The Cold and Rainy State

Here I sit looking out the window at the falling rain. Yes, I realize that moose really belong outside and not inside a building, but how am I supposed to type from outside, especially if it is raining? Computers prefer to stay dry and they work much better and longer if they are dry! So, inside I am typing!

I went to the big Farmington Fair in Farmington, Maine this week! I tried to stay hidden as much as possible because you know, when you get that many people and a moose walking around, everyone wants to get your picture and then you have no time to enjoy the delicious fair food! I had some french fries, fried dough, an ice cream, some fudge, AND I had another whoopie pie! I saw one and I couldn't resist the urge to sample it. I think it is my life's mission to find the best whoopie pie maker! This week I also had a pumpkin whoopie pie with cream cheese frosting for filling! That was delicious too! But I have to say that my grandmother still wins in the whoopie pie category.

Oh, I totally forgot what I was supposed to be typing about today. The thought of whoopie pies got me all distracted. Today, I wanted to ask a question and talk about it a little bit. Why is Maine almost always the coldest and rainiest state in the Northeast? If you look at the weather map of temperatures with this blog entry, taken from September 24th, you will see that all of the other states in the Northeast are quite a bit warmer than Maine.

Yes, I know it is further north than the rest of the states, but at least part of the state of Maine is at the same latitude as New Hampshire and Vermont. So, why does the temperature just seem to go south when a moose (or person) is headed north to Maine? It is an interesting phenomenon if you stop and think about it. Sometimes, the very southern tip of the state is warm like the rest of the world, but after you get to a certain line, it's like somebody forgot to pay the heat bill!

Being a moose and all, I like the cold temperatures because of all the fur that I have. However, some of my human friend counterparts, fail to see the goodness in cold temperatures. Now I am beginning to understand the concept of blue states and red states! Blue states are colder right? And red states are hotter? If you have any ideas on this I would love to hear your thoughts.

Until the next time...there's always Mooseville!

www.mooseville.com

Whoopie Pies or Moon Pies?

Well, this week I have had a huge craving for whoopie pies as we like to call them here in Maine! Yep, probably many of you, especially from the South might call these little goodies, Moon Pies. Well, I think there is a difference between the two! Both are probably as yummy as the other but they are a little different!

Let's examine a moon pie first! According to Wikipedia, "A moon pie or MoonPie^[1] is a pastry which consists of two round graham cracker cookies, with marshmallow filling in the center, dipped in chocolate or other flavors. The traditional pie is about 3 inches (76 mm) in diameter. The four main flavors are chocolate, vanilla, strawberry, and banana. Six newer flavors, lemon, orange, peanut butter, mint, blueberry and green tea are also available." It is nice to see that they are getting in on the health craze by adding green tea!

Even though moon pies got their roots from good ole New England, they are still the most popular and well known as a Southern food! Roots in New England you say? Yes - marshmallow cream originated in New England in the late 1920s and spread south and became very popular! Someone decided to put it between two cookies and cover it in chocolate and voila! you have a moon pie!

Whoopie Pies on the other hand are not covered in chocolate but are very similar in shape. They are made by putting two cake-like-cookie shapes together with delicious boiled frosting in the middle! Doing a little research on them, they were also very popular with the Amish and seems like this is where the name possibly originated. According to Wikipedia, "Amish women would bake these (known as hucklebucks at the time) and put them in farmers' lunchboxes. When farmers would find these treats in their lunch, they would shout 'Whoopie!'"

Well, let me tell you what, a moose has quite the sweet tooth and loves whoopie pies! Especially this moose! The new Mooseville shop in Farmington, Maine has a little sandwich/coffee shop right next to it and guess what they sell? Whoopie Pies! That is not such a great thing when you have a whoopie pie craving! I think I am going to try to have a mini whoopie pie festival at Mooseville in October!

I guess that is all for now! If you want a whoopie pie and have never had one before, send me an email - info@mooseville.com and let me know! I'll send you one for real!!!

www.mooseville.com