Back in the days when I used to work with Carl in a studio, I could walk to work but that would take me nearly an hour and most of the walk was up a fairly steep hill so I almost always drove to work. I had to drive along a main road that was six lanes wide divided in the middle by a grassy median strip.
On one sunny morning I was driving in the outside lane, (the lane closest to the median strip) and being peak hour, the road would normally be jammed with cars at that time but on this morning there were few on the road and being I in no particular hurry I was driving fairly slowly and listening to the morning’s news on the radio. As I drove up the hill I noticed in the distance a woman standing on the other side of the road dressed only in black. When she saw a break in the traffic she crossed the three lanes and stood on the median strip.
Roast Beef
I continued driving slowly but I was rapidly approaching this woman and assumed she would wait for me and the cars behind me to pass her before she continued across the road. But as I drove towards her she started swaying and stumbling and she looked like she was tripping over something and the next thing, BANG. She fell onto the front of my car and I had no time to even swerve. As my car kept moving she thumped her way along the car going bang, bang, bang, bang, bang and fortunately she hit the side mirror which threw her away from the car and she landed on the road where the few cars behind me managed to swerve into the next lane to avoid her.
I couldn’t understand how it could have happened and wondered if she was blind. I stopped my car and ran over to her lifeless body lying on the road and hoped she wasn’t dead. There were a few people already gathered around her and she seemed to be unconscious but then she opened her eyes and looked all surprised and asked, ‘What happened?’
Bolar Blade cooked with garlic and eschallots
I said, ‘You tried to cross the road in front of my car. Didn’t you see me?’ She didn’t answer, she just looked more confused. She said she was okay and so we helped her to her feet and took her to the side of the road. I asked her what she was doing and she said she was on her way to work and crossed over the road to get to the bus stop but when she got there she started feeling sick and became dizzy so she decided to head back home again. As she was on the median strip she thought she was going to faint and then she did.
She was a very thin girl who worked as a waitress and hadn’t eaten the night before, nor had she eaten breakfast and I’m sure the lack of food had something to do with her fainting.
She’s a very lucky girl to have survived falling in front of a moving car and I hope these days she’s eating properly to avoid fainting in front of on-coming traffic.
What I thought she needed was a steak.
Meat seared and ready for the oven
I was reading Celia’s blog this morning and she told a story about her husband’s grandmother who would put a bolar blade roast on first thing in the morning, then go out sailing for the day and arrive home to find the roast perfectly tender and ready to eat. All inspired, I bought a piece of bolar blade this morning and tried to reproduce it in a way that the grandmother would love.
Slow-cooked bolar blade roast served with roast potatoes and steamed asparagus
Slow-Cooked Bolar Blade Roast
Serves: 4-6
Degree of Difficulty: 2/5
Cost: Bolar Blade is a very inexpensive cut of beef. It works best slow-cooked.
- 2 tbsps olive oil
- 1.5kg bolar blade
- 1 head of garlic broken into cloves (leave skin on)
- 12 eschallots
- 1 tbspn cornflour
- 1/2 cup dry red wine
- 1 1/2 cups beef stock
Pre-heat oven to 120C.
Heat a large heavy based roasting pot over high heat. Add olive oil. Sear beef until browned all over. Remove from heat. Add 1/2 cup water to bottom of pan. Drizzle beef with extra olive oil and season well. Place garlic cloves around the beef. Place lid on pot or cover tightly with 2 layers of foil. Place in the oven for 4 hours.
With 1 hour remaining of cooking time, add the eschallots and turn the beef.
Remove from the oven. Place beef on a warm dish and cover with foil to rest. Return garlic and onion to the oven to brown while you cook the gravy.
Turn the heat up high and place the pot on the stove. Bring to the boil and reduce until a few tbspns remain. Add cornflour, blend well and cook until well browned. Add wine and boil to burn off alcohol. Add stock and cook until desired consistency.
Serve beef on warmed plates with onions, garlic, some roast kipfler potatoes and steamed greens like seasonal asparagus. Top with gravy.
Dinner is served
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Charlie, that looks divine! Pete’s grandma would have been proud of you too – maybe prouder, as you used the bolar blade roast! 🙂 Thanks for the shoutout, love. x
I can’t believe that pedestrian! I’m glad she was ok…you must have had a huge scare!
Oh dear, that was a very close call for her! I can imagine what a fright you both got! :O
I love beef roast … what wait … too much garlic for me on this one.
Oh my god I would have been traumatized! Well I’m glad she was okay…and you’re probably right…she needed a large piece of SOMETHING.
What a frightening experience this must have been for you to strike this woman with your car. Having been on the other end of this type of experience, well, not me, but my son, I know how awful it is. At least you did not flee the scene like the driver who struck my boy.
How horrific Charlie! I cannot imagine how that must have felt, a human bouncing around on the hood of your car! Why didn’t anyone call an ambulance? I’m sure you would have needed a sedative after such an ordeal.
