Of All the Places in All the World
Blogging, food May 12th, 2013
As many of you know, I’m traveling to Europe soon. The last leg of the trip will be spent visiting my friends and yours, Babs and Mo, who live in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England.
One thing I like to do when visiting blogger friends is to bring a gift with me that’s distinct to my town. Since I’m traveling out of the country this time, I want to bring something uniquely American.
Hmmm, what to pack? I want it to be a food item that can survive the trip, but that limits me to something processed, like cookies or hard snacks.
I also want it to scream Americana, so I thought of the classic Oreo cookie.
Yes! Oreos it is!
So I researched whether they’re available in the UK. It’d be stupid to bring something Babs and Mo can get at their local grocery.
I’m excited to find that the company only just started producing them there, so maybe they’ve never seen them before. This is good.
Except.
Except that the factory where the company decided to produce them is located in……
Sheffield.
Of course they are.
Babs and Mo, maybe you should just tell me what you’d like me to bring, huh?
Stumble it!
May 12th, 2013 at 8:23 am
What a great idea! And such a huge disappointment.
Why not bring something made locally? Living in New England, I’d be hard-pressed to settle on any one thing because there’s such an abundance of stuff that is only made here.
Cheryl´s last blog post ..Graffiti Wisdom
May 12th, 2013 at 9:06 am
This made us both laugh out loud! Made in Sheffield!
I’ve just thought of something that is typically American to me. I found it on line. It’s Reese’s Dark Chocolate peanut butter cups. Never have I eaten peanut butter with anything sweet and I could never eat it with jam (jelly). Chocolate sounds very interesting 🙂 Of course, you may know of something similar that is nicer, or easier for you to buy?
Of course the most obvious Typically American things you are bringing are you and Dave! Not long now!
Babs´s last blog post ..What a difference 12 days make
May 12th, 2013 at 9:17 am
What’s Allentown famous for?
That song by Billy Joel? Take them a Billy Joel CD? 😉
Oh, wait, Bethlehem: sorry, that’s where Lehigh is. Hmmm? Something to do with Jesus, Mary and Joseph? OUCH.
Bryan´s last blog post ..Some more books with which to bout
May 12th, 2013 at 9:31 am
I am so envious that you’ll be seeing Babs and Mo in Europe soon. OMG…I wish I could go with you, Kathy 🙂
Perhaps you could take them some TastyKakes because they are SUCH a Philadelphia tradition!
X
Ron´s last blog post ..Women And Steel Magnolias
May 12th, 2013 at 10:52 am
Peeps?
May 12th, 2013 at 11:55 am
Cheryl — After I wrote this, I thought of Peeps, which are made by a company called Just Born. It’s only a few miles from me! And I see that Sue suggested it. I might have to throw a little package of them in my luggage. I’m sure they won’t mind.
Babs — If I didn’t have bad luck, I would have no luck at all. Do you believe it?! The Reese’s regular chocolate are very sweet (I think), but I know I can scare up some dark chocolate ones if you’d like. If they arrive all melty and misshapen, just don’t look at them. They don’t have to be attractive to be delicious! We are so excited, we could BUST!!!!
Bryan — Bleh. That Billy Joel song will haunt us forever. I could go to the Moravian Book Shop and find some Christmasy things. Not only am I in Bethlehem, but Nazareth is a town a few miles north. Hee.
Ron — I would pack you in my luggage if it wouldn’t be so expensive to ship you! It’s funny, as soon as I wrote this, I thought of Peeps and then of Tastykakes. I brought boxes of the latter when I met up with JD of the I Do Things blog, but I think she said she could get them in Chicago. I be they can’t in the UK. Good idea, Ron!
Sue — Yes, I shall bring Peeps (and at Babs’ request, dark choc Reese’s) and Tastykakes, provided they all fit in my luggage and don’t get squashed!
May 12th, 2013 at 2:45 pm
I was going to suggest Peeps, as I remember you saying they are from where you live, but I thought I heard that they had stopped making them? If not, please make it Peeps, as they come from your area in particular 🙂
Babs´s last blog post ..What a difference 12 days make
May 12th, 2013 at 2:51 pm
May you have a safe journey and your Peeps, Reese’s and Tastykakes arrive unsquashed.
