Tag Archives: shoo fly pie

Bacon Strips and Bacon Strips and Bacon Strips

Really America? Deep fried snickers wrapped in bacon? Triple patty cheeseburgers with slices of bacon? Panera Bread serving a simple salmon croissant sandwich to include a slice of bacon. Oy… America…our society is already in such an extreme obese state and now we have this brilliant idea to top everything off with a bit of bacon. Eek… I’m curious, what are your honest feelings or thoughts on this?

I can’t fib to you, we have been no exception to the rule with our food intake. To be frank with you all, we’ve gained collectively around five to ten pounds since landing back on our US soil. Everything has revolved around food on our trip. I felt like we barely would be finished with one meal and we’d be planning or chatting about our next. Truly the American way, right?

I wish I could tell you that we stuffed our little bellies to pure bliss, however while yes we did stuff our bellies, we honestly didn’t find the same satisfaction or fulfillment that we thought we’d have afterwards. Food now tasted much more rich, sweet, salty, all around different.

Poor Mr. B ate a Wendy’s cheeseburger on the way home from our flight arrival into the airport. The first thing out of his mouth was that it tasted like eating a stick of butter. I never did get a burger from Wendy’s while I was home so I really couldn’t concur or deny his thoughts.

Has the food really changed this much over the past two years? Or, is it us that has changed so much in our taste and diets while living abroad? Whatever the case, the best meals to us were our good old fashion families home cooked meals. Our central Pennsylvania Dutch and polish cuisine roots. Yes, pork and sauerkraut, chicken corn soup, chicken and waffles, pittsburgh chicken cheesesteak salads, raisin filled cookies, shoofly pie, sweet lebanon bologna sandwiches, hot lettuce, whoopie-pies, fresh beef burgers from my families livestock, soupies, capicola ham, Troutmans ham spread, dry beef gravy, and ice-cold birch beer. Mmmm Mmmm!

Prepare yourself for the following… these are just a few fun food photos we  got to savor  while home.

Thanks Brad for the blog title inspiration from your tee.

Shoo Fly Pie

Have you ever had a slice of shoo fly pie? Ah! It’s pure magic! Okay…I may be exaggerating a bit with the word magic, but it’s really that good!

Shoo fly pie is a pie that has three layers. A bottom gooey layer, called wet bottom. A middle layer of cake consistency, and a top layer that is sprinkled heavily with a streusel top. It’s a traditional Pennsylvania Dutch molasses pie and its delicious! If you ever find yourself around or driving through Central PA on 11-15, stop and treat yourself to a slice of shoo fly pie! Let me know what you think once you taste it too.

I never realized how much I enjoy cooking, and then of course there is eating too. I knew when I was home I wanted my grandmother to show me how she bakes her shoo fly pies.  She is amazing and of course made sure that she had all the ingredients for me to learn how to make it. It’s funny how much I miss the simple traditional things like this shoo fly pie. So many things that I took for granted. I cannot wait to bake it again in the near future when I am feeling a little home sick or craving something from my hometown.

Thank you Gram! These pictures will help preserve the wonderful memory of baking with you that I will treasure forever.  Love and miss you guys already!