Hamloaf, the darling of Pennsylvania

One of Aaron's favorite foods is hamloaf. I remember having it often at his house when his mom made it when we were first dating.

Like so many dishes I was familiar with back in PA, no one in Rochester had ever heard of hamloaf. When we got married Aaron would mention it occasionally, but I couldn't find ground ham at Wegmans to make it.

This year when my mom sent us home from Easter with some leftover ham, I decided I wasn't going to let the lack of ground ham stand in my way anymore. I chopped it up as best as I could with the food processor and made a hamloaf.

It really is tasty, hence it being "the darling of Pennsylvania". That cracks me up.

Turns out there is a place that will ship a hamloaf to you in a pinch.

Aaron was pretty happy about his hamloaf by the way.

Fall Weekend

I snuck off to PA for the weekend. Perfect fall weather. I love riding on the wagon being pulled by my Dad's tractor. Someday we will have land where we can build a little trail and we can take our own tractor and wagon for hay rides.

Chambersburg Peaches... I hardly know ye

Someone I follow on Instagram recently posted a picture of "Chambersburg Peaches". It caught my attention because Chambersburg is a town near where I grew up in Pennsylvania. (What?! A food trend from my hometown I'm not aware of?!)

Sure enough, the more I clicked on hashtags, I discovered that folks, especially around Pittsburgh, are wild about Chambersburg Peaches. Some people point out that peaches don't travel far very well so be wary about signs advertising Chambersburg Peaches. Really all Pennsylvania peaches are quite good.

A Chambersburg peach isn't a variety like Redhaven. They are simply peaches grown in Chambersburg, PA. I was baffled. I certainly remember eating delicious peaches back home, but I don't remember them being famous.

Some say the soil in Franklin County is to thank for these delicious peaches. Some say it's the valley weather. Either way, I think maybe the folks in Pittsburgh are onto something. Aaron and I picked up a peck from an orchard while we were home near Chambersburg. They are delectable indeed.

Chicken Barbeque Fundraiser

A common sight on the East Coast in the summer time are signs for Chicken Barbeques. This article says they are exclusively in NY but I certainly see plenty of them in PA. Churches and Firehouses hold these BBQ chicken sales for fundraisers. Mind you... I see the signs, but never seem to be able to catch one.

Lucky for me (and other bystanding family members) my mom had tickets for their church bbq fundraiser while we were home this weekend. Woo-hoo it was tasty! Winner, winner chicken dinner!

Eating in Pennsylvania

When we go to visit my parents, we sometimes go to the local famers market that has some of my favorite Pennsylvania foods, many of which are prepared by Amish stands. Today for lunch we had giant ham hoagies and ham and bean soup. I could go on at length about the differences between a hoagie vs a sub vs a grinder, but that is for another day. To me a hoagie means home and this one was top notch.

It's always a struggle to choose between the ham and bean soup or the chicken corn soup at Martha's Kitchen.

Hello handmade potato chips! Yes, you will taste divine next to my hoagie.

Aaron's favorite... Amish made doughnuts. They had some unique flavors... salted carmel and coconut creme. Yum. Hats off to the Amish.

Meadowbrook Gourds

I obviously have a thing about gourds. I like making them into birdhouses and snowmen. I could hardly believe it when I found out that there is a gourd farm near my hometown.

While we were home this weekend, my dad drove us to Meadowbrook Gourds to check it out.

They just happened to be having a fall festival with activities.

I would have loved to see this gourd house when it was completely covered with vines!

They had an activity where you could draw on a gourd and they would cut it out for you.

Aaron drew this. I love it!

Lavender in PA

We are in PA for the weekend and I am glad because my thumb needs a rest. It's been hurting and I call it "touchpad thumb".

I picked some lavender from a plant my grandmother started. It smells so good. What should I do with it?

Lavender eye pillow

Lavender sachet

Lavender fire bundle

Hoagie vs. Sub

While home in PA for Easter I told my mom I had a craving for a hoagie.

When I say hoagie this may come to mind... Adam Sandler and the Lunch Lady singing "Hoagies and grinders, hoagies and grinders. Navy beans, navy beans, navy beans. Meatloaf sandwich!"

I feel a hoagie is different from a sub, although online sources suggest that it's just a regional terminology difference. It seems that "subs" came first... as an Italian sandwich. Then the term "hoagie" came from the Philadelphia region where sandwiches from Hog Island aka Hoggies aka Hoagies... were introduced.

I really have no proof that a hoagie is not the same as a sub... or a grinder or a hero for that matter. The biggest difference is that the hoagies I grew up with had soft rolls instead of the hard crust rolls on subs that I've experienced in Rochester. I still stand by my hoagie/sub distinction statement.