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Great State Fair of Oklahoma

I love the Oklahoma State Fair.  We never missed it growing up, and I belong to a family that goes to eat our way through like The Very Hungry Caterpillar.  In fact, we rarely ride rides or play the impossible to win games. We are on a mission. Time is spent walking through buildings and watching shows primarily to work up an appetite for the next taste sensation.

Sadly, for the last seven years I've been too many states away to be home for the OK State Fair. So, I had to do a little song and dance when my mom brought to my attention that I would be home for the festivities this year. I was beyond excited; I shared my big news with everyone I saw for the next month. September 16th finally arrived and we were at the gates on opening day. Which also happens to be Dollar Day for tickets. What more could we ask for?  More money to spend on food.

It was comforting to discover the fair had changed very little in my absence.  Even better, the state fair far surpasses any airport in terms of good people watching. Especially on a sticky, hot afternoon in Oklahoma. Wow.
Here's a general breakdown of our schedule in the 6 hours we frolicked around. Well, I mostly hobbled thanks to my bunion surgery, but that wasn't going to stop me on this day.

3:00 pm- Buy $1 tickets, walk in, feign interest in hot tub display to stand in shade of their tent.

3:05 pm- Eat a freshly battered and fried corn dog adorned simply with a squiggle of mustard. Crispy outer crust, salty and juicy, these are the only corn dogs I have interest in eating.

3:15 pm- Wander slowly admiring the sensory overload with freshly-squeezed lemonade in hand: brightly painted signs, glittery, shiny booths beckoning fair-goers in, puffs of smoke billowing from the turkey leg and BBQ vendors, children squealing as they carry giant stuffed animals, clownish carnival music chiming in the background.

3:20 pm- Wait patiently for an Italian sausage and pepper grinder. The meat and grease have to properly soak the bun. Truly delightful.

3:30 pm- Walk through one building for "Shopping of All Kinds." I didn't have the slightest interest in purchasing the sequined clothing, As Seen On TV cleaning products, or various home goods, but I like looking just the same.

4:00 pm- Watch a magic show consisting of three tricks and 20 minutes of bad ventriloquism.

4:30 pm- Tour the Agtropolis building geared for childhood learning, full of live animals: baby chicks, sheep, goats, cows, pigs, butterflies, and honeybees. I was in awe of the giant, 4 year old rabbits.

5:30 pm- Dan's Famous Indian Tacos.  Like a taco salad but on top of puffy, chewy Indian fry bread instead of a crunchy tortilla shell. I have been truly craving one for the past seven years, and everyone should have the pleasure of enjoying this culinary delight. We also ate a cheese strudel at this stop, but that was somehow devoured too quickly for me to take a picture.

6:00 pm- Walk through the Made in Oklahoma building to check out all the prize winning fair entries while gulping down more lemonade. I still wish I understood the distinction between the 1st and 4th place yellow onion winners.

7:00 pm- Walk through the automotive building to sit in the gleaming new model cars.

8:00 pm- Felt famished after two whole hours without a food pit stop. Time for corn dog #2 and only moments later, a buttery roasted corn on the cob, sprinkled generously with salt and pepper.

8:45 pm- Last stop of the night was for a Philly cheesesteak folded into flatbread.  It was drippy, sloppy and irresistible. Along with a couple plates of fried to order chips for the table, no one was leaving this fair hungry.

Key Lime Pie Ice Cream

I had surgery on my foot last week- to fix my bunion.  I know, it sounds like a disgusting wart. I hate saying it, but I promise it is just a hereditary bone deformation that is fairly common.  Exciting stuff.

Not surprisingly, this has kept me out of the kitchen... I can't really even fix my own cereal.  (Thank you to all my family that has carried my chap stick, books, food and even my own body to and fro). Fortunately, my one-legged state of affairs has not put a damper on my Ice Cream Project.  Before I left Portland, I was able to whip up a luscious Buttermilk Fig Ice Cream.  I made a sweet jam with fresh figs and the buttermilk base was a satisfying balance.

