The 125th Sandwich Fair, 2012

Whirlwind Weekend

Fair time is officially upon us.  I can tell... my oven has been on 350 degrees for like 48 hours, I have a paper cut from my card stock, I am completely out of saran wrap and wax paper, I've thrown a spatula across the kitchen, there are two ruined loaves of bread in the compost bin, Judson is covered in flour, and I have random bits of paper and glue on the dining room floor.  What's more, I am completely exhausted.

Mom arrived Saturday morning and since then, things have been moving at warp speed.  I finished up my last bit of canning on Saturday- the ketchup and the strawberry jam.  When that was done, Mom and I went shopping for groceries, which still took multiple more trips because of course we kept forgetting ingredients.

Sunday was the official baking day.  The oven was seriously on from 9am until 10pm (so I guess not quite 48 hours).  Mom had to make her cupcakes and cookies... and I had to make everything else.  My baking list was incredibly ambitious.  I signed up for: challah bread, banana bread, cranberry bread, apple muffins, scones, German chocolate cake, apple pie, loaf corn bread, loaf ginger bread or molasses cake, and pumpkin pie.  In the end, I only completed banana bread, scones, German chocolate cake, corn bread, molasses cake, and a pumpkin pie.  I made the dough for the challah bread, but I didn't get it baked in time.  I also had a loaf of cranberry bread baked, but it didn't make it to the fairgrounds...And that is the reason I threw the spatula.  There's a story here...

Around noon on Sunday, I was ready to make a loaf of molasses cake and a loaf of cranberry bread.  I mixed the ingredients for both, poured them in their respective bread pans and popped them in the oven.  After the prescribed hour, I checked on the bread- both loaves were beautiful; well-risen, golden, and lovely.  I pulled each loaf out and let them cool in their pans for around 10 minutes, at which point I carried them into the dining room where I had set up the cooling racks.  I grabbed a knife and ran it around each pan's edges, loosening the sides of the loaves.  Then, I took the first loaf and tipped it upside down, anticipating the beautiful loaf falling freely onto the rack... Nothing.  The darn bread wouldn't come out.  I set it down and grabbed the other loaf- tipped it upside down and again... Nothing.  I know I had thoroughly sprayed and floured the pans.  I tried each pan again...Nothing.  At this point, I threw the spatula and yelled, "Frick!" which for me is as bad as yelling every imaginable swear word at the top of my lungs over a loudspeaker to a group of preschoolers... Such was my frustration.

Well, Hubs was having none of it.  He came marching into the dining room, took the pans and tried to get the loaves out.  It was a pointless attempt though, because they were super glued to the bottom of the bread pans.  In hindsight, I think the oven was on too long and the racks were too hot.  But in that moment, I'd been baking the loaves for an hour, I was incredibly tired, I'd spent gobs of money on ingredients, and I'm always a really competitive person--I was seeing my supposed purple ribbons go down the toilet.  And that is why I continued to yell crazy things like "poop buckets" and "molasses crap" while I ran around the house like a crazy woman.  I got so out of hand at one point that Hubs had to pick me up, carry me out of the house, and scold me.  Thankfully, he didn't take me over his knee (although I probably would have deserved it).  And all this time, Mom was in the kitchen making her cupcakes... Probably grateful that it is now Jesse's job to keep me under control and not hers.

Miraculously, by 9pm I was done baking.  I didn't finish everything, but I didn't have it in me to make anything else.  I finished the banana bread (past purple ribbon winner), the scones, the German chocolate cake, a loaf of corn bread, a loaf of molasses cake (yep- I made another one after I calmed down), and pumpkin pie.  I also realized that I had signed up for zucchini bread and pumpkin bread and since I had a loaf of pumpkin bread in the freezer, I pulled it out and wrapped it up for the fair as well.  My mom baked chocolate cupcakes with chocolate frosting, chocolate chip cookies, and oatmeal cookies with raisins.

And if I wasn't pushing the envelope enough, I decided to enter greeting cards after all.  I decided this around 9:30pm Sunday night.  I stayed up until midnight, creating a birthday card, a congratulations card, a spring card, a Mother's Day card, a Christmas card, and a Valentine's Day card.  I have no idea how I pulled this off.  Normally, my greeting cards take hours to create, but I managed to do 6 in 2 1/2 hours with decorated envelopes.  This means that I was either having a moment of creative genius or my cards suck.  We'll know soon.

Mom and I drove out to the fairgrounds after dropping Hubs off at work on Labor Day.  I always love being at the fair before everything is in full swing.  It's like getting a behind the scenes look at Disney World or the zoo--Seeing all the logistical/secret pieces that make the fair run smoothly.  When we arrived, the midway was staked out, but completely empty.  On Wednesday, you won't even be able to walk through the midway because it will be so full of people.

The drop off went well and I was able to get a preview of a competitor's German chocolate cake.  I think mine looks better...

After the drop off, we went over to Uncle Jerry's to help him prepare his agricultural entries.  I spent the rest of Labor Day picking lima beans (of the small variety).  It was tedious, dirty, hot work, but it was a great reminder that I really love my air conditioned office job.  I now have the world's weirdest tan on my back, thanks to my two tank tops.  Hubs laughed when he saw me last night, but I didn't have the energy to retaliate.  I need to conserve what I do have for walking around the fair come Wednesday.

I know these aren't lima beans... These are the Kentucky Wonders Mom picked.

Look back for more updates soon.  Judging is Tuesday night/Wednesday morning.  I should definitely know how we did on Thursday.  Wish me luck!