Indiana State Fair and Week 7 Wrap Up

Ahhhh... it's over. Time to enjoy someone else's creative cooking and a glass or three of wine!

The fair ended yesterday. Quite honestly, I am all faired out this year. I think I was all faired out a week ago.

Saturday was the Spam and Bisquick Competitions. I didn't place in either one. There was some controversy about the Spam judging and I'd have to day that I was in the "I'm upset" camp along with some others. The "theme" this year was a sandwich. You had to make any kind of sandwich with Spam in it. I made "Chipotle BBQ Spam Sliders with Pineapple Slaw." I used little Hawaiian rolls, split them, brushed the insides with adobo sauce, then baked the sauce onto the roll. I did this because I didn't think the chipotle BBQ sauce I was using had quite enough kick, but the adobo sauce is VERY hot so it would make everything too hot if I stirred it into the sauce. Another woman had made a "Black Friday Special" sandwich and used typical Thanksgiving day leftovers as the sandwich filling then baked a special bread to put it on that was mostly stuffing. Anyway, the judge shows up and tells everyone "I know what bread tastes like" and decides to destroy everyone's sandwiches by just pulling all the filling out onto a plate and tasting the filling only! In my case, that meant she never tasted the spicy adobo sauce baked onto the sweet Hawaiian roll that was suppose to compliment the pineapple slaw and BBQ sauce covered Spam inside. The lady who baked her bread is going to file a complaint. Yup, not happy!

Bisquick was the last competition of the day. I made "Fiesta Fritters" which were fritters with corn, bacon, green chiles, and red bell peppers. They are great straight out of the fryer. I figured I was taking a chance competing them cold after they had sat around for hours as they are never going to be as crisp as straight out of the fryer. Anyway, no placing but I didn't have any left to bring home either. After the competition, all the regulars went back to the prep room to share food, pack up our stuff, and say goodbye until next year.

Afterwards, my younger daughter and I spent some time taking in more of the fair... eating...looking at stuff.... eating...doing a couple rides on the Midway... eating. We spent 9 hours at the fair on Saturday! I was dead on Sunday.

I need to detox from all the fair food I've had. Here's a sampling (NOT eaten in a single day) ...

Fried cheddar cheese with sour cream jalapeno sauce (from the Wisconsin Cheese booth) and an apple cider slushy. These are my fair favorites and I always get them the first day of the fair. If it's been a dry year, sometimes they run out of apple cider slushies before the fair is over.

Twisted potatoes with cheese sauce. Absolutely horrible for you. This is why I'm on the run-to-eat plan!

I hadn't seen this before...

Sure, I'll try most anything once! These were actually pieces of cornbread (there were whole corn pieces inside) with a donut glaze and chopped bacon. I think it's all about how you present something. My daughter thought the idea was "gross" however, I make a Maple Bacon Biscuit Bake which is very similar - biscuits topped with a maple sugar glaze with bacon pieces - for breakfast and my family inhales it.

I also had to support the Cattle Farmers and eat a Hoosier Ribeye sandwich. I had to support the Dairy Farmers and eat a "Blue Moo" which is a grilled blue cheese and cheddar sandwich. My daughter and I had a strawberry shortcake from the Ag/Hort building.

Whew!...I think that's enough. It's a good thing I had a good training week (week 7):

Sunday - 4 miles
Monday - 8 miles (8:45 pace for 5 of them)
Tuesday - 16 miles (4 with my new group)
Wednesday - cross train (30 min exercise bike, then weights)
Thursday - 8 miles (6 with my group at a GREAT pace)
Friday - 4 miles
Saturday - rest (if you can call 9 hours at the fair "rest")

40 miles total

This week is about the same with 41 miles total on the schedule. I did 8 yesterday. I'm planning to do 17 this evening. I was going to do it this morning but fell asleep on the couch!

What's your week look like? I am returning to normalcy and working more.