Category Archives: Food

2026, Automotive, Business, Food, Gatherings, Kids

Vroom, Vroom…

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Apparently, I am too easy to please.  Despite the State of Minnesota spending a gazillion dollars to entertain me at the fair this year, YA says my threshold is too low.  Why, you ask?

On Saturday, the company that watches over my investments (my, doesn’t that sound grand?) had a Shredding Event.  They’ve done this in the past but I was never free; this year there was space on my calendar so I filled up a bag of papers to be shredded and headed to St. Paul. 

It was an absolutely beautiful day and they had everything well organized; there were a couple of guys directing traffic and parking and then there were a couple more guys helping folks unload their shreddables.  Since all I had was one bag, I was easy!

Something new this year was a “car show”.  It was extremely low-key – about 18 cars, all just sitting out.  Each one had a tag with make, model and year.  Other than that, no other hoopla, although I did find a few owners standing around next to their cars.  I did ask before I took the photos in the header!

I noticed the red things (my car equipment vocabulary is not robust) on the wheel so the two Mercedes-Benz’ that were there.  Luckily one of the Mercedes owners was there so I asked him what the red things were.

He explained, in very simple words that even I could understand) that they were the brakes/brake pads; he even used hand movements to illustrate how brakes/brake pads work.  I asked why they were red and got the answer “because that’s what Mercedes-Benz does”.  Hmmmm.  Sounds a bit like grandstanding to me.  Another MB owner who was standing nearby commented that you can now order black ones.  Guess some MB owners don’t want to stand out? 

After seeing the cars, there was a complimentary food truck, so I had a nice black bean burger with kettle chips for lunch and talked to another couple at my table who were new clients.  Followed that up with some cookies `n cream ice cream and conversed a bit with my two financial guys.  Then I headed home – I was there about 30 minutes.  Have I mentioned what a lovely day it was?

When I recounted my experience, I got a big eye roll from YA with the comment that some folks are easily pleased.  I think that’s better than being HARD to please.  I had a fun time, had good reading time on the way there and back (CD audio book) – what’s not to like ab out that?

Any classic/vintage car stories?  Are you easy or hard to please?

2026, Family, Food

2026 Foods of the Fair Reviewed

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You knew it was coming.  The review of the foods that YA and I sampled at the fair this year.  I’m thinking of this as a public service announcement for any trips to the fair that you might be considering for next year!

Staples/Old Favorites (Some of them anyway)

  • Sweet Martha’s Cookies – every day. What doesn’t get eaten right away goes into my Tupperware to be dipped into as the day progresses.  Still yummy when they are warm and gooey.
  • Potato Cheddar Crepe. This is YA’s favorite.  They make the crepes to order so they are also warm and gooey.
  • The corn stand is an amazing piece of production and, of course, the corn is also fabulous.
  • Pickle Pizza. Another of YA’s staples.  They’ve added a second outlet this year so while the lines were long, they weren’t as awful as prior years.  What she likes best is that the base is a white sauce, so the pickles aren’t sparring with tomato sauce for the lead.
  • Cheese Curds. Like usual, the Mouthtrap curds in the Food Building are the best.  They also have a fabulous set-up so while the lines look long, once you’re in line, it goes really fast.  Warm, crunchy, not too greasy.  They’ve got all the other curds beat.

New Foods This Year

  • Pimento Cheese Puffs at Shanghai Henri’s (International Bazaar). Pretty good, could have been fried a bit less; the crunch was a bit much.  Nice cheesy insides, not too spicy with a nice sweet and sour sauce.  5 stars
  • Three Cheese Mac Savory Cone at Roons (near sheep/poultry barn). Like it says – mac & cheese in a waffle cone.  The mac & cheese had too many savory spices for me and the cone was a little “tough”.  3 stars
  • Vegetarian Spring Rolls at Panda Palace (International Bazaar). YA ate most of these and reported that they weren’t anything special.  3 stars
  • Sweet Squeakers at The Blue Barn (West End). White curds, battered, fried, dusted w/ cinnamon/sugar.  Topped with a lemon whipped mousse and raspberry sauce.  Header photo!  Interesting concept but WAY overdone.  You really couldn’t tell that the base of cheese curds wasn’t really recognizable.  4 stars
  • Strawberry Crunch Mini Donuts at Solem’s (North End). They looked good but most of the strawberry flavor was in the topping, so after the top layer of donuts was eaten, the donuts themselves didn’t have a lot of taste.  And I have to say, putting crunch around the edge of the bucket looks striking, it is a MESS.  3 stars.

