I reminded fairly often that my husband does not have Pennsylvania roots, especially when it comes to food.  In NEPA, there is ethnic history due to many immigrants coming here to mine coal.  It is certainly not a transient area, so recipes pass from family to family in the area. They are featured at the numerous festivals all summer long.  If you grew up in this area, you wouldn’t blink twice at the fact that pierogies are often on the lunch menu as well as are the center of an entire festival.  Now my husband will eat those as well as kielbasi, but you can’t get him to eat potato pancakes, haluski, or nut roll (me either).

Then there are these cookies that my mom delivers from her church fundraisers.  He scoffs at it and asks, why they just can’t make chocolate chip?