State Fair Fun

I went to the NC State fair this week for the first time in a long time. A friend suggested we go together because our spouses, wonderful as they are in other ways, don't like going.

Farmer Julie and her Piggy friend, Diane. Yes, Diane deserves a blue ribbon.

As someone with allergies, the fair can be hit or miss. The aromas are calorie free but tempting. I focus on the displays first, the food second. But I was greeted by this as soon as I went through the gate:

Sigh. It smells so good and EVERYONE had an ear. But me.

We visited the produce section:

The winning pumpkin weighed in at 800 pounds this year.

The quilts and other crafts:

The home canning:

The cake decorating contest:

It was time for lunch so we headed to the Westover UMC Fair booth. One of my friends is pastor there but they also have the best chilidogs at the fair. At least if you only eat one every five years.  And as someone whose final exams in food microbiology consisted of diagnosing real cases of food poisoning at the State Fair, I make a point of eating at a church booth. I've worked em and know how clean they are!

I've also worked at the NC State Ice Cream booth. Nothing has changed in the three decades since I was dishing out cherry vanilla and chocolate mint for the food science club. Students still give you an awful lot of ice cream for the price. The milk comes from NC cows. And cherry vanilla is still my favorite. And no high fructose corn syrup. 

 

What has changed is turkey legs have taken over from italian sausage and onions in popularity.

My daughter and her boyfriend were brave enough to eat those monster turkey legs...and deep fried HoHos.

And my grandchildren are now going to the fair with my son and DIL.

They were so happy.

 And learning about the cycles of life and the precarious nature of fair fish.

Good thing the parents told them fair fish only live 24 hours!

That's worse than a case of fair food poisoning!  My poor babies. No more fair fish for them.

Except for the fish incident, it was a beautiful day to check out the farm animals, make a few carnies mad by taking their pictures, and appreciate all our state has to offer in terms of agriculture and talent.

So what about your fair experiences? Do you have a food item you MUST have? Or a display to check out? Do you ride the rides or play the midway? Best or worst experience? 

PS: Some of you may have seen the news story about the people tragically hurt at our fair on Thursday. Please be in prayer for the families of those affected. 

Tina Radcliffe Bakes: Easy Crescent Danish Rolls

Tina Radcliffe Bakes:

 

Easy Crescent Danish Rolls

(recipe from Pillsbury with modifications)

Ingredients

1 package (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup sugar

1 tablespoon lemon juice

2 cans (8 oz. each) Pillsbury® refrigerated crescent dinner rolls or 2 cans (8 oz each) Pillsbury® Crescent Recipe Creations® refrigerated seamless dough sheet. The crescent rolls are generally less expensive and you can buy the store brand.

4 teaspoons jam or preserves----I use Bonne Mamam Raspberry ( THE WORLD’S BEST )

Egg white to brush on eggs

Glaze

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

2 to 3 teaspoons milk

Heat oven to 350°F. In small bowl, beat cream cheese, sugar and lemon juice until smooth.

Separate dough into 8 rectangles; firmly press perforations to seal. (I flip it over and seal on both sides.

Spread each rectangle with about 2 tablespoons cream cheese mixture. Roll up each, starting at longest side; firmly pinch edges and ends to seal. Gently stretch each roll to about 10 inches. 

Using an ungreased large cookie sheet, coil each roll into a spiral with seam on the inside, tucking end under. Make deep indentation in center of each roll; fill with 1/2 teaspoon preserves.

Bake 20 minutes. Remove, and then brush dough only with egg white. Bake an addition five minutes until deep golden brown. In small bowl, mix glaze ingredients, adding enough milk for desired consistency. Spoon into sandwich zip bag and cut off corner. Drizzle over warm rolls.

Don’t cover until they are cold. No really. Resist the urge.

These are amazing and from start to finish took 35 minutes. I think next time I’m going to try apricot inside and out or maybe cream cheese with Nutella on top. What do you think??

Tina Radcliffe writes inspirational romance for Love Inspired, and sweet, humorous contemporary romance as Tina Russo. Her indie releases, The Rosetti Curse and Love in Bloom, are available on Amazon. Her next Love Inspired release Stranded in Paradise is awaiting a title and release date.

Reminiscing Roman's Benefit!!!!

How stinkin' cute are they???

From left to right are my little friends Brody, Roman, Joslyn, Mary Ruth and Megan...

This was in May, taken on our side porch swing. You can see the protective boards are still against the porch wall, protecting the wall from the stack of firewood we keep there through the winter.

All is calm. All is bright.

This is Roman building a castle tower from my cupboard. Because blocks are clearly mundane!

Fast forward two months....

We started noticing changes in Roman. He was bruising easily. Then bruising for no apparent reason at all.

Mom and Dad took him into the doctor who then sent him right on to Golisano Children's Hospital, a wonderful facility here in Rochester.

And that's when the story begins. The new story, that is. The story of one little boy's unknowing fight to live.

Here is a link to their story...

No one should go broke trying to save their kid's life. That's my theory and I'm sticking with it. With the help of the amazing "Daycare Moms" (past and present!) we asked permission to have a fundraiser to help Kevin and Darcy battle this disease. While they have insurance for the next few months, Darcy can't work and be with Roman. On top of that, well... there's this:

Darcy and Kevin are expecting a baby boy in January.... A baby who may or may not be a donor for his big brother. Darcy was about three months along when Roman was diagnosed, so she's dealing with Roman's ongoing quest for wellness.... and the miracle of birth within.

We met and planned and ate good food and talked and chatted and ate more good food...

"Confession Time: We ate and talked a LOT during the planning meetings."

And with all that eating, managed to plan a delightful Pasta and Meatball Dinner Benefit with great food...

