Shoofly!

Howard's been out of town since Friday, so I've been living as a single man, getting into wild hijinks, like drinking alone with an entire frozen pizza or maybe Ramen noodles! I've also taken a bath using what is called a "bath bomb." It sounds violent and wet, but is actually relaxing and smells wonderful. I felt like I was bathing in an avocado. But mostly I settle onto the couch, surrounded by animals, for marathon viewings of Girls and Broad City. Who knows what I'll get up to next?!

Elise graciously stepped in to socialize with me and save me from the insane life I've been leading, and last night we had a sleepover, waking up to make an avocado-feta frittata. Listening to the McGuire Sisters while cooking and talking made me nostalgic for the period we lived together.

Patrick and Chelsea were coming over for tea, and Elise and I made a shoofly pie. It's not a recipe in my Good Housekeeping book, but it should be! Elise introduced me to it, and we used a recipe from Martha Stewart.

I focused on rolling out the crust while Elise made the filling and crumble crust.

I was really proud of the crust. It didn't break, it was enough for the entire pie plate, and trimmed sweetly.

Pre-bake:

Post bake!

"Like a landscape," Patrick said

Chelsea said it reminded her of home; it was very southern. It's like a chess pie, which is a pie I'm familiar with. We all wondered where the name came from: Was it something to do with the expression "you catch more flies with honey than vinegar"? But instead of honey it was molasses? Did it mean it was so good you'd have to shoo flies away?

According to Wikipedia, the shoofly pie came from the Pennsylvania Dutch, and its name may be "because the sweet molasses odor attracts flies that must be 'shooed' away."

All this reminds me of that rather strange, manic folk song medley in Meet Me in St. Louis:

"Flies in the buttermilk shoo, shoo, shoo!"

Tea was nice and relaxing. We spent a long time talking about Leopold and Loeb. Chelsea read For the Thrill of It, which I'm halfway through. We discussed what makes a crime famous or sensational, and also tried to come up with all the famous Chicago crimes we could: The Valentine's Day Massacre, the serial killer during the World's Fair, and Leopold and Loeb. Only after everyone left did I remember John Wayne Gacy! Drat!

Post-pie. Picture Elise sitting next to Patrick!

It was a lovely way to spend an afternoon off!