Our Blue Ribbon Meal

So the Eastern Idaho State Fair has come and gone once again. This year we didn't even make an attempt to get down there. It's not that we don't enjoy going. The kids always love just walking around and looking at the animals and I like seeing the quilts. But lately life has just been hectic with the kids school and dance and my school and Mac trying to get his garage and shed all put together so I can park my car in the garage for the winter. It just seems we always have something going on. So since we did not make the trip to Blackfoot, I decided to bring a little of the fair to us. After listening to all of my coworkers talk about the food they ate at the fair I decided to make a blue ribbon dinner for us. We had chicken fried chicken, mashed potatoes with country gravy, corn on the cob (fresh from my parents garden), and tiger ears. The tigers ears turned out really well. I was pleased since it was the first time I had tried them. Next year we'll probably make it to the fair but at least we got a taste of it this year.Here is the recipe for Tigers Ears or Elephant Ears:

1 pkg rapid yeast
1/4 cup warm water
mix and set aside

In bowl Combine
1 tsp salt
1/4 cup sugar
1 tbs vegetable shortening
1/2 cup water
1 egg beaten

Add Yeast mixture stir well

Add 2 1/2 cups of flour a half a cup at a time beating well after each addition. Turn out onto floured surface and knead until dough is smooth. Break off into small pieces (I divided mine into five sections and made five large ones) and roll out thin. Fry in hot oil turning once until golden brown.
Place cooked "ears" on a napkin lined plate in the oven set at 200 degrees. When finished top with butter, cinnamon, and sugar. ENJOY!

Note: if your oil is too hot or your centers are too thin then the centers cook really fast and will be hard and inedible. I found controlling the oil temp was the hardest thing Because if it is too low they take forever and seem to soak up a lot of grease. If it is too hot then they aren't soft especially the centers. I don't know an exact temp but I put my stove on med and let the oil get good and hot and then adjusted it up or down from there. I kept my burner just below the med mark.

Blood, Sweat and Tomatoes?

So we had a great year in the garden. (As I've said before it is all Mac's doing.) I have had a very busy harvest season canning vegetables every single weekend it seems. We had a huge crop of tomatoes. I made salsa, chili sauce, and yesterday I made spaghetti sauce. Here is one picking.

And my prize tomato. It was perfect, large, red, no marks, and no cracks or splits (until Bobby dropped it).

But it hasn't all been fun and games. Yesterday for instance after boiling 40 tomatoes first to remove the skins. Then I simmered tomato sauce for 90 minutes to thicken it. Last, I cooked the jars in the pressure cooker for an hour. The house was 87 degrees and I still had to cook dinner. I think I was sweating until 3:00 in the morning.

Two weeks ago when I was canning carrots, I almost sliced the whole end of my finger off. Thanks to my finger nail I only cut half of it off. And people think their is no danger in being a housewife!

I can't complain though. We have a full pantry and I get a lot of satisfaction out of seeing and eating all that we accomplished this summer.