Yes I do! Nostalgia sets in. I imagine crisp fall Fridays, Drum line warming up for the football game and heading into the school to get ready for the football game with the Dance Team girls. My High School in Northern Virgina had an annual Homecoming parade through the streets of my neighborhood as it was closest to the school. That neighborhood has huge trees lining the streets and some areas of the streets are tunneled by tree branches...so in the fall it's an autumn wonderland.
Typically around this time of year, I'm a whinner. Yes, you heard it, a complainer and a whinner. Why? Because in my 3 years of Fall experience in Northern California, we don't get Fall-like weather until just before Halloween. I've been to more than one Pumpkin patch and perspired. Don't get me wrong, we get Fall around here, and I do love where I live, but it comes too late in the season. The first day of September, I start aching! We do get seasons around here...especially more than Vegas where we were just before here. We don't get actual snow where we live, which is unfortunate because my children will likely never know the glory of a SNOW DAY! (Oh the joy. Especially when you have early morning seminary! Climbing back under the covers and waking up a few hours later to a fresh blanket of beautiful fallen snow!) But we are not far from great snow, the Sierra Nevada's are just over an hour away where you can find great snow, skiing and snowboarding, it's not Utah. I digress. We do have seasons and they are enjoyable, the timing is just unlike what I'm used to!
So much to my delight, Fall has arrived! Today I wore jeans and long sleeves AND it RAINED! Oh I have been giddy! In the first picture at the top, the rain clouds were just starting to roll in and Ryan looks at the puffy cloud with white and asks me, "Mom, is that where Heavenly Father lives?" Pretty cute. He's full of those kind of questions.
I'm sure our weather will warm up a bit before Fall completely sticks, but we are really enjoying our weather this week. It makes me feel like the Holidays are coming soon and they are soo much fun! I can't wait to do our cute holiday crafts (Ryan has already asked to make the gingerbread house and trees we made last year). Apple Hill awaits us(more to come on that in later October)!
Another thing slightly related to Fall is The Great Steak in Provo, UT. Scott's first job in Provo (Fall of 1998) was at The Great Steak. They specialize in tasty big sandwiches - and their best according to us was the Steak and Philly (to our recollection). Sam, do you remember the goodness? Mmmmmm. Steak slices, onion, green peppers, mushrooms, cream cheese and provolone cheese. These ingredients were piled into a big hoagie roll and it was heaven. Sooo, I've created my own version lately that was pretty tasty.
roastbeef deli meat
1 bigger garlic clove
onion
green pepper
mushrooms
cream cheese
provolone
I sauteed the garlic, peppers, onions and mushrooms together. Added the cream cheese to the veggies to soften then added everything to the chopped roast beef. Sauteed it all together to combine and melt.
Since my kids were eating it too, I chopped everything up finely (including the roast beef) so it was easy to eat...doesn't make it as pretty. Porportions would be to your liking...I think I used about half of the cream cheese bar to about 1 pound of roast beef slices. My kids loved it! So did we!
Apparently in actual Philadelphia which made the Philly Cheese Steak famous, the original recipe includes Cheese Whiz. I've been dumbfounded by this since I saw it on the Food Network a few years ago. My parents have been to the most famous Cheese Steak restaurant in Philly and say they do actually use Cheese Whiz. Wierd! I thought that Philly Cheese Steak was a very old tradition...but how old could Cheese Whiz be? I've never bought Cheese Whiz and don't think I've ever tried it, but I made my sandwhich again a little differently thinking of Philly. So this time, I used about a quarter of the cream cheese bar (2 or 3 ounces I guess) and I used maybe 3 or 4 ounces of Velveeta Cheese thinking it was similar to Cheese Whiz...probably not, but oh well. Tasty, but not nearly as good...this is the actual day that I snapped the picture, which is why the sauce looks a little orange. Also, the bun...I couldn't find the yummier hoagie rolls at the store we first used, and was crunched for time, so it was an inferior hot dog bun, ignore that and get good hoagie or sourdough rolls.
