Beef, Lamb and Chicken, oh my!!!!
August is State Fair season all around the USA. Nothing better than fresh buttered corn on the cob on a stick, hand dipped corn dogs (my passion!!), deep fried ANYTHING (literally), pork tenderloin sandwiches the size of manhole covers, huge BBQ'd turkey legs, funnel cakes, salt water taffy, it just goes on and on........all that wonderful stuff that is really bad for you that is OK to eat because it's the state fair for goodness sake! Our next favorite thing after the food is having a look at all of the wonderful farm animals (makes us want to buy some land in the country and have a farm every time we see them). We've been in Indiana now for 10 years and had never been to the state fair, so our friend Bob took me on a whirlwind extravaganza of our fair in Indianapolis. He has been going for over 60 years, so I couldn't have had a better guide. I've taken lots of photos to share with you, so lets get to it!
(Note: Many of you may have seen news reports of the tragedy that took place at our state fair during a storm at the Sugarland music concert. This took place the day after we were at the fair. We pause here to remember those who were lost and injured during the tragic event. Reminds us to live and enjoy every day of our lives as if it were our last! Hopefully the fun of our day will shine through.)
The animals are always my favorite things to see at any fair. Poultry is always extremely entertaining as chickens can be so funny looking and have ridiculous things atop their heads.
This turkey was very excited about the females in the pen next door. He had himself puffed up in full display for quite some time.
It was really quite twisted that just outside the different animal barns, they had the animal prepared to be eaten. Here is a heap of fabulous roasted turkey legs. Who could resist one along with a piece of grilled corn. Can you say dark meat? YUM!
Here are my favorite chickens. Non-bearded White Crested Black Polish. This is the hen. These are the same chickens I used to play with as a child at one of my relative's farms in Kansas. There is a famous story in our family about me in the chicken coup with the hens when I was about 6 years old. My mother tells it best. All I can say is it involves me and about 100 hens and lots and lots of chicken poop. Next time you see me or my mom in person, ask us to tell it. :o) Rowan and I have decided these are the chickens we will get for our own coup we will build in the backyard. We want our own fresh eggs so plan to get at least 4 hens next spring. Stay tuned for all of that fun being posted here then.
We took a whirl through the 4H building to check out the veggies, fruit, baked goods, etc. The entries from the little kids are so simple and sweet. Here is a cantaloupe made into a face that won 2nd place.
This was almost embarrassing. It was titled 'Donald and Daisy Duck and their Twins'. Hmmmmmmm.
I know our minds are in the gutter :o)
This is one of the strangest competitions I have ever seen. It's all about creating a topical scene using canned goods. Extremely bizarre and found only in the mid-west.
OK, so we couldn't stop looking for more food once we started eating. Most of what we came across was just frightening. We started to ask ourselves,what CAN'T be deep fried. A mid west delicacy is the deep fried pork tenderloin sandwich. They pound the geez out of a piece of tenderloin to make it the size of a manhole cover and then bread it and deep fry it. The grease must run down your arm to make it a really good one. I can't eat them, but almost every homegrown Hoosier does. YIKES!
This made us hungry again. Nothing like a REALLY fresh steak sandwich. YUM!
How many of these do you think can be made from that bull? :o)
I had to take some photos of the outrageous selection of deep fried items along the food concessions. It is truly CRAZY and frightening. How exactly does one deep fry kool-aide or a stick of butter? BUTTER?????? Yes butter! Frightening, just frightening!!
This is my next favorite food vendor after the corn dogs. I have never seen lamb offered at a fair before. YUMMY, YUMMY, YUMMY!!!
This potato thing was really fun to watch. This guy was using a hand drill with a special end that would curly-cue a whole potato in about 10 seconds.
It gets popped into the deep fryer (of course) and comes out like this. Bob and I devoured this one.
As we ate the excellent plate of potato wonderfulness, we noticed this couple sitting across from us. That is all it took for us to end our eating frenzy. :o)
Bob and I had just a fabulous time at the fair. If you have a chance to go to your state or county fair, I would recommend it. The kids who raise most of these animals and compete in the competitions really need the support of their communities. A much more productive thing to do than sitting around playing video games and watching TV and getting fat.