This isn’t by any means all the foods we plied ourselves with but a good overview.  Sad to say that there were no new foods that received 5 stars from us.  Next year when we print out our food list, it won’t include any of them.  But the old favorites didn’t disappoint.

If you do the fair next year, hopefully our research will be helpful to you!

What cheese is never yours?

2026, Food, Gatherings, Health, State Fair, Uncategorized

Nursing at the Fair

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We got to see the Emergency Services folks at the Fair in action again this year – NOT FOR ME. 

It was last Saturday, a seriously crowded day.  YA and I were feeling very lucky to have scored seats on the bench across Al’s to enjoy our malts when suddenly a man about 8 feet from us fell into the street.  Neither of us actually saw why he fell, just the fall itself.  I was just about to set my malt down and go over but immediately there were at least 8 folks surrounding him.  It made me think of a scene from one of my favorite films People Will Talk.  Cary Grant has taken over the lecture hall of another professor and during his talk, Jeanne Crain gets dizzy, faints and falls off her chair into the aisle.  All the other medical students jump up to help.  Cary Grant’s line is “Get back, get back. Quiet down, quiet down. A group of  Cub Scouts would know better than to crowd like this”.  I stayed put. 

I suspected from YA’s rapt expression that we were going to sit there until the situation was resolved, one way or the other.  When I asked her if this was the case, she nodded, not taking her eyes off the scene.  So I settled in. 

One of the people who had jumped in to help immediately was the woman who had been sitting next to me on the bench.  She knelt down next to the guy as they got him sitting up.  You could see her talking to him calmly; she kept a hand on his back the whole time.  She never seemed to lose her composure and when the first (and then second, third and fourth) set of emergency services guys showed up, she was the one communicating with them.  I said to YA “she must be a nurse”.  YA agreed. 

At first we had thought maybe heat stroke but then we saw the guy holding and rubbing his left shoulder – was it a heart attack?  Then YA heard someone say that the guy had landed on his new shoulder – he has just had shoulder replacement a few weeks back.  Ouch.  There were four different sets of emergency folks who came to the scene – it took quite some time to make their way through the crowds, even with lights going. They also were calm and assured; they asked questions, took vitals and eventually they were able to trundle the guy onto one of their gators and whisk him off.  Well, whisk probably isn’t the right word, considering the crowds.

I talked to the woman who had been attending to him and she confirmed that she was indeed a nurse.  I knew it.  Anyway, I told her that I had thought so based on her actions and I thanked her for her service.  Turns out that May 12 is International Nurses’ Day – I’m thinking we should have more than one of those celebrations a year.  So thanks to those of you on the Trail who are nurses or spent your career nursing – seeing one of your legion in action was really great.

Tell me about a nurse who made a difference to you!

Food, Gatherings, State Fair, crops, 2026

On Line…

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Lines and I have a checkered relationship. 

When my baby sister was 14 and coming up to visit me for a week, I slept in line overnight to get Bon Jovi tickets.  When I had to renew my drivers’ license (and had waited too late to get an appointment), I hit the AAA office at 6 a.m. to get one of the 75 walk-in slots.  The office opened at 9; when I got there at 6, I wasn’t the first in line!  You all know I’ve sat outside of Aldis in the past, in the cold for 3+ hours for the wine advent calendar.

But the lines at the State Fair stop me cold.  I think I told the story about YA standing in the donut line last year; the donut concession has upgraded to a building (they were in an RV before) but the line still runs all the way down the street and looks to be at least an hour wait.  Pickle Pizza has opened a second outlet which helps a bit but yesterday at noon, the main outlet had two massive lines, each going in opposite directions.

Last Saturday YA and went up to the Ag building first thing to see the crop art.  We clearly weren’t the only folks who had this thought.  We got there about 8:30 (exhibit opens at 9) and there was a considerable line.  Then a staff person came out to re-direct where the line was forming.  She said that the “come early” thought must have gone viral because the long lines had formed every morning so far; where we were standing was most likely going to be a 2-hour wait. 

And then there are the Apple Fries.  This is a new food at the fair this year and they’ve gotten good reviews, but the lines go down the street and around the corner.  We’ve read on line that most folks are waiting over an hour to get them.  

Not sure if I’ll see crop art this year.  I’m betting money I won’t be getting Apple Fries either.  YA has waited for donuts and Pickle Pizza, but not me.  Even if I had a stadium chair (like when I waited at Aldis and AAA), I’m not sure I’d want to waste so much time of my State Fair day waiting in line!  Hopefully some day in the future, the line for Apple Fries will be shorter!

Any good waiting in line stories?

Travel, Food, Seasons, State Fair, 2026

It’s That Time Again!!!

