You always hear about the fair food, fried in particular. Butter on a stick (ick), Oreos on a stick (yummy), Twinkies on a stick (meh), and on and on. This year’s new food, a deep-fried queso burger: beef chips and cheese, dipped in batter and fried.

#ummmmmmmnothankyou

Today’s post, what we eat in the barn. When show families come in, they pack in everything: their signs, the nameplates of the animals, the hay, the grain, the pans for feeding and watering, your cots and sleeping bags for you poor souls sleeping in the barn, and your lawn chairs, but at the State Fair, you up your game. Families wheel in bars to sit around a crack open an adult beverage, full-sized refrigerators, and microwaves. We saw a Pizzazz (making tater tots – a first), toaster ovens, and I’m sure there’s something that I’ve overlooked.

In the 6 years we’ve been coming, the things we bring in have changed. We did a lot of crock pot cooking, but have left that back somewhat. We now have a dorm fridge and a microwave which is nice along with three coolers full of food and drinks.

Going out to eat at the State Fair is cost prohibitive. I cannot imagine trying to do breakfast, lunch, and dinner for five days. We had an early lunch the day we left, a couple of steak burgers, a couple of hamburgers, fries, and drinks. The bill was over $70 without a tip. My wife and I went walking Thursday night, to explore a little bit, and to just get out of the barn. Beer is $8 a glass and we watched people walk by with multiple glasses. I don’t know about you, but I don’t make that kind of money! 😂

#Yikes

As it is, it’s imperative that you bring good food because you and your family will spend an enormous amount of money on food that just isn’t that good for you.

So, my wife made chocolate oaties, zucchini bread (we have SO MANY zucchini right now on two plants), puppy chow, and blueberry scones with a lemon glaze (I love those). She also made pulled pork for sandwiches, along with coleslaw and a broccoli salad. We had pulled chicken sandwiches one day and brats another day. We always have good stuff. The problem, we bring so much stuff with us, too much!

Yes, we grab certain things at the fair: Dolewhips (a pineapple frozen dessert – Delicious!) and garlic cheese curds! We got one of the two (Dolewhip) so not a total loss. And yes, we keep track of the money spent because you can spend a lot very quickly! But, in the end, it’s about the memories made and time spent with friends.

And the food.

#alwaysaboutthefood