May 12th, 2013 at 5:35 pm
Definitely bring the Peeps!
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May 12th, 2013 at 10:54 pm
I have a friend in East Sussex and I used to send her Oreos. Cost more to send them than to buy, but she loved them, so it was worth it. I’ll tell you what you’ll want to bring back though. HP sauce, Hob Nobs, Yorkshire tea (THE best!) and Branston pickle. Oh. And HP Fhinness sauce. ob heaven! Trust me on this. 😉
Have a great trip Kathy!!
Mod Mom Beyond IndieDom´s last blog post ..Cocktail Saturday: Mom Cougar Melonchamp
May 13th, 2013 at 5:03 am
I vote for Scrapple or Hot Dogs (the first being special to our Pennsylvania-German heritage; the latter to good old-fashioned American culinary delights – with sauerkraut and diced onions and relish and ketchup and mustard and bacon and cheese – wait: that might hold you up going through security at the airport…ditch the Scrapple for a smooth flight).
Hope you have a fun trip!
Try the blood pudding when you’re there…it sounds nasty but is really just another form of Scrapple. I’m just glad that the waiter didn’t tell me what I was eating until I laid down my knife and fork, smacked my lips, and dabbed them with the napkin – “…sir, that was blood pudding you just ate…” Ugh.
But it WAS good!
May 13th, 2013 at 8:27 am
Would a cheeseburger work? Medium rare: not too much messy juice and will survive smooshing better than well-done.
Just a thought.
So glad to see you back, moving and shaking. I’m sure you’ll have a wonderful trip!
June O’Hara´s last blog post ..The Facebook Debacle
May 13th, 2013 at 8:52 am
Peeps is a good idea. Even if they get misshapen they will still be good and they are even better stale.
Pricilla – Famous SpokesGoat´s last blog post ..I am a VERY Spoiled Goat
May 13th, 2013 at 11:43 am
I’ll take the Oreos. And now I want to take a field trip to Sheffield to tour the factory.
As you can tell, I’m an Oreo-ficianado.
Chris´s last blog post ..Revlon 5K for Women’s Cancer, Los Angeles
May 13th, 2013 at 12:56 pm
I am so EXCITED that you are going to meet Babs & Mo in REAL LIFE. That is crazy awesomeness. And I cannot wait to hear all about it!
Also, I think you should bring Peeps, like Babs suggested in her second comment – because at least they wont melt!
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May 13th, 2013 at 4:59 pm
Babs — Peeps it is! I tried to find them today, but couldn’t. But I know they sell them at my grocery, so I’ll go there next. I picked up a nice tin to put everything in, too. Nothing will come to you crushed!
Musing Woman — Thanks! They shall arrive in pristine condition, thanks to my sister loaning me a Christmas tin to put them in. And they’ll fit nicely in my luggage.
Daisy the Curly Cat — I know how you love your Peeps. Let’s hope that Babs and Mo like them just as much. I do not like a Peep. On a train or on a plane.
Mad Mom Beyond IndieDom – Gosh, I haven’t heard of any of the “bring back” items, ‘cept for the tea of course. I hope I’ll have enough room in my luggage for all the goodies I plan to bring home.
Jesse Blackwood — It’s funny, I used to work with a Jesse Blackwood at Lehigh U. This isn’t you, is it? I would love to bring them some PA Dutch stuff, but yeah, kind of a mess. And everybody would hate me on the plane because of the smell. I’ve had scrapple, don’t care to have it again. I shall not be taste testing any blood pudding. They need to think up a better name for that stuff.
June O’Hara — I was thinking of a good ‘ol fashioned American burger and fries deelio. But not to be! I’m glad to be back on the blog, lady!
Pricilla — So I’ve heard, but I’m not a Peep girl. I’ll have to see what Babs and Mo think of them. I’m bringing classic yellow.