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You all know where I am, right?  That’s right – the VS State Fair Fest has begun!

Tickets purchased (actually bought them in November for last year’s price).

Blue Ribbon Coupon Book purchased.  Both YA and I have added our post-it notes.

Food list assembled and printed off.  This includes traditional items that we like every year (corn, cookies, crepe, Hawaiian shave ice, etc.) as well as new foods. 

Trial drive to parking lot done.  I do this every year to make sure there isn’t any surprise road construction.

Turtle bag “packing list” updated… actually just printed out this year – we didn’t make any changes from last year.

Turtle bag packed (bandaids, Tylenol, pad/paper, address labels, collapsible container for cookies, coupon book, cash…).

Depending on what time you’re up and reading this, I’m either feeding the dog/cat before I leave, driving to St. Paul, waiting in line, on the Park & Ride bus.  Once the bus gets to the transit hub and I get through the entrance, who knows what the day will bring for me!

You’ll have to talk among yourselves today.  Anything planned for YOUR day?

2026, Family, Food, Kids, Uncategorized

Summer Treats

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On Friday we brought our grandson back to Brookings. The first thing he said to his dad when he got home was to describe the wonderful frozen yogurt bars he had at our house and he hoped his dad would get some right away. He also was happy that we sent a box of Effie’s Oatcakes home with him. He had never eaten those before and loved them.

I love frozen treats, especially Popsicles. I would devour them by the bag or box when I wasa child. My dentist was quite unhappy with me since I was also a random tooth brusher and had lots of sugary liquid in my mouth during the summers. I had lots of cavities as a result.

It is my understanding that frozen yogurt bars are all the rage these days. I still prefer icy treats, and I was excited to find mangonadas in the Hispanic grocery store on Luverne’s Main Street. They are enormous and icy with sweet and sour and spicy flavoring. You can see them in the header photo. They had no paletas, though, which are also wonderful Mexican frozen treats. They are my absolute favorite.

We are in Brookings this week, taking care of grandson until school starts. The Walmart store here has paletas, and if they have the yogurt bars grandson likes we will get those, too. It is still summer and it is still hot.

What were your favorite treats when you were a child? How about now? Any memorable childhood dentist experiences?

2026, animals, Family, Food, History, home, Kids, Uncategorized

Time With Oma And Opa

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Our grandson is spending a few days with us this week while his daycare is closed. We plan to take him swimming and to the local library. I also plan to bake with him and we will make Franzbrotchen, a Hamburg pastry. I want him to learn about where his ancestors came from. He loves to bake and cook and is an excellent sous chef. We will have Pasta Carbonara, one of his favorites. We also will enlist his help with some gardening. He loves to grow things. We are Oma and Opa, to distinguish us from his Grandma and Grandpa on his mom’s side of the family.

I spent time with both sets of grandparents in the summer. My father’s parents lived on a farm outside of Magnolia, MN. That grandma was a great lover of cats and had a regiment of them. She loved to feed them buttered sweetcorn cobs after we were done eating the corn kernals. I would help her collect eggs and work in the garden. The hens pecking at my arms as I took their eggs were scary. I liked talking to the cows and pigs. My grandfather was partially paralyzed from a stroke. He had a wonderful library of history books, and we would talk about his recent read and the history discussed in the book. He really liked talking about Napoleon, someone who had such an impact on his family in northwest Germany.

My maternal grandparents lived on a farm close to Hatfield, MN, a small town with a notorious dance hall, near Pipestone. That grandma (who we called Omie) and I would bake sweet rolls and cook wonderful suppers together. She was a great story teller and related lots of reminiscences from her childhood in Hamburg, Germany and her teen years in New York City. Grandpa was a really quiet guy who kept busy helping my uncle on the farm. His English was somewhat limited and we didn’t talk all that much. He was kindly and gentle.

I hope our grandson has positive memories of his time with us. We have books, a garden, fancy food, terriers, cats, a library, and a really nice swimming pool. What more does a kid need?

Who were your most memorable older relatives? What did you learn from them?

2026, crops, Food, Uncategorized

Birthday Sauce

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One my birthday Tuesday, more than one of my peeps said that they hoped I was able to not cook and just take it easy for the day.

