. Tell me this is not the most hideous thing you’ve ever seen come out of an oven:

Who’s up for seconds?!