Tag Archives: pa

Cheers To The New Year!

Whew! It’s officially 2016! I know each year I say this…but… where does the time go?!? We just keep blinking and years are flying by. Is this another adulthood realization/moment that stinks? ….I think so!

We, much like you, have got so very many blessings in 2016 to look forward to! Perhaps our best baked goods yet…

So, What exciting things did you do to ring in the New Year? Did you get all dolled up? I was loving the sparkly dresses posted on Social media! How about making it until midnight to snag that good-luck kiss? Wink-wink. Tell us!

Well…we loved living in our own little world this New Years Eve. We went out in style New Years Eve. Yep. Total party animals here! HAHA…We celebrated by cooking up a storm in our cozy kitchen at home. An outstanding homemade four course dinner. We toasted (way before midnight) with sparkling cider and Belgium beer.

So what was this dinner we devoured and taunted our friends and family on Facebook with? Oh boy! Glad you asked, because you are now going to get a play by-play!

The first course up was hot bacon dressing using homemade mustard, bacon, shallots and vinegar. For those of you not familiar with hot bacon dressing, it is a very nostalgic memory of Sunday dinners in our families Pennsylvania kitchen. We modified and tweaked a bit to feature Korean pork AKA Samgyeopsal. It was excellent if we may say so. If you’re curious, this cut of meat is thick, fatty slices of pork belly meat. Oh and it just melts in your mouth when grilled to perfection too! Order this next time cut of meat when you find yourself in a Korean restaurant.

The second course was sous vide tarragon butter lobster tails (yep, here we go cooking our condom foods again). The lobster tails were seasoned with fresh parsley, chervil and of course melted butter. Much like its friend escargot, it’s an amazing little vehicle for melted butter! Mmmmm!

The third course, seared ahi tuna crusted with sesame seeds and black pepper. The marinade was sesame oil, soy sauce and a splash of Worcestershire sauce. Just when I thought the meal couldn’t get any better the tuna made its cameo and completely blew our minds.

Drum roll please…..vanilla bean crème brûlée with fresh strawberries. No further description needed.

Now that we’ve left you with a grumbling belly, cheers everyone! Wishing you all a happy healthy New Year!

Backpackbees

Cookies

Let’s talk serious stuff here folks… COOKIES! That’s right… we caught you binge eating those little suckers, just like we are. Hey, it’s okay… times like these we get away with it and say, ’tis the season. So go ahead and munch away. We are not going to spoil it for you.

So….on the topic of cookies….do you have a go to cookie recipe for the holidays? If, so please share! We are always looking to try out new combinations and creations.

Speaking of trying out new things… Have you guys seen the BuzzFeed video circulating around for mini pecan tarts? No?! Oh goodness… let’s fix that right away. GO.HERE.NOW.

We were not sure how these little guys would turn out, but man are we pleased we gave it a test-run. They are not the pecan tassies that Mr. B grew up on, however they are a very easy and delicious substitute. SCORE! If you decide to give it a go as well, give us a shout and let us know what you thought. Don’t forget that tall glass of cold milk too. Hey, just remember, ‘Tis the season!

Backpackbees

Around The World In One Week

 

Okay, maybe it wasn’t around the world…but it truly felt like it! It ended up that we went back to the states for a wonderful whirlwind of the fourth of july week. We tackled DC, PA, 3 full days of work, a best friends wedding, family, and a scuba diving certification. I think its safe to say, been there, done that, got the tee-shirt. LOL! We still wouldn’t have traded the time for anything in the world.

How blessed am I? I got to see two of my childhood best friends in one week! Cassie and Josh drove up from North Carolina and toured DC with me for three days. Don’t worry, I’ve got some photos to share of our adventures from the DC duck tour, and yummy sweet treat to ourselves at DC cupcake. Yep, we were the crazies that stood in the rain, but I’m telling you….Mmmm…the carrot cake cupcake was absolutely divine! We then went to Arlington cemetery to visit the tomb of the unknown soldier, so surreal!

After we said so long to my best friend and her husband, we headed North for our hometown in Pennsylvania. My other best friend, who you might remember from her visit here with us in Korea, was getting married. The wedding was perfect! Everything was so simple but elegant. You are going to love this… the reception was at a small local airport, inside of a hanger. It gets better folks, whoopie-pie wedding cake tower! If you are not familiar with a whoopie-pie… first, I’m so sorry you have been deprived this long, second, google the word and drool! The reception also featured stations from Danville, PA (where the reception location was), Seattle (where the groom is from), and Istanbul, Turkey (where the honeymoon destination is). These stations consisted of sliders, salmon, seafood dip, pidgeon and perogies, hummus, chicken kabob, and the list just keeps going on. It was one of the best memories of my life for my best friend and her husband. As we speak, the newlyweds are relaxing in each others company somewhere in Turkey. Gosh, I cannot wait until they get back so I can get the lowdown on the trip!

So how was your fourth of July? Did you travel far? See fireworks? Maybe it was more low-key and all about grilling and chilling? Whatever the case, I hope that it was a great one and I hope to hear about it from you all.

Backpackbees

Huge News!

I’m super excited, I’ve got huge news to share! No, no, I’m not pregnant, sorry family.

Why so excited? Well, MY BEST FRIEND IS ENGAGED TO GET MARRIED! Yes! I got to hear it straight from her mouth in person while home on Christmas vacation. How lucky am I? What a wonderful memory and celebration to be involved in.

All the years of waiting for each other has truly paid off! I couldn’t imagine anyone else for you Rebecca. Josh, I just adore you too! We wish you both nothing but the best.

