*This was drafted before I found out if I won anything. Check back tomorrow to hear how I did!
Entering the fair contests was quite the experience this year, to say the least! Murphy’s Law reigned supreme over my kitchen, for sure.
*I made a honey chocolate cake and didn’t put the right amount of butter OR honey in the cake so it was dry and not sweet. EW. Baked it again–wowza, that batter was good! I couldn’t even tell it was honey-sweetened. I’m very hopeful for this, but since Murphy’s Law is prevailing over everything fair-related right now, I likely will not place because of something like it was supposed to be a layer cake, not a bundt cake.
*I made a bread machine bread which did not rise well. So I made a second loaf. Same results. I turned it in anyway, but feel sorry for the judges who will have to choke it down. Hey, if I had to suffer to enter the bread, someone else is going to suffer with me. hehe. BTW, I looked at all the other bread machine breads that were entered and I’m proud to say mine was the shortest one of them all. I should win an award for worst bread. Maybe they’ll invent that award this year, just for me.
My sad loaf is right in front–mine has a vertical pan and it’s barely as high as those baked in a horizontal bread machine pan!
*For some reason, I thought sugar cookies would be a good recipe to make to enter into the sugar-free cookies category. Um, what was I thinking? The cookies I made were actually pretty good since I used NuNaturals MoreFiber baking blend, which bakes well and doesn’t seem to have a funky aftertaste, but I couldn’t just turn in plain unglazed sugar cookies. But how do you make a glaze without powdered sugar? What I ended up doing was cooking milk and cornstarch and stevia together and ended up with sweet & milky snot sauce to put on top of my cookies. And yes, I entered those too. Snot sauce cookies! :/
This is the only photo I have where you can halfway see the snot sauce cookies–upper right on the cart, on top of a cake.
*When I put my pies in the oven, the edge of the crust on one of the pies fell off. Just bam–melted right off. And burned to a crisp on the bottom of my oven. What in the world?! In what universe does this ever happen? Apparently mine! And then I forgot to tent the other one with foil (it had to bake a long time) and it got way over-browned and ugly. :( And yes, I still submitted them for judging–I’m cruisin’ for an ego bruisin’. I present to you, my crispy pies.
On a happy side note, I did get to take advantage of the gift I got from Kerry. The pie carrier was perfect for transporting my crispy pie!
*Baby decided she was going to bite down on the key in the ignition so it could not be removed or turned, rendering the flaky car totally unusable until we get the key out. And I wasn’t going to throw all my baked goods in the back of the truck and hope they didn’t fly out during the 45+ minute drive to Hutchinson. Thankfully, we were able to borrow my Dad’s Suburban to drive all my fair entries out there, which meant a lot more gas money, but on the bright side, everything fit with room to spare. What a nice break!
*They made a special rule just for me this year: NO VEGETABLE BAGS WILL BE ALLOWED. (Yes, they even put it in caps to get it through my thick skull.) The last two years I have put my breads on cardboard and then put them in produce bags I nabbed from the grocery store b/c I couldn’t figure out what other “food grade bags” (what the rules state we have to put our entries in) could be big enough to fit my entries. I seriously never thought of turkey roaster bags, dude. Obliviox, much? So despite the rules saying it had to be in bags, I covered my entries with plastic wrap (you can see most in the photo below) and hoped for the best. It was a no go.
*I had six of my entries covered with plastic wrap, and thought I’d have to return home with them, but they actually were selling turkey roaster bags for $1 each to raise money for the food department. Phew! Except that meant we needed cash. I sent Dennis off, God bless him, to get cash and an hour later, he arrived with cash in hand. Since we were there so late, all the gates closed while we were inside and he had to go through hell to get out and back in. Thankfully, it took all that time for me to get my entries in, plus more, so it worked out fine from my end, just very frustrating for the Haus.
Poor Haus ran into this at every turn.
