Potlikker

fair food

Anymore I go to our county fair for the food. Who doesn't love deep fried everything?

The concessionaires had too much fun dipping their corndogs. Look closely. It was a vulgar display, for sure. But who can blame them? Everyone should play with their food.

The soft serve was my first stop. I got a cone of chocolate-vanilla swirl. Can't get it anywhere in town anymore, so that was a real treat.

Next up, Ian bought one or two 25 cent bags of gumdrops from the old general store display inside the museum. I could have stayed in there awhile, but it was small and others wanted in.

Then what? On to get my funnel cake. Betty said I should stop by the Kiwanis club booth, that they had a new funnel cake recipe that was great; I visited with her the previous day. And then returned on Wednesday for my funnel cake. But I wasn't in love with it. It was stringy. And pale. And once we finished and left out seat a guy took  our table and I saw his funnel cake. It looked like swollen worms all golden brown, and THAT was the funnel cake I wanted, but didn't get.

Ian indulged in a corn dog from Kiwanis. Didn't offer me a bite.

Once we indulged or sweet and greasy tooths, we left the fair. I admire the entrepreneurial spirit of the folks who live adjacent to the fairgrounds. They offer folks parking spots in their yards for a few dollars, sell water to the thirsty, and also try their hand at deep-fried novelties.

We were deep-fried Oreo virgins. Not anymore. I can't recall how much Ian paid for such a delicacy, but it was high. Maybe $5 for 6 deep fried oreos. They weren't that hot once they were removed from the deep fryer. They were messy. We had confectioner's sugar spotting our clothes. Innards were slightly warmed. So, as a curiosity, I'd say try 'em. But don't make a habit of eating them, because there's no telling just how bad they are for you on many levels.

cornbread coming soon

The 10th Annual National Cornbread Festival convenes in South Pittsburgh, Tennessee next month. The dates are April 29 & 30. One of the events is the Tennessee 4H Cornbread Cook-Off; that's Saturday. Sunday features the Celebrity Cook-Off. Besides the cornbread cook-offs, there are lots of activitites unrealted to food. But the food-realted attractions interest me most. Southern Cooking & Dishes from across the USA make up the festival foods. There's a Cornbread Alley where folks can, and should, sample "Cornbread Recipes Galore." And we can't forget the eating contests: Cornbread Eatin’, Buttermilk Chuggin’, and Ice Cream Eatin’ . I say, we're in for a treat. I'm making a point of getting down to S. Pitt this year for the festival.

FYI: Jiffy comes from the Midwest. But I like the box's design. And, in  a pinch, those jiffy corn muffins aren't bad at all. Plus, you can request their  recipe book at the website. I should be touting Martha White given their close relltionship to Nashville, the Opry, and country music. Southern cooks have relied upon MW products since 1899. 

painted love

Probably won't get to the National Gallery of Art by December 31 to see the Pieter Claesz exhibit. But if I could get away... I have the week between Christmas and New Year's off from work. I could zip up to DC for a visit.

He was a seventeenth century Dutch still-life painter whose subjects included images of mincemeat pies, breads, lemons, olives, nuts, fruits, and wine are visual feasts that delight the eye and whet the appetite.

tea exhibit

My first thought is: Will icedtea or icetea be represented at the new exhibition on the history of tea in Philadelphia at the National Archives branch in Center City? If you didn't know, sales of loose tea have tripled in the last decade, developing into a $500-million-a-year business. That's a lot of leaves. Aaaaah, it seems the show is mostly about the early, and sometimes nefarious, tea trade here when Philadelphia was the capital of the United States. Called Hot, Iced and Bagged in Article I: Tea and the Constitution, it seems they did drink it iced after all.

Here's the info (it's not like I'll be in Philly anytime soon):
Hot, Iced and Bagged in Article I: Tea and the Constitution runs through the end of the year at the National Archives Mid-Atlantic Region, Chestnut Street side of the old federal courthouse, just west of Ninth Street.
Hours: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday; 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. second and fourth Saturdays. Free. Telephone:215-606-0100.