Nomenclature (or - I Like the Way That Rolls Off the Tongue)

Hey! Guys! This is it!

100th POST!!!

My cousin, Miranda, is contemplating a blog title change. I was typing a response to her post and decided that the topic of blog names would be perfect for numbero hundredo. So - let's talk evolution of blog names.

First I did Go Tell It On the Hills that didn't work because my blog is about my Hills - not THE Hills. It sounded like I was going to be posting gossipy insights about every single Hill. There are a lot of those, and I'm not paparazzi. I decided I wanted something more personal and less hymnish. And I can hear all of your snickers about my hills. I know what you're thinking...

So - Random Deliberate Cogitation. Thesaurus anyone? Still one of my favorite titles, but it now graces the cover of my journal with a Volume 1 in smaller text below (just in case there are a volume 2 & 3). If they don't open the cover my progeny are going to think that I was one pompous diva. If they do open the cover, I think they'll lose the pompous perception, but the diva will pounce like a tiger sprung from a cage.

For now I am completely thrilled with Consider My Monkeys although I keep spelling monkies when I type it out or write it down for someone. Not so good. I love the title because in my mind and sometimes outloud my boys are referred to as apes, oragutans, and gorillas depending on what they're climbing on, how loud they are, how large of a mess their room is, whether they're flinging monkey poo, or if their mother has gone APE SHIT crazy... Sorry - got away from myself there.
 
Anyway - thanks for putting up with me through 100 posts, and please stay tuned for at least 100 more.

Oh - and I'm sure I could figure out some kind of give away if any of you can tell me how to fix the post header so that it doesn't cut off words...)

Yummy Fall Pot Pie - No Meat!

Butternut Pot Pie
1/2 of small butternut squash - seeded, peeled and thinly sliced
3 T butter, melted
1/2 t Pumpkin Pie Seasoning
2 T Honey
2 T Maple Syrup
Salt
Pepper
1/2 Spanish Sweet Onion, sliced
1 large Portobello mushroom, grilled and sliced
1/4 cup chopped Pecans
2 T butter
1/3 - 1/2 cup crumbled Gorgonzola
Slice of white cheese - Havarti or Swiss
2 9-inch refrigerated pie crusts

Mix 3 T melted butter, pumpkin pie seasoning, honey, maple syrup, salt, and pepper together. Pour over sliced squash and set aside to cool.

Saute onion in 1 T butter until carmelized. Remove from pan.

Add remaining 1 T butter to pan and saute mushrooms and chopped pecans over low heat for 5 minutes. Mix with onion and cool.

Assembly:

Place sheet of parchment paper onto large, flat pan (pizza pan, cookie sheet, etc) and sprinkle lightly with flour. Place one pie crust on paper.

Drain sweetened and sliced butternut squash and arrange on top of dough, leaving a 1-inch border.

Sprinkle squash with layer of Gorgonzola cheese, then cover with onion mixture.

Fold outside edge in over filling, pleating and pinching dough about every 2 inches. Place white cheese slice in center of hole. Using second crust, decorate pot pie using shapes, pastry "roses", etc.

Whisk one egg yolk and 2 T water. Brush over entire crust.

Bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool to slightly warm before cutting.

Serve with a salad on a nice, sunny Fall afternoon.

Whip it - Whip it Good (Ode to Heavy Cream)

This month my book group read Saints Well Seasoned: Musings on how Food Nourishes Us-- Body, Heart, and Soul It's a collection of 37 essays from LDS authors about food. Our assignment was to not only read the book but to write our own little ditty about our favorite food. So - here goes...

A few years ago I took some taking photos of my confectionary process and was going to compile them into a very personalized scrap/cookbook, but then I found Cooking for Engineers, and the need for me to create such a book was negated. So - these photos have been waiting for my attention near the bottom of my to-be-scrapped pile.

As I looked through the photos I discovered most of my favorite recipes have a very common theme.

CREAM

Here are 10 cream trivia-related facts for my house.

1. It's in Potato Soup, Twice Baked Potatoes, Rice Pudding, Alfredo Sauce, and Cinnamon Roll Frosting.
2. I love watching the butter and cream whisk together when making alfredo sauce.
3. When Jon whips cream, he adds a little bit more vanilla than sugar.
4. We prefer our whipped cream over the spray variety.
5.  The favorite application of Jon's whipped cream is malts (at the top and bottom of the glass) and waffles.
6. I prefer the cream in screw-top containers that Walmart used to carry over the carton ones that don't reclose.
7. I liked Walmart's screw-top packaging more than Costco's.
8. My kitchenaid whips cinnamon roll frosting much quicker and creates fewer blisters than beating that stuff by hand.
9. You can make potato soup with just milk, but it just doesn't taste as good.
10. I have to hide cream in my refrigerator because my boys (all 4 of them) think they need a not-so-little bit in the center of their bowl of cold cereal in the mornings.

School is cool...

The past couple of weeks have been very emotional for me. First of all - Carson started Middle School. He's quit talking to me other than in one word spurts when he gets home. Jon can get a whole string of stories out of him, but me? Not so much... A friend at work suggested that I wait a couple of hours to start asking him questions. I've done this the past couple of days, and CJ has taken to seeking me out and asking if something is wrong with me! Love it...

Evan started school the day after Carson, and it's his first time going without his older brother. I should have thought this through and realized that this would be a slight problem. We dealt with it by going out to breakfast before school on the morning of his big day.

Griff was the one I was the most hesitant about. I'll be the first to admit that I amped up the "He's my baby..." this summer. Jon informed me that I had to quit because I was stressing the boy out. Does this looked stressed to you?

This morning was pretty funny. Carson woke Griff up to give him some big brother advice about entering kindergarten. Evan hung back until Carson left. Once that happened, Evan swept into full on defensive big brother mode.  I don't even know why I was here! Griff didn't need anyone else - it was all Evan. Notice the hand at Griff's back guiding him where he's supposed to go? The other hand was on the other shoulder...  Also notice the length of the bus driver's beard. The kids are calling him skinny Santa, but his name is Jim.

I'll leave you with this beautiful image. I'm off to pop open a Diet Coke and bask in solitude on my front porch. I love today.

Now that's a samich

Boy howdy did I make a scrumptious sandwich for dinner this evening.

It was Back-to-School Night at the Middle School, so I needed something quick.

Started with wheat kaiser rolls, sliced & spread with Caesar Mayo.
Added some chopped sun-dried tomato & blue cheese. Topped it with sliced roast beef and then broiled it just enough to start to brown the beef & melt the blue cheese. I think the only thing that would have upped the taste quotient would have been adding french-fried onions.

Served it up with a dill pickle spear & Maui Onion potato chips.

Mmm, Mmm, Mmmm....