2015 Carver County Fair, Pig Races!, Waconia, MN

I had never seen a pig race in my life, well, at least not live, so I did want to make sure I caught their version, I was able to duck out of the ro-sham-bo contest for a spell and get in on all the porcine action.

These races are very simple in theory and practice, but the organizers really "hammed" it up for the crowd. I mean, they threw pig phrases or words into any sentence... possibly too many times (insert "groan"). And then the 3 rounds of races must be about 10 seconds long each. The pigs race for a single mini-donut. Not bad, but not that exciting. It all looked like this:

Out of the three, young male pigs (Kermit the Hog, Arnold Schwartzenhogger,and Piglet - this is not a joke, the announcer introduced each pig with elaborate introductions), Piglet came out the winner of this round.

Unless you or your kids really love pigs, I think I'd steer clear of this porky product.

2015 Carver County Fair, Part I, Waconia, MN

I thought of this quote from Wedding Crashers when I think about county fair season:

Jeremy Grey: Grab that net and catch that beautiful butterfly, pal! What do you like better, Christmas or Wedding Season?
[Jeremy raises his hand]
John Beckwith: Mr. Grey?
Jeremy Grey: Yes. The answer would be, um, Wedding Season?
[shimmy-shakes]
John Beckwith: Bingo! I'm gonna get my suit. Now who are we this time?

And I have to say, I might choose county fair season as my favorite of the year. And I mean over Christmas and all the other ones. Here's what I ate at the very recent [burp] Carver County Fair:

- Small Mint Milkshake with added Chocolate sauce

- Pork Chop in a Stick

- Locally-made Italian Sausage, with peppers & onions

- Deep-fried Cheese Curds

- Minneapple Pie with Cinnamon ice cream

- 2 Leinenkugel's Lemon Shandy beers

And I 'd do it again. In fact, I'll hopefully get close to that this coming week at this year's Cokato Corn Carnival. In my opinion, not to be missed.

We toured the barns between food binges and got to see, in chronological order: 

- lambs/sheep

- llamas

- dogs (in a "talent show")

- elephants

- pigs (in pig races... more in next post)

- horses

- cows

(no birds or poultry of any kind this year at the fairs, some kind of quarantine issue)

We also got to meet some neat folks on the Carver County Fair Board while we participated in the insanely popular Rock-Scissors-Paper Tournament, which we simply stumbled into. Now, I know what you might be thinking, "Why would you enter that!?" Well, how does a $500 prize sound to you? It sounded pretty good to me. The friend I went with got to the 4th round (of 7) and was 8 people left from 158. She actually lost to the eventual champion.  I went down in the first round to a very sharp 6 year old. Ah well, next year.

Revisit 2: CoV, Wayzata, MN

Seriously, you haven't been here yet? It's ok, I'll keep going and eat all the food. 

This last visit as great with a properly cooked medium-well hanger steak and frites, served with a tomato-avocado salad and truffle fries. 

As if I needed it, I topped off the meal with half of this key lime pie. Very good - graham cracker crust, fresh whipped cream, blackberries, plenty of lime tang, and a mango sauce prettifying the plate. 

2015 Wright County Fair, Friday Night Demolition Derby, Howard Lake, MN

What a raucous good time. It did get a bit long in the tooth towards the end, but standing on alloy bleachers for a couple hours will make any adult cranky (and creaky). 

Who needs a car-crusher when you have demo derby?

2015 Wright County Fair, Pie Eating Finals, Howard Lake, MN

You're probably going to have a good day if it starts out with this sign. 

Having qualified at their pie eating contest a couple of years ago, I got through this year's Friday qualifier in first place. It felt pretty good and people seemed excited. I guess ~20 or so years of eating meals with siblings hanging on for every extra uneaten scrap paid off. 

The finals were a couple days later, on Sunday. I decided I'd allow the excitement people had for the feat on Friday propel me through another quarter of a pie and the final round on Sunday. At the very least I'd be eating another piece of free, homemade pie (go Waverly Cafe!). At best I'd win cash and the right to be called the champ. In actuality, a food challenge is something I've wanted to see through for a while now.  