*The contest that I was most excited to enter was the Heritage Recipes contest. But I didn’t read the information and rules very closely. All I gathered was that they wanted recipes that have been passed down in families from at least 1950 or before. Well, Grandma Joy gave me an oatmeal candy recipe that’s been in the family since at least 1890!! And it’s good! I was super excited and had visions of presenting Grandma with a ribbon for the recipe. Well, after making the candy and then reading the rules, I saw that they were wanting “recipes suitable for a family or community dinner.” Ummm, is candy ever served at a dinner? I nearly decided not to enter but as with the short bread, crispy pies, and snot cookies, I forged ahead and hoped for the best.
To be continued…
Veronica's Cornucopia 
Giggling hysterically @ snot cookies… LOL! So very much enjoyed this blog, thanks for the morning giggle..
LikeLike
You’re so welcome! :)
LikeLike
Oh i can’t wait to hear the results! Snot sauce cookies! I love it!
LikeLike
Tomorrow, tomorrow, you’ll hear them tomorrow. It’s only a day away… lol
LikeLike
This blog was hilarious! Made me feel that maybe I”m not so different than others after all. I can’t wait to hear what you won. You put a great deal of work into all those goodies!
LikeLike
Haha, thanks Charlene! I have to qualms about admitting my shortcomings. We all have them. :)
LikeLike
♥ ¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪.¸¸ ♥ What a way to kick start my day!!! Waiting with anticipation!!! I haven’t had breakfast and ALL those baked goods sure make me hungry!!! Your too funny! ♥ ¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪.¸¸ ♥
Snot Sauce Cookies~ eh?
LikeLike
They really were. I didn’t have time to make any other glaze or I would have. I can’t believe my own audacity. The poor judges.
LikeLike
PS Thank you for all the pretty hearts, stars, and music notes. How do you even do that??
LikeLike
I’ve been through this myself and I’m placing my bets on your winning a lot of ribbons – especially for the pies.
Lillian
lillianscupboard.wordpress.com
LikeLike
LOL! Thank you but…did yo not SEE the pies?! :)
LikeLike
You’re too funny! Snot sauce cookies was a good one…lol! I think you’ll do good. You like to beat yourself up too much ;) So, did you turn the oatmeal candies in for a main dish?!?
LikeLike
I turned them in–there wasn’t categories, it all just was for the “Heritage Recipes Contest.” The rules stated the recipe should be appropriate for a family or community dinner and so I almost didn’t turn them in, thinking no one serves candy at a dinner. But I decided I made them, I was going to turn them in. I actually won’t tell this story until Wednesday so you’ll have to be patient. :)
LikeLike
Whoops, I see I mis-stated what they wanted–I will edit that.
LikeLike
I hope you got at least one blue ribbon V!! Everything looks great, but what I really want now is a piece of pie!
LikeLike
Aw, thanks Biz! Hey, the triple berry pie is really low in sugar (the judges here seem to like a tart pie so I made it less sweet just for them) so I say it’s totally breakfast food!
LikeLike
WOW! This state fair thing sounds INTENSE! I don’t know what draws you back year after year . . . I think I’d be pulling my hair out with the stress of it all!
I love the pic of the vanload full of goodies, and I can’t wait to hear the continuation of the story. =)
LikeLike
While it is intense, I have so much fun with it overall–it’s the highlight of the year for me! And while I did get frustrated, I laughed every time I messed up–I prayed, and I played your band’s music, and I was determined not to let the pressure get to me this year. It was hard at times, but it was so fun too.
LikeLike
Candy has been the main dish of many of my meals. I don’t see the problem.
I hope you at least get a participation ribbon. :) Did you at least title your bread loaf something like, “Veronica’s Short Loaf?”
LikeLike
I think I love you Diana! And there’s oatmeal in it right? That’s all fibrous and nutritious! Total meal! ;) I sadly did not title it anything cute or creative like that but next year if I enter anything jacked up, I’ll have to do that to make the judges laugh. hehe
LikeLike
Awwww snot cookies my friend ;)
