Eye of Round Premium Beef Roast

Welcome Fall.
It's been raining in Vancouver….finally? We've had beautiful weather until now, but the rain started.
And I thought it was time to turn on the oven and prepare fragrant, comforting meals. I decided on roast beef. But, it's been so long since I last made a beef roast…I wasn't sure what to do. What type of beef cut to purchase, how to dress it, how long to cook it, etc.
It turns out the grocery store just had the one cut of beef (eye of round). (And I didn't feel like a special trip to the butcher's).
Now what? I looked through my cooking Bible, The Joy of Cooking, but couldn't find any information on how long the roast needed to cook. This was important, because I would be leaving it in the oven while picking kids up from school. I needed to know that I wouldn't over cook the beef….and I didn't think there was enough time for me to start the roasting after I picked up the kids from school.
Canadabeef.ca gave me the answers I wanted. It's awesome! I'm so glad I discovered it! How did I survive without this site? You have to check it out.
So I roasted my 1.1 kg cut of beef for 2 hours adding the vegetables to the pan 1/2 hour before the meat was done (when the meat thermometer registers rare, 140 degrees Fahrenheit). A butcher once told me to add a broth to cover half the roast…so I tried that and yum! So handy when you have kids. I pour the broth over noodles. And we have a complete meal! You'll find the recipe at the end if this post.

It needs gravy. 

I forget how much flour to add to the stock, so I look up Martha Stewart's gravy. I don't have drippings, as they get absorbed into the broth, but I make due. Here's my gravy: 

I usually have more stock than I need, so yesterday, I boiled Jane's flour noodles in the extra stock….she loved it!

Chocolate - Walnut Cake

So my kids come home after spending a week with their dad at the farm. I'm handed a bag-full of walnuts from their walnut tree. Yum!!! And all I could think of was CAKE!

Chocolate-Walnut Cake

The recipe looks complicated, but it's really very simple…and the ingredients are similar to what you would find in a power bar - walnuts, dates, chocolate….packed with protein and (it has some) iron…..and so yummy! 

Combine dates, cocoa and warm freshly brewed coffee. Let stand for at least 20 minutes.

Combine bread, walnut pieces, flour, and salt in a food processor and process until finely ground. Place crumb mixture in a large bowl. 

Combine the date mixture, 1/3 cup granulated sugar, oil, vanilla, and 1 egg in food processor and process until smooth, scraping the sides of the bowl once. 

Add the date mixture to the crumb mixture, stir well.  

Beat egg whoites with a mizer at high speed until soft peaks form.
Gradually add 1/3 cup of sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, until stiff peaks form. 
Gently stir one-fourth of the egg-white mixture into the batter; gently fold in the remaining egg white mixture. 

Spread batter into prepared pan. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes or until cake center springs back when lightly touched. 
Cool in pan, on a wire rack for 10 minutes.
Remove from pan and remove wax paper. Cool completely. 
To prepare glaze, stir chocolate and cream in a small heavy saucpan over low heat until melted and smooth. Spoon over cake.