A quick primer on the contest rules, as I know them: 

- every person is served a quarter of a standard 9" pie (about two "normal" pieces)

- it's always been cherry pie, as that filling shows up best on the face for the audience

- you can only use your mouth to eat, hands/arms are placed behind your back

- contestants must clean the plate leaving nothing bigger than the size of a dime, though I've heard nickel too

- first one with a clean plate wins, though that has not meant it has to be chewed and swallowed, just off the plate

The finals proved much more contested than the qualifier, including a recently de-throned county fair queen and a pre-teen boy that seemed extra hungry. However, I was able to bring home of the cash and glory. My quick calculations from video prove me cleaning my plate in about 28 seconds. 

How sweet it is. See you next year Wright County Fair. 

Waverly Lake, Waverly, MN

There's a lot in this pic to know and like, but most of us won't have the whole story. In the end, not much beats a (nearly) full moon on a local lake. 

World's Largest Lite Brite Sculpture, St. Paul, MN (Union Depot)

Pretty amazing team effort for the official record, located in the Union Depot in St. Paul. Impressive.

"FOREVER SAINT PAUL"

See, the little Lite Brite things...

Harriet Brasserie, Minneapolis, MN (Linden Hills)

It was high time this visit happened, having known about this spot for some time. And what better time than a gorgeous summer morning for their pretty high-end and yet approachable brunch?

Due to our group's size, we sat inside, but both outdoor and indoor seating areas seemed wonderful. 

After a few minutes with the brunch menu, I decided on their Crawfish & Grits brunch option, with Andouille sausage and a poached egg. 

It was awesome. Not a giant, get-nothing-done-the-rest-of-the-day type of portion, but plenty for breakfast with pronounced flavors from all the ingredients (that is, I could taste each ingredient on its own, and the full combination of flavors as well). I would go back without question to try another brunch choice or for dinner. 

And I don't want to forget, the place is in an old firehouse, which has been redone by the building's owner, a architect firm, TEA2 Architects. 

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World's Biggest Pillow Fight (St. Paul Saints game)

It's official, all attendees to the Saint Paul Saints baseball game on July 21, 2015 were a part of the World's Largest Pillow Fight. To do this, the My Pillow Company handed out around 5,000 pillows to all fans entering the gates. Then, after the 2nd inning, we all "fought" for one minute. Done, back to the game.

Yellow squash, 2 ways

With the copious amounts of rain and sun we've had this summer, it's no wonder that a private CSA I have a membership to has already provided some excellent produce, including a voluptuous yellow squash. Being a solo chef, I used it two ways over the course of a week, once sautéed for pasta primavera, and once grilled as a side with a burger. Both were delicious and I'm hoping more great produce finds its way into my CSA share. Get out there and eat the rainbow. 

Uptown Flower Patrol

I believe Ferris Bueller said it best, "Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it."...this most especially applies to flowers as you walk through the Lowry Hill area of Uptown. 

You could help destroy a pristine, low-miles, vintage Corvette too. 

Revisit: Groundswell, St. Paul, MN

I think is said this in the first post for this neighborhood spot, but if you haven't gone for brunch here, make a trip and plan to hang out for a while. I'm pretty sure it will end well. 

Bacon, Gruyere and Rosemary scone - very good!

Their banana bread French toast - solid. 

Delano 4th Celebration, Delano, MN

They say, "third times the charm"...and this trip to Delano for their 4th of July celebration didn't disappoint. 

The food was what had hoped and planned for:

And the fireworks upped their game and included an engagement proposal, which was news to the whole crowd:

Wayzata Art Fair, Wayzata, MN

If you live in the Twin Cities, I'm sure you've heard about all the art fairs that take place in different neighborhoods and cities all summer long. You can usually see lots of high-quality artwork, most of it having been locally made too. 

For the last few years now, I've been very eager to attend the quiet, well-stocked art fair in the lakeside hamlet of Wayzata. It's located right on Lake Minnetonka and usually makes it easy for people to park and walk the event. I've even dragged family and coworkers to it now, and everyone seems to enjoy the event.

You know, just jump off your boat and head over to the fair

Four blocks of artists usually have something for everyone

This woman below, Jaana Mattson, won 2nd place at the fair for her super unique and quite beautiful pieces. She uses felted wool to create landscapes, all placed in real wood frames. You can miss the detail if you just walk by, you had to stop and look to make sure. It was very original and interesting, IMO.

A number of vendors were offering photo services for people's pets. I think this is the first real-life Miss Piggy I have ever seen:

They also had some vintage and current autos on display. I can see the connection to art with this 1973 Jaguar, though the current models they also had on display just seemed like a mini car dealership, but there's no denying that this is the audience to buy them.