I enjoy cooking fall/winter foods more than spring/summer because my boys eat them better. That is, unless it's a hamburger. But they don't enjoy salads or quesadilla's or some others that I prefer in the summer. So I may share a few more recipes I'm enjoying this fall. A few I'm looking forward to off the top of my head...Maple Apple Chicken, Grilled Cheese with Tomato Soup, Clam Chowder with Sourdough, and Mexican Corn Chowder.
Since I'm always looking for something different to cook for dinner, I thought I might tag some people to share a recipe. Can't tag Jules because she outdoes herself on Mudpie Gourmet, so except for her, I tag you if your blog is linked on my blog.
11 comments:
I already said this in my email, but nobody makes a cheese steak like Scott! What a shame you've wasted your life on a "responsible" career, when you could have been providing us with yummy sandwiches forever.
I decided we can tade places for the fall. I'll go home for a few weeks and you can come to Pittsburgh for Fall. Not that I don't enjoy fall (birthday's, apples, holiday's coming up, cooler weather, tree colors). However, fall leads to winter and winters here are not so fun. I'll think of a good recipe to share.
PS I just had Uncle Sam's today. They have amazing cheese steak sandwiches. You need to come visit me so I can take you there. Rachel knows what I'm talking about=)!
Okay, cheese whiz is nasty!! I can't believe they use something so fake!! Your sandwich looks yummy, however.
Amen about Fall!! We had a couple fall days recently and I've loved them. Luke refuses to take his jacket off even in the house.
I loved watching you on Dance Team. You were awesome. Good memories. Remember how you wore your outfit on game day? Nice legs. ps--I am now going to be loving those snow days and two hour delay days!
YEAH, uncle sams is YUMMY!! so does being tagged mean i have to put a recipe on my page?? or on yours? I dont get it. I will talk to you tonight about it. thing is, i dont really cook and I NEVER make up recipes. you're super mom!
I'm with you on fall. I talked to Maren the other day and she was so depressed because it was starting to feel like fall in Utah (which for her meant school, midterms, and winter)--I told her she's crazy! I LOVE fall--I just want to go for walks and bake all day long. I sent some of my favorite fall recipes in my fall swap package so I'll send them to you--you may already have some: Tuscan tomato soup, pumpkin pie waffles, maple-glazed salmon, and sour cream apple pie. YUM!
Right there with ya SIS!! Funny you mention Philly Cheese Steaks!! I was just in the marvelous city of Cheese Whiz (who knew!) and went to the infamous "Pat's" for their delicious sandwich... Much to my suprise they had cans and cans of said cheese whiz warmed and ready to slather on perfectly good steak sandwhiches. I could not bring myself to order the orange delight so I had American cheese. It was very yummy!!!! If you go to Philly you must visit Pat's!
Wikipedia reports that Pat's was the first to make it. Pat opened a hotdog-like stand on the street, but at first he sold his sandwich without any cheese at all. Customers demanded it; so he chose Cheeze Wiz for the same reason families choose it. It's cheap and easy.
There is a debate in Philly as to who really was the original; and who is he best. Becky and I tried the cheese wiz version in downtown Philly a couple of years ago. We have settled on the, now, alernate standard: Bun, Chopped steak, onions, peppers, mushrooms, provelone cheese. (When in DC I order it with lettuce and tomatoes. When in Philly -- we go twice a year taking with us Becky's student teachers from BYU -- I order it the standard non-cheese wiz way. ("When in Rome...")
Melted, juicy, soft, tasty, nummy, good, oh yeah! We will be there in a few weeks.
One more comment re: this particular sentence of Carrie's:
"In the first picture at the top, the rain clouds were just starting to roll in and Ryan looks at the puffy cloud with white and asks me, 'Mom, is that where Heavenly Father lives?' Pretty cute. He's full of those kind of questions."
My heart stretches as wide as the heavens, deep as the oceans contemplating Ryan and Sean apprehending the grand and glorious and awe-inspiring things of this world -- and of the world to come.
SO much love.
Syd, isn't american cheese orange too? Provolone is yummmyyy!
I love nothing more than snow days. In fact is has gone into a pure joy of when ANYTHING is canceled for me, play-dates, appointments, I just love the feeling of thinking you have to do something and then all of a sudden you don't!! That Hogie recipe looks good I'll try it.
American comes in white as well as orange. I'm sure it would be oh so yummy with Provolone! Next trip.
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