Wonderful donations and prizes for baskets!!!!

Remembrances....

This is a patchwork "quilt" of love messages and get well cards from Roman's friends here.

Setting up the Silent Auction table....

And cute little kids getting their faces painted and balloon animals while bigger kids performed on stage for an evening of entertainment.  An amazing baked food table as has never been seen before, I think.... An Eichas Family Extravaganza of Homemade Goodness!!!!

Casey and McKenna, wearing the leukemia "orange" tee-shirts to show they're "FUNDRAISER STAFF". :)

Kids Helping a Kid.

Families joining together.

Many hands making light work.

We raised a lot of money. We had fun. We had people coming in from all over and it was wonderful.

We ran out of food at 223 dinners served... TWO HUNDRED AND TWENTY THREE DINNERS SERVED!!!!!

And while we felt bad to starve folks, we were so happy to have had such a wonderful turnout that it felt kind of GOOD to run low on food!

People smiled. Hugged. Prayed. Sandy Eichas (Roman's aunt and little Joslyn's mother) made an amazing video showcasing Roman's life... she ended it with this song:

Mandisa's "Overcomer" !!!!

Complete with pictures like this:

It was a great night, for a great cause...

And how I wish we didn't have to do it.

BUT...

We'll do it again, as needed.

Because that's what friends are for.

:)

Chocolate Cream Tart with Raspberries For the Win!

Hello, everybody! The Fresh Pioneer is back and I NEED CHOCOLATE. I know Hallowe'en is right around the corner, but I need chocolate NOW.

I love crème patissiere tarts and I thought I would combine those two loves. So, here's the ingredient list, only some of which is picture. (Why? I have no idea. But there ya go. You'll just have to imagine it all in your head.)

 

1 cup flour, plus a bit more for dusting

1/4 cup cocoa powder

7 TBS unsalted butter

3/4 cup sugar

2 large egg yolks

1/2 tsp vanilla

1 3/4 c whole milk

6 oz good chocolate chopped

14 oz raspberries

powdered sugar, for dusting

 Rub flour, cocoa powder, and butter together until it becomes like crumbs. This is an enjoyable exercise. If anyone asks what you're doing, smile and say, "I'm making chocolate butter crumbs." People will give you space, since obviously only very important folks can stand around rubbing butter with their bare hands.
Stir in 1/4 cup sugar.

Whisk the egg yolk with the vanilla. (Can you see the SPEED? I scare myself. I'm that good.)

Add the yolk mix to the flour mix and form a soft dough. Add a bit of water if it's too stiff.

Wrap it in plastic wrap and chill in the fridge one hour. Pour yourself a cup of coffee and sit outside in the sun. Contemplate the future. No, wait. Contemplate the chocolate cream tart. That way, the future holds only wonderful things.

 I thought the chocolate needed its own picture. Mmmmmmmm..........

 Oh, and here's one with the foil ripped away. I may have taken a small nibble at this point.

 Preheat the oven to 350F while you work on the chocolate cream.  Beat 1/2 c sugar, 2 large eggs, cornstarch and 1 tsp vanilla. (Again, so fast I'm just a blur. I should be on TV.)

 Pour 1 3/4 cup whole milk and 4 oz of chocolate in a pan. Heat to a boil, stirring constantly.

Once the milk and chocolate has barely boiled, whisk into the egg mix, a dribble at a time. (I took this photo with my toes. I'm that talented.)

(P.S. Don't be jealous. It's unattractive.)

Return the mix to the pan and let it get just to the bubbling stage, stirring the whole time. Remove from the heat. If it seems lumpy, whisk a little or use egg beaters to make sure everything is nice and smooth. When it's cool enough, lay plastic wrap over the top so it won't form a hard skin. Let small, barefoot children lick the beaters.

Remove the chilled dough from the fridge and roll out to 1/8 inch.

 Lay into the bottom of a tart pan. If your tart pan has gone missing, and you find it outside being used as a cat dish, go head and use a spring form pan.

 Of course the recipe calls for 'baking beans', those ceramic beans that you lay over the top of the aluminum foil to make sure the crust bakes flat. Hm. Well, normal beans work, too. And they're super cheap.

Bake at 350F for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and take off the foil and the beans. Bake another 5 minutes. Set aside to cool. You have fifteen different projects going with this recipe. I hope the phone doesn't ring or anyone knocks at the door or your kids get stuck in the laundry chute. Because it all hinges on completing each step in perfect sequence...

Melt the remaining chocolate over hot water.

 Gratuitous melting chocolate picture...

 Pour the chocolate into the cooled crust and spread it around. Lick the bowl. (That's an order.)

 Pour in the chocolate cream. Let it cool for another 20 minutes in the fridge.

 Arrange the raspberries. For off season berries, these were pretty good!

 Ok, not quite like the picture, but I like it anyway.

 Hm. Sprinkling on the powdered sugar. Looks like Santa sneezed on it.

 Not sure about this. Maybe it needs more powdered sugar. Now I can't see the berries. I tried to transfer it to the cake platter and it broke. Of course that meant we had to sample it. Mmmmm.

 Maybe it needs more raspberries?

Ok, I'd better stop fiddling around with it. I handed it over to the ravenous crowds and it was GONE. So, all in all, I'd say it was a fun time. Edna enjoyed seeing me rush from one end of the kitchen to the other, muttering things like "three minutes on medium heat, stirring constantly" and "1/8 of an inch and where is that TART PAN?"

I think we might try a less strenuous recipe next time. Or at least, one that Edna has a beater in because she always seems to have good advice and a story to share along the way.

  Until next time, my friends! Have a great week and I hope you get some chocolate!