After my trip back to Oklahoma for my surgery, I squeezed in one more batch of Key Lime Pie Ice Cream before I was wiped out on pain killers. It is just the right treat to enjoy by the pool as we soak up the final hot days of summer. I cooked a standard custard base and added sweetened condensed milk and Nellie & Joe's Famous Key Lime Juice after straining. If you don't have easy access to key limes, this is the juice to find.  To spin it, I hauled out my mom's heavy duty White Mountain Ice Cream Freezer. This machine is not for the faint of heart. It vrooms, clatters and requires a little arm muscle and grunting.  But it's worth it; touching the cold, steel canister brings back every giddy spoonful of homemade vanilla ice cream I ate growing up.  Most of the time I like my ice cream adorned with chunks, bits, swirls and sprinkles of pretty things, but there will never be a scoop as pure and perfect as rich vanilla ice cream freshly frozen. Silky smooth and quick to melt on a warm piece of chocolate sheet cake, still delicious as you slurp it out of the bowl. It is bliss, but I should be tempting you with the Key Lime Pie.

I stirred in bits of graham crackers when the base was frozen, made a quick dark chocolate sauce and gently swirled it in too. I just wanted a hint of the bitter chocolate throughout to complement, not dominate, the lime. After eating several spoonfuls of leftover chocolate sauce, I threw the ice cream into the freezer to set. A crew of family and friends have had the chance to taste, and I agree with their conclusion- it's just like key lime pie. 

I am getting antsy migrating between the couch and my bed, but I do have plenty of time to dream up ice cream flavors. I can put a bit more pressure on my foot now and should be able to balance long enough to stir together my next ice cream by the end of the week!

Project Ice Cream

   I've given myself a new goal.  A project that could theoretically never end.  A goal I'm excited to accomplish.  I am going to make a new ice cream every week.  
   This is a pretty perfect project for me.  I love frozen desserts, and I love making up new flavor combinations and ice cream mix-ins.  I acquired this enviable skill over countless trips to the local Shake's Frozen Custard for concretes in college.  I'd really prefer to only eat frozen custard, but alas, I live in a sad, sad place with no comparable frozen custard experience.  Don't fret, I'm still happy as a clam eating ice cream and frozen yogurt.  Especially when I know exactly what's going into each recipe; I can add beautiful, seasonal produce, homemade sauces, or my own cookies, brownies, and crunchy bits.  It is also nice to have control over how rich or healthy the recipe is.  A weekly ice cream will definitely be a nice outlet for my cravings of the moment. The only real downside here is that I might eat ALL of it.  I'm glad I know a lot of people who like ice cream.
    I've been going for two weeks in a row now, thanks to plenty of lovely fruit at the market.
Last week was just a simple triple crown blackberry frozen yogurt.  For those who haven't had the good fortune to try this type of berry, they are stunningly sweet and perfumey.  I mentioned them in the last post, but I love 'em.
    This week I snagged some local peaches for Crunchy Caramel Peach Frozen Yogurt.  A very simple peach frozen yogurt base with caramel and oatmeal cookie bits added at the end.  I couldn't stop licking the bowl and spatula with this one.  It might not be in our freezer very long.
    So, an official announcement to my family in Oklahoma:  here is your chance for requests!  Four weeks of ice cream making to enjoy by the pool.  A key lime pie version is really calling my name....

My Pietopia Pie

     I recently entered this year's Pietopia contest- a challenge to write what your life tastes like in a pie.
Contestants were asked to write their explanation in 300 words or less and submit it along with a recipe for the pie.  I loved the idea of Pietopia the moment I read about it and started writing that night.
     Pie is my dessert of choice; I like it to be present at all holidays, special events, and gatherings (this is really a topic worthy of its own entry).  Plus, exploring the emotional connections to what, how, and why we eat is how I prefer to write about food.  Perfect fun...writing about pie... a challenge I couldn't resist.
     I chose to write about a very personal family journey and much to my surprise and delight, was selected as a winner! Even better for me, was the strong, positive response from my family and close friends. I think the pie was able to give voice to something we'd all been feeling and didn't quite have words for.  I was hesitant at first to put our story on paper, but I realized afterwards how therapeutic it was for me. Creating the pie gave me a fresh perspective on a situation full of complex and confusing emotions.  Winning the contest gave me the courage to share my writing with my family.   I've even shared with coworkers and people I would have never otherwise talked to about my experience.  Hearing their response has made me realize I have a story worth communicating and connecting to others through.  We all do.  Just as Tricia hoped when she created this contest, Pietopia has the power to "open doors for understanding."