My perfect day absolutely had cooking in it!   The weather was perfect for it, lovely and cool, but I would have cooked anyway.  Cooking is a gift I give myself.  Being overrun with tomatoes just cemented my desire.  There was a Sheet Pan Roasted Tomato Sauce recipe that I found in my Simply Tomato cookbook that I was looking forward to.  Here’s that recipe:

1 ½ lbs of tomatoes (all different varieties is fine), cut into chunks
1 large red bell pepper, cut into chunks
1 small onion, thinly slices
3 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
A few sprigs of fresh thyme
¼ cup olive oil
½ teaspoon chili flakes
Salt & pepper
½ teaspoon dried oregano, parsley, basil
Vegetable broth (if needed)
Lemon juice (if desired)
Pinch of sugar (if desired)

  1. Mix the tomato chunks, bell pepper, onion and thyme in olive oil
  2. Spread the veggies on a large rimmed baking sheet
  3. Sprinkle dried spices over the veggies
  4. Roast for 35-40 minutes (stirring a couple of times) until everything looks nicely roasted
  5. When cool, pick out as many tomato skins as your patience will allow.
  6. Scoop everything into a blender and blend on medium until you get the consistency you like. This is where you can add some veggie broth if the sauce is too thick.

When I weighed the tomatoes out, it seemed like such a small amount that I doubled the recipe.  You’d think that after cooking 3 pounds of tomatoes, that my tomato stash would have at least a dent in it…..There are already three tomato dishes in the fridge so I froze the whole batch.   I’m guessing that within a couple more days, I can probably do another batch of this sauce (it’s really good) unless I find another recipe that looks good.

Any new recipes you’re tried out recently?  Any over-abundance of produce in your world right now?

2026, crops, Family, Food, Uncategorized

Peachy

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When we lived in ND we could always count on this guy from Mott, ND, just south of us, to bring fresh Washington and Montana fruit to town. He picked the fruit himself, and the peaches in particular were always wonderful.

I have yet to see Washington peaches in the stores here, only California peaches which I never like very much. They never seem very juicy. Ditto for Georgia peaches.

Boommate is a connoisseur of Colorado peaches. They are now just starting to show up in stores and fruit trucks. She is so fussy, though, that she will only eat Colorado peaches from the Palisades area of the state, preferably grown by Talbott farms. A fruit truck came to town last week selling Colorado peaches but she couldn’t tell what part of Colorado they came from. We were lucky to find some in Sioux Falls yesterday and now they are ripening in paper bags. Boommate insists that I must make at least one crumble with them.

I have made a couple of crumbles this summer, one with nectarines and one with peaches. I have some more nectarines almost ripe enough to bake, and I plan to make them into a crumble with some sweet cherries. My crumbles are pretty simple. I just put about 6 cups of sliced fruit into a buttered 9 × 12 baking dish, mix up 2 c of white flour, 2 c of firmly packed light brown sugar, 1/2 t cinnamon, 1/4 t nutmeg, and a cup of butter in the food processor until it is crumbly, sprinkle it on top of the fruit, and bake at 375° for 30-40 minutes until it is nicely browned and the fruit is bubbling thickly.

Crumbles are my go to desserts in the summer. I don’t have the patience to can peaches or make jam from them. We bought two more bags of brown sugar yesterday so we are well provisioned for a few more crumbles this month.

What foods are you the most fussy about? Where do you like to buy your seasonal produce? Do you care where your peaches are from?

2026, Food, Games, gardening, Gatherings, Uncategorized

County Fair

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The last time I was at the MN State Fair was 43 years ago on our honeymoon. It has been even more years since I attended the Rock County Fair. It was always an exciting time, and it got even more fun after I joined 4-H. I did horticulture and sewing projects. When I was in Grade 8 I got Grand Champion on my terrarium project, and that led to my first trip to the State Fair.

Last week Husband, Boommate, and I went to the Rock County Fair. It is held in Luverne. Boommate hadn’t been there for many years as well, and neither of us recognized the fairgrounds with all the new construction and exhibit buildings. There was the same collection of carnival rides and food booths. The Rock County Pork Producers had a stand selling great bacon wrapped pork tenderloin. Like the State Fair, we also have a machinery hill, but on a smaller scale.

I remember my cousins showing their Chester White pigs at the fair, dousing them with baby powder to make them pretty. It was fun to be in the animal barns and see all the livestock up close.

We also toured all the 4-H and open class exhibit building to see all the prize pickles, garden produce, tallest field corn, photography, and 4-H educational projects.

Husband spent more time at the fair than I did since he helped the county DFL group set up their stand in one of the commercial buildings and hand out brochures. . My paternal grandfather was one of the founding members of the Rock County DFL party, and I am tickled Husband is getting involved with them.

Our fair isn’t all pigs and canning. The following photos show what else went on. I thought the cannon display was interesting.

I don’t think we will make it to the State Fair this fall, but the County Fair was a delight and I am really glad we went.

What are your early fair experiences? Were you in 4 -H or similar organizations? Ever been to a tractor pull?