They were just so cute to watch together. Both beaming ever so brightly, how beautiful!

While home, our days together were mostly spent, reminiscing, sipping tea, cooking together, taking photos, breakfasting, giggling over old inside jokes, shopping, checking out the outstanding possible wedding venue, admiring the gorgeous ring bling (great job Josh!), and of course girl talk. (Check out some of our fun below)

It was wonderful!

Time together was nothing short of pure perfection!

Love you B!

 

Upgrade Me

I’ve must admit… the flight home was really nice! I mean really, REALLY, nice! We upgraded to business class. I’ve never flown business class before, so it was an eye-opener. Flatbed seating and leg room for days. The in-flight meals weren’t shabby either. I’ll take it!

Have you ever flown business class? What were your thoughts? Wait… is that even a question?

Sight & Sound Theatre

Christmases past we Bee’s have given our grandparents tickets to attend the Sight and Sound Theatre, typically accompanying them. Since we have been away almost two years, sadly we haven’t been able to uphold that tradition and go with them. So this year because we knew we’d be home, we purchased tickets to go!

Sight and Sound brings the bible to musical theater. This trip marked my third performance. Each time we attend I walk away even more touched by the story, music, performance, and stage production. It’s truly quite a sight to see!

This performance we all set sail on the extraordinary journey with Jonah and the whale! When we got to see the whale float over the crowd, and the glowing lifelike jellyfish drop from above our heads, our mouths all dropped in amazement.

I’m looking forward to the future when we get to see another show.

Interested in seeing a show for yourself? Click here for further details.

A horse and buggy is a pretty familiar and common sight for those of us that grew up in Central Pennsylvania, especially Lancaster. But, there are many visitors that vacation or travel through the state that come for a glimpse or experience in the Amish lifestyle and practices. I thought it was only fitting to include some photos of a tourist attraction that we passed along the route from seeing our show that day.

Doesn’t the countryside look so peaceful? Bloggers, this is my Pennsylvania.

Korean Night

While we were home we craved Korean rice. No big surprise there, huh? I mean if you think about it…we eat it almost everyday with one of our meals. Hopefully the ladies from work are not reading this, ha-ha! Or else right about now I’d be hearing a big TOLD YOU SO! Mind you these are the same ladies who were absolutely baffled at the fact that Mr. B and I could not get rice at every restaurant in the US. Gosh, how can you not just love them?

My sister in-law loved a Korean restaurant that she tried out some time awhile back. She asked if there were anyway to show her or teach her about Korean cuisine. Mr. B jumped at this opportunity!

This would usually be an easy task, however we are from central PA where there is really no large city for miles in either direction. Trying to cook up some Korean food posed a bit of a snag. No H-mart or Lotte Mart… We really had to think outside of the box and imprivise a bit. A little Korean-American fusion. It was fun!

“Are you trying to burn the baby out?” My sister in-law commenting on all the wasabi that Mr. B had in his soy sauce and forgot to mention to her before she took a nice dip. We forgot not everyone likes the feeling of burning your nose off. Oopsie.. sorry baby A

I love the next few photos. My father in-law was such a wonderful sport. He rolled his own kimbop and ate it too. Now the chopsticks on the other hand…. that was a different story. he-he-he. Just needs a wee bit of practice before he comes for a visit.

Brad, Sorry you missed out! You will just have to have Lynds show you in the meantime and then you two come over and visit us too!

Isabella’s

Besides sensing a food pattern here, I am sure you can tell how much we love our italian cuisine. Due to bad weather our prior dinner engagement at Ghezzi’s fell through. Our friend Scott came to the rescue and suggested that we try out a newly opened restaurant called Isabella’s restaurant and Cocktail Lounge. Sure, why not!

The restaurant is located on the main street that runs through downtown Selinsgrove, PA. The building that the restaurant sits in is what used to be an old bank. Once you are inside you will still find many remnants of the bank in the decor. Old bank ledgers piled on the window ledges, knobs placed all around still from the original bank, the bar area being used is an old teller box, the vault visible from the bar and dining area propped wide open and used as a prepping station. All and all it really boast a Victorian era vibe. We instantly fell in love and we hadn’t even seen the menu, nor tasted the food.

The service was fantastic! The food was outstanding! So much so that we ended up going back a second time while we were home too. We have high hopes that when we are back visiting in the area that the restaurant still operates because we will certainly go back again!

The restaurant is located on 23 S. Market St., Selinsgrove, PA. Hours are Monday to Saturday from 4- 11 p.m.

 

Amatos Pizza

When I was in high school and college I worked at a local Italian restaurant called Amato’s Pizza. I have some of the best memories from there! Mmmm especially the pizza and bread dough! We loved buying the uncooked dough and making our own pizza at home with it.

There was no way that we Bees were going to pass up the opportunity to swing in and do an Northumberland/ Italy world tour. Plus my little sister works there too! I needed to see her cute little face, give her a squeeze, and leave her a big ol’ tip.

We met up with our friend Scott and indulged in the three things we missed the most since we had been away. The Stromboli, cheeseburger sub, and baked ziti. Needless to say our eyes did all of the talking because our bellies couldn’t finish nearly all that we ordered. Sooo good!

Not much had changed from the last time I walked out the Amato’s doors. However they were working on a large addition to expand the main dining area. Once it is finished it will look awesome! Nothing pleases me more than to see a small local restaurant survive and conquer the current economy.

Until next time!

Doesn’t that just make your mouth water? Stop on in and give them some business! Oh and give my cute little sister a squeeze from across the sea’s.