August is State Fair season all around the USA. Nothing better than fresh buttered corn on the cob on a stick, hand dipped corn dogs (my passion!!), deep fried ANYTHING (literally), pork tenderloin sandwiches the size of manhole covers, huge BBQ'd turkey legs, funnel cakes, salt water taffy, it just goes on and on........all that wonderful stuff that is really bad for you that is OK to eat because it's the state fair for goodness sake! Our next favorite thing after the food is having a look at all of the wonderful farm animals (makes us want to buy some land in the country and have a farm every time we see them). We've been in Indiana now for 10 years and had never been to the state fair, so our friend Bob took me on a whirlwind extravaganza of our fair in Indianapolis. He has been going for over 60 years, so I couldn't have had a better guide. I've taken lots of photos to share with you, so lets get to it!
(Note: Many of you may have seen news reports of the tragedy that took place at our state fair during a storm at the Sugarland music concert. This took place the day after we were at the fair. We pause here to remember those who were lost and injured during the tragic event. Reminds us to live and enjoy every day of our lives as if it were our last! Hopefully the fun of our day will shine through.)
The animals are always my favorite things to see at any fair. Poultry is always extremely entertaining as chickens can be so funny looking and have ridiculous things atop their heads.
This turkey was very excited about the females in the pen next door. He had himself puffed up in full display for quite some time.
Of course when he turned around he had a face only a mother could love. A very impressive beast indeed. Could feed at least 15! :o)
This is the rooster that goes with the hen. Perfectly ridiculous plume makes him especially wonderful.
This is a Silkie Bantam Hen. We may get a couple of these as well. Would make a nice pair of slippers, dontcha think! :o)
The weather was just perfect for our day at the fair. Not a cloud in the sky and about 82 degrees.
We took a whirl through the 4H building to check out the veggies, fruit, baked goods, etc. The entries from the little kids are so simple and sweet. Here is a cantaloupe made into a face that won 2nd place.
I know our minds are in the gutter :o)
These pumpkin's are huge. Notice the size of the boy compared to the pumpkin.
Tomato sauce and canned pumpkin? Who knew!!
Plum tomatoes, baked beans, canned tuna, marshmallows for smoke, etc to make the space shuttle. Crazy!!
We figured this must be the paper plate competition. What makes one a blue ribbon winner? :o)
I must tell you we were hysterical at this point. We had to leave the building we were laughing so hard.
We decided to return to the animal barns. Here is a new litter of pigs. This made us instantly hungry so we dashed out to get, what else, but corn dogs!!!
YUM! YUM! YUM!!
Did I say YUM? This is my favorite thing to eat on the planet. I will eat them any time I find them and I usually have more than one, as I did here, and they were good. The best corn dog I have ever eaten (and I have had MANY) can be found in Santa Cruz California on The Boardwalk at Surf City Grill (across from the merry-go-round) Hands down the best hand dipped dogs made fresh right infront of you.
Check out the foot long ones on the left. Heaven!
Bob decided to have a polish sausage after the first corn dog.
A joy to watch him eat it. YUM!
We had to make a mad dash back into an animal barn to save our arteries.
Here is the most beautiful Jersey milk cow I have ever seen. We stopped the young man to talk to him about his beautiful girl and he said she is the state wide grand champion winner for the last 2 years. She weighs over 1200 lbs and you can see she stands as tall as the young man who is nearly 6 ft tall.
Of course they had some calves too.
Look how this bull is actually square and twice as thick as a female.
This made us hungry again. Nothing like a REALLY fresh steak sandwich. YUM!
How many of these do you think can be made from that bull? :o)
Or, you could always have a french toast burger. I don't know about you, but that combo is just WRONG!
I had to take some photos of the outrageous selection of deep fried items along the food concessions. It is truly CRAZY and frightening. How exactly does one deep fry kool-aide or a stick of butter? BUTTER?????? Yes butter! Frightening, just frightening!!
Each one of these bowls holds a whole potato curled out in one long piece.
It gets popped into the deep fryer (of course) and comes out like this. Bob and I devoured this one.
Back to the animal barns. Here are a couple of my relatives :o) (my name IS Jenni)
A baby lamb. Will taste really good with some mint sauce in about 10 months :o)
This one is getting ready for the showing competition.
If we had more land, I would definitely have at least one goat. The best lawn mowers around.
Bob and I had just a fabulous time at the fair. If you have a chance to go to your state or county fair, I would recommend it. The kids who raise most of these animals and compete in the competitions really need the support of their communities. A much more productive thing to do than sitting around playing video games and watching TV and getting fat.
