06/03/2026
Create. Connect. Care.
Sometimes Blue Nova lessons show up in unexpected places. This week, it showed up in a roast.
A few years ago, I began buying beef from a friend and third-generation farmer at Green's Family Farm in Converse, Indiana. The steaks are amazing. The hamburger is amazing. The roasts are amazing.
The problem? I always seem to have extra roasts in the freezer.
I've made pot roast.
I've made Italian beef.
I've made soup.
I wanted something different.
Recently, I was walking through the grocery store and suddenly thought, "A deli roast beef sandwich sounds really good." And just like that, a memory came rushing back.
As a kid, Sunday lunch often meant sandwiches after church. Sometimes we'd head to one grandma's house. Sometimes the other. Both cooked very differently, but both filled our lives with love.
Other times we'd stop by the grocery store and pick up deli meat, chips, and Kool-Aid.
I can still picture sitting at the little table in Beech Grove under the faux Tiffany lamp. Later, after we moved, I can picture the same farmhouse table in Indianapolis.
And there's a good chance my longest-standing friend, Stephanie (52 years and counting!), was sitting nearby as we dreamed up our next big idea. At one point we were convinced we should send a singing cassette tape to Harrison Ford. We actually did.😂
Back to the sandwiches...
Standing in the grocery store, I suddenly wondered:
"How do they make deli roast beef anyway?"
Then it hit me. Of course. They start with a roast. I don't know why that had never occurred to me before.
I had beautiful roasts in my freezer already.
So I pulled one out, patiently waited for it to thaw, researched recipes, read review after review, rubbed it with olive oil from a girls' trip earlier this year, seasoned it, roasted it, rested it, wrapped it, refrigerated it overnight, borrowed a slicer from my friend Renee, and crossed my fingers.
The next day, after a little wrestling match with the slicer, something magical happened. It looked exactly like deli roast beef.
Only better, much better.
The first bite took me right back to those Sunday lunches while creating a brand-new memory at the same time.
And maybe that's the lesson.
Sometimes creating isn't about inventing something completely new. Sometimes it's taking what you already have, looking at it with fresh eyes, and discovering new possibilities.
A roast became sandwiches. A memory became a story. A simple meal became a connection to family, friendship, and community.
That's what Blue Nova Workshop is all about.
Creating.
Connecting.
Caring.
And maybe someday this roast beef adventure becomes a Blue Nova cooking workshop where we gather around a longer table, share stories, learn something new, and enjoy a really good sandwich together.
Because life's best moments often happen around a table.
And never underestimate the power of great snacks. 😊
