What's a Whoopie Pie? Well, according to whatscookingamerica.net, "Whoopie pies are considered a New England phenomenon and a Pennsylvania Amish tradition. They're one of Maine's best known and most loved comfort foods. Mainers will even claim that they were weaned on whoopie pies. In Maine, these treats are more like a cake than a pie or a cookie, as they are very generously sized (about hamburger size). they're so hug that you'll want to share one with a friend. A big glass of milk is almost mandatory when eating a whoopie pie.
"A whoopie pie is like a sandwich, but made with two soft cookies with a fluffy white filling. Traditional whoopies pies are made with vegetable shortening, not butter. The original and most commonly made whoopie pie is chocolate. These cake-like whoopie pies were considered a special treat because they were originally made from leftover batter. According to Amish legend, when children would find these treats in their lunch bags, they would shout 'Whoopie!'"
Though they're not much alike in flavor or texture, I think one could say that Whoopie Pies are the Moon Pie of the north.
Whatever you call it, I ate one. And I ate the whole thing! It was good. ;-)
Monday, April 9, 2007
April 8, 2007: Happy Easter
Grace and I went to St. Maxmillian Kolbe parish for Easter mass this morning. They had ~40 voices in the choir but they all wore robes and the pianist/organist was also the director and also sang one of the cantor parts.
After mass we were starting our tour of the Eastern shore when Grace noticed that Nestled Ducks, a local tourtist/souvenier shop was open. Fortunately, she didn't mind pulling over. I had a field day. No, I can't write about what I found 'cuz maybe it's for you. ;-)
Then we drove everywhere and took a bazillion photos. We got into Old Orchard Beach (the honkey tonk part of town) and the "Pier French Fries" stand was open. Oh my. Yum city!! I put vinegar on mine. Who ever heard of that?! Fortunately, Grace let me try hers first to see if I liked it before I put it on mine. Oh, I liked it very much and immediately put vinegar on mine.
We drove to (not in a logical or sequential order . . . sorry) Kennebunc and Kennebuncport, Hill Beach, Fortune's Rocks, Biddeford, Saco, Camp Ellis, Cape Porpoise, and many others I've already forgotten but enjoyed immensely. Yes, I saw Dad Bush's "compound".
We then made it to Grace's brother's house for Easter dinner with her mom and dad. Her brother, Mike, and his wife, Helen, cooked a delicious meal: leg of lamb, squash, mashed potatoes, peas, asparagus, gravy, and delicious Swedish lingonberry jelly. It's better than mint jelly with your lamb. Dessert was Greek pastry made by a friend of Grace's mother, a vanilla cake with vanilla pudding in the middle, and apple pie. Oh, and a bowl of chocolate Easter eggs and other chocolates.
After dinner, we helped Mike and Helen download pictures from their digital cameras (some from last December) and make a CD backup of the files. And we watched the final round of the Master's Golf Tournament. I was sad Tiger's winning streak ended, but I was excited for the kid who beat him.
Then we came back to the house and worked on our proposal EVEN MORE! Neither of us were hungry for dinner but around 7, I ate my Whoopie Pie. More details on that in the next blog entry.
After mass we were starting our tour of the Eastern shore when Grace noticed that Nestled Ducks, a local tourtist/souvenier shop was open. Fortunately, she didn't mind pulling over. I had a field day. No, I can't write about what I found 'cuz maybe it's for you. ;-)
Then we drove everywhere and took a bazillion photos. We got into Old Orchard Beach (the honkey tonk part of town) and the "Pier French Fries" stand was open. Oh my. Yum city!! I put vinegar on mine. Who ever heard of that?! Fortunately, Grace let me try hers first to see if I liked it before I put it on mine. Oh, I liked it very much and immediately put vinegar on mine.
We drove to (not in a logical or sequential order . . . sorry) Kennebunc and Kennebuncport, Hill Beach, Fortune's Rocks, Biddeford, Saco, Camp Ellis, Cape Porpoise, and many others I've already forgotten but enjoyed immensely. Yes, I saw Dad Bush's "compound".
We then made it to Grace's brother's house for Easter dinner with her mom and dad. Her brother, Mike, and his wife, Helen, cooked a delicious meal: leg of lamb, squash, mashed potatoes, peas, asparagus, gravy, and delicious Swedish lingonberry jelly. It's better than mint jelly with your lamb. Dessert was Greek pastry made by a friend of Grace's mother, a vanilla cake with vanilla pudding in the middle, and apple pie. Oh, and a bowl of chocolate Easter eggs and other chocolates.
After dinner, we helped Mike and Helen download pictures from their digital cameras (some from last December) and make a CD backup of the files. And we watched the final round of the Master's Golf Tournament. I was sad Tiger's winning streak ended, but I was excited for the kid who beat him.
Then we came back to the house and worked on our proposal EVEN MORE! Neither of us were hungry for dinner but around 7, I ate my Whoopie Pie. More details on that in the next blog entry.
April 7, 2007: Lobster Dinner
YUMMM!!! My first lobster since August 2004! Grace (my colleague with whom I team teach) and I had a big proposal to write so I came with her for Easter weekend to Old Orchard Beach. We worked from 8am to 4pm on Saturday then went to Bayley's Lobster House to pick up fresh lobster for dinner. She called in our order and when we arrived, our steamed lobsters were waiting for us. We also picked out haddock chowder, potato salad, cole slaw, Maine shrimp (a darker pink than Texas Gulf shrimp), lemons, and tamale (NO relationship to Mexican food tamales that are meat placed inside a layer of cornmeal dough (masa), that is then wrapped in corn husks and either baked or steamed). What a feast!
We took it all back to the condo and spent the next hour enjoying our leisurely and delicious meal. It really hasn't been lobster season until now, so even though I've been in Maine for 3 months, this was really my first chance to have lobster due to availability. But we are at the source here in Old Orchard.
After dinner we took a walk on the beach. But it was so cold we were both in long winter coats with hoods pulled tightly around our faces, gloves on, and wishes for even warmer clothes. I was going to take lots of pictures of snow on the beach but when we got downstairs and walked around the building, I turned on my camera and the battery was completely dead. For once, I only brought the camera and not the case which meant that my backup battery was not available. No pictures tonight!
We took it all back to the condo and spent the next hour enjoying our leisurely and delicious meal. It really hasn't been lobster season until now, so even though I've been in Maine for 3 months, this was really my first chance to have lobster due to availability. But we are at the source here in Old Orchard.
After dinner we took a walk on the beach. But it was so cold we were both in long winter coats with hoods pulled tightly around our faces, gloves on, and wishes for even warmer clothes. I was going to take lots of pictures of snow on the beach but when we got downstairs and walked around the building, I turned on my camera and the battery was completely dead. For once, I only brought the camera and not the case which meant that my backup battery was not available. No pictures tonight!
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