That roast looks amazing; I’m going to google the cut as I am unfamiliar with it.
Eva http://kitcheninspirations.wordpress.com
Good grief! That had to have been awful! Your steak looks delicious though. 🙂
What a scary incident, Charlie. I would have had to go home for the rest of the day and recoup.
The roast looks wonderful. I’ve never heard of a bolar blade steak but the braised beef shank I had last night with mashed potatoes was tender and juicy despite being cooked back in August. 🙂
The meat looks nice and moist from the photos, I bet it was phenomenal in person. The story of the girl hitting your car — wow! I had a guy who literally ran in front of me once, thankfully the light just turned green so I was just crawling along. He rolled over the top of my hood and just kept walking. I pulled up along side him to see if he was alright and he just kept on going muttering, “I’m fine, I’m fine” and literally ran off.
Gah! Now I want roast for dinner!
I can’t even imagine that my friend, she must have been very out of it to even attempt that! Such a lucky one to be ok at the end!
On a nicer note, your steak looks stunning 🙂
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
That’s scary. That must have been so awful.
Lucky girl, that it wasn’t worse. What a scare for you as well! I’ve never heard of Bolar Blade before, but this looks like true comfort food. And I love all the garlic and shallots.
Mmm I can almost taste the tenderness just looking at this. How can someone not eat dinner or breakfast?! You must have had quite the scare. She’s so lucky to be ok.
Gosh so glad nobody was hurt out of that! That must have been quite scary! I was actually at a store the other day and there was a man leaning heavily on the door but he looked quite unsteady..but he was scratching the door as though he wanted to come in so I walked over and let him in but he collapsed on the front step. Glad there was a strong man there to help lift him up because there’s no way I could have lifted him!
Ps this roast looks amazing! I’ve never attempted a beef roast before but I think this would go nicely in my slow cooker 😀
Charlie, I can’t imagine the trauma you’d experience after hitting a person with your car. Holy cow! Imagine if she hadn’t been okay. When she came to I think I’d have given her “the salute.”
I read Celia’s post too and thought, I’m going to make this this weekend but then I remembered I’m going to be with you this weekend so it’s going to have to wait. I look forward to trying Pete’s grandma’s method.
Oh yum. The first read through I read escargot not escallots (my eyes, not your typing) and I thought, “this should be interesting”. I like your recipe without snails:) That poor woman. I am so glad you were already driving slowly.
What a sad story – I know of someone who did a similar thing on a busy road in Perth due to the effects of an eating disorder and wonder if the same thing happened to your girl. I’m glad you were driving safely and could help her afterwards. I agree that a meal like this would have gone a long way to helping!
That must have been a nasty shock for you, and her. So glad she was okay. I like your garndmother’s attitude to life. Get the trivial stuff like dinner out of the way and then take care of the important things like sailing.
Thank goodness you were taling your time that morning. All these delicious roast beefs being posted. My poor pork roast will feel out of place tomorrow. 🙂
First of all… what about you!!?? You must have had your wits scared out of you, what a sickening event!! I think you’d need to be seen for stress after something like that. I thought you were going to say she’d had a heart attack.. but I bet you’re right, young girls don’t eat enough these days. Secondly.. I saw that roast and thought it most excellent!! I’m glad to see you’ve made it too! Now it’s on my list!
eeeks.. sounds pretty scary!! Car accidents are one of the highest incidences contributing to the death toll. Hope all is well! Anyway, this roast beef looks great! I’ve recently rediscovered the magic of slow-cooking. Definitely going to use it more!! Delish!
Holy cow, think I would have had heart failure had somebody fallen onto my car!
Beautiful roast dinner Charlie, think I shall also have to make this soon.
🙂 Mandy
Oh gosh that s such a scary story Charlie! She is definitely one lucky girl to have survived faunting in front of your car and the other cars were able to avoid hitting her too!
Poor girl I wonder if she was an overseas student and working as a waitress to help with school fees or accommodation and that’s why she didn’t eat >_<
I d love some of this roast blade right now! Xox
yummy!
What a lucky escape- for both of you! How horrible you must have felt! I think this roast is perfect to make you feel better 🙂
What a scary story!! It must have been a horrifying experience. You got lucky, and she got even luckier…good thing the other car could swerve just in time.
The roast looks delicious, filling, and home cooked. Mnnnnnn.
I think my response to the first part of your story was probably inappropriate. I shouldn’t laugh at someone being hit by your car…but your bump, bump, bump had me laughing outloud. I’m glad the story ended well! Wow, disaster averted. I’m not sure what the bolar blade roast is, I think it looks what we call a rump roast, but I’ll google it and consider a whole new word. I enjoy that. But whatever it turns out to be it looks delicious, and there’s nothing more enjoyable than coming home to a house with wonderful dinner already waiting! 🙂
What a terrible accident, but thankfully the girl was alright…a steak was what she needed!!
I never eat beef but my husband would love this tasty beef dish! MMM!