Chris — I still might throw Oreos in the tin if I can find a small package. They’re probably going to be freaked out by all the sugar and processed garbage in these things. Considering bring a Pop Tart too, just in case they need some cavities.
meleah — We’re excited too! Can’t believe it’s really happening. A few months ago, it was just a dream. Yes, and Peeps will hold up to anything. I’m most worried about the dark chocolate Reese’s cups, which I picked up today. Hope they don’t show up all melty!
May 13th, 2013 at 7:38 pm
Watch those baggage handlers so they don’t steal your Peeps! 😉
What are you bringing back for US???
May 13th, 2013 at 8:15 pm
I didn’t know we had dark chocolate peanut butter cups around; never saw them. Peeps is a good choice, but I’d go ahead and bring the Oreos too!
Karen and Gerard´s last blog post ..Aww Mondays: Happy Mother’s Day
May 14th, 2013 at 4:47 am
Lin — You don’t think the metal tin they’ll be packed in will make security inquisitive, do you? Because then they’re going to make me open it and explain Pop Tarts, Tastykakes, Reese’s, and Peeps.
Karen — Believe it or not, the dark chocolate Reese’s were the only thing I found at CVS yesterday. Minis. They’re getting minis. I don’t think I can fit the Oreos unless i find a very small package.
May 14th, 2013 at 9:59 am
how about Tasty Kakes to go with the PEEPS!!!!
May 14th, 2013 at 10:19 am
Alice — Would you believe I just hit Wawa for single serving Tastykakes and after I looked closer, realized the Krimpets expire May 25. They have to last longer than that, so oh well, I have to eat them now. Hee.
May 14th, 2013 at 2:08 pm
You should never forget your dear Southern neighbors and take them a little something that is symbolic of the South. Sardines, saltines (we call them soda crackers) and hoop cheese were a staple for pulpwooders struggling all day in the hot woods. The best gift would be a small box of grits. We would have starved to death after the Civil War if it had not been for blackeyed peas, greens and grits. Grits are light in the luggage and so cheap they will sometimes give them to you to get them off the shelf.
Ben Swilley´s last blog post ..Ladies, Beware of Toe Ticklers. Stay Afoot of Current Events.
May 14th, 2013 at 6:19 pm
Kathy, Peeps makes sense, but what about a Yocco’s doggie pack? They have shipped those things to Afghanistan, so you oughta get one to Britain, right? Just sayin’. Though the Peeps would last forever. I hear they stay fresh for centuries.
Chris Casey´s last blog post ..A few observations and predictions on Northampton County Races
May 14th, 2013 at 6:32 pm
Ben — You know what I loved most when we visited Savannah in November? Biscuits and gravy! OMG. Could have eaten them for breakfast, lunch and dinner every day. Not even kidding. Hoop cheese? Pulpwooders? Are you speaking English?
Chris — Oh, man. Why, why, why did you have to mention Yocco’s? Totally want that for dinner now. I hate you.
May 14th, 2013 at 7:48 pm
PEEPS, take PEEPS.
May 15th, 2013 at 5:13 am
Hi Kathy –
You found me, or rather I found you. I REALLY enjoy your blog. I have bittersweet memories of LU. I receive your blog posts via RSS, and today I bookmarked your site in my Google browser. I found you through a reference from Bill White of The Morning Call – he references you frequently. Keep writing and entertaining us with your humor and wisdom. YOur posts always come with a smile…and it’s appreciated.
May 15th, 2013 at 5:18 am
Mrs. Casey — My sister reminded me there’s a Peep store down at Steel Stacks if I have trouble finding them outside of a holiday. Will try my regular grocery store tonight. I hope they fit in the tin. If not, they’re going to be really smashed. Doesn’t matter. Most people would eat a Peep even if it looked like road kill.
Jesse!!! I’m so glad it’s the Jesse I know! And thank you for finding Junk Drawer fun to read. Bill has been a great supporter of my blog over the years. I’m eternally grateful for him promoting me as he does. I always loved working with you. I don’t have much involvement with admin people anymore, since I support the College of Business now (and have since leaving the admin support team). It’s so great to hear from you and I hope you keep reading and coming back to comment. I hope you are well.