Jam Hands

    I finally allotted a weekend afternoon to making jam.  I've had many moments of good intention since the berries have shown up at the farmer's market this year, but the large amounts of berries we purchase each weekend never seem to make it that far.  We are berry-eating machines in this house; between cereal, smoothies, ice cream topping, and compulsive snacking, a half flat is gone in the blink of an eye.  You'd think we would grow tired of them, but nope. Different varieties keep coming in and they continue to delight- marionberries, raspberries, chester berries, blueberries, triple crowns, silvanberries,
boysenberries, etc.
    So, with jam in mind, I doubled up on the berry buying and still had plenty for our everyday eating. I used a jam recipe from Molly Wizenberg.  There's no added pectin, and the sugar content is low in comparison to many ratios out there. The berries here are incredible as is; they don't need a bucket of sugar covering up their natural sweetness. I used mostly marionberries, along with a pint or two of blackberries and raspberries.  I was a bit concerned about the jam not thickening properly, but it set up just enough. I love jam still full of seeds and loose enough that it spreads easily.  No mysterious gloppiness.
     I am pretty darn pleased with this jam.  A smidge of tartness amidst a comforting sweetness, and a consistency that allows for plenty of tasty possibilities.  I've been eating it by spoonfuls, but I think I must drizzle it over some lemon pound cake and homemade vanilla ice cream soon.  Or layer it in a gooey Monte Cristo sandwich tonight.
     I have plenty of ideas up my sleeve and peace of mind knowing that there are jars of jam to pop open and enjoy even as berry season dwindles and I no longer have pints of fresh fruit overflowing on our counter.

Not Enough Time

    As much as people love having family and friends visit them, for many it can be stressful trying to accommodate picky needs and disgruntled travelers.  Fortunately, my parents and their best friends love to eat and drink and aren’t too picky.  Which means when they came to visit recently, I had a great excuse to eat a lot of good food and try new places that have been on my to-go list. 

    My parents have been to Portland before, but it was nice to be sharing the city with them now that I know it better.  It was the first time for their friends, and I was happy to see them realize why I love it here. 

    We traveled out to the coast one day and walked on the beach as the fog slowly lifted in the afternoon to reveal Haystack Rock.  I was just on vacation with the same group and they’re kids in Florida…pretty interesting to go from the white sand and dunes of the Gulf to the turbulent surf and stunning landscape of the Oregon coast.  It is so different from what we think of as a sunny beach experience, yet the sand in our toes and the crash of the waves had the same magical powers to calm and refresh our spirits.  

    That night was the big Parents Meet The Boyfriend Dinner.  We went to Irving Street Kitchen; it’s a great casual and up-beat atmosphere for that sort of potentially stressful event.  I’m happy to say it was stress-free.  We had a fun dinner, decent food, and enjoyed each other’s company enough to grab another drink at Clyde Common afterwards.  

    Our group of 6 played at the PSU Farmer’s Market before we loaded up to go to the biggest antique show I have ever seen. We returned exhausted and hungry for an early dinner at Castagna.  I was pleased with Portland’s choice for Restaurant of the Year.  The food was excellent, the plating/presentation was stunning, but we thought the service was really lacking considering all the hype.  Nevertheless, no one else in town creates food with such precision and delicacy, and I hope it encourages other chefs to take more risks.  

     We also had an awesome dinner at Andina.  Every dish was big and bold and wonderfully different from the next.  I tasted everything at the table and really liked every bit of it.  I appreciate cuisine that makes you sit up and notice what’s going on.  

    There were also stops for perfectly made drinks at Teardrop, cupcakes at Cupcake Jones, Two Tarts cookies, food cart feasts, ice cream at Cool Moon, breakfast and scones at Bakery Bar, and all the treats at the coast and farmer’s market.  What I’m saying is…we all gained 5 pounds.  No, what I’m really saying is- I feel very lucky to live in a beautiful city so abundant with food, drink, and entertainment that one weekend is just not enough. I’m so glad my parents celebrated their 50^th birthdays by traveling to see me, and I’m already anxious for their return.