• 1 large yellow onion, thin slices, 1 28 oz can whole tomatoes, 1 dark beer (preferably a Stout), 1 tbsp Beef Bouillion, 1 small jar Spanish green olives, 5 to 8 pound bison roast (either round or chuck)

1. Place bison roast in the bottom of a slow cooker and then combine all other ingredients over the top and around the sides.
2. Pour water in the cooker until the roast is covered a 1" above the top.
3. Set the slow cooker on low temperature and let it cook for at least 8 hours but up to 24 hours.
4. Serve with roasted carrots, potatoes or a great piece of artisan bread.
5. (The leftovers are some of the best part so make sure you cook enough to have some the next couple days)

Jo Lynn Marie Haas was born on March 21, 1948 in Shasta County, California. Although she and her family didn't stay in Shasta County, they always lived in California, and the sun and mild climate set the tone for her experience and beliefs about food for the rest of her life. She grew up in a close family of six, with her parents and three younger brothers. Although both of her parents worked, they still managed to place a lot of importance on time spent with family, especially time that revolved around food. When she was ten, she remembered her parents, who were Seventh Day Adventists, deciding that their entire family was going to become vegetarians. Although she would remember missing fresh seafood and chicken, her family ate mostly vegetarian food before, with an emphasis on fresh fruits, vegetables and whole grains, so the official switch off of meat really didn't faze anyone in her family. She remembers weekly trips to the local fruit and vegetable stands fondly. Every Saturday, her siblings and she would pile into the back of their family's station wagon and spend the day visiting the different road stands that were her parents' favorites, gathering all the fresh fruits and vegetables for the next week's meals. Her favorite type of food growing up was almost any kind of fresh citrus and in particular, the fresh citrus from the lemon and tangerine trees/shrubs in their backyard. A fresh piece of orange was only ten steps outside their back door. To this day, citrus remains her favorite flavor, and she has carried on her parents' tradition by having her own Meyer Lemon bush at her current house in Charleston, South Carolina.

Another vivid memory for her was the holidays and the huge variety of Danish style cookies that her mother, grandmother, and eventually she made each year. Every year, for most of her childhood, she recalls that her family would make it a goal to learn one new Christmas carol and bake one new type of cookie. To this day, she still hasn't had a better Christmas pudding than the one she learned how to make with her mother when she was fourteen years old. However, although, her family focused a lot of their attention around food, it wasn't always for self-consumption. Her father had a family medical practice in Southern California and a fair number of his patients were impoverished Hispanic families. She recalls fondly how her mother would pack up the leftovers of their family's meals each morning and send them off with her dad in order to provide some badly needed nutrition to his patients, especially the children. This giving spirit is what led her to her career in the medical field and guided her through life as a selfless individual who gives a lot to others and whom I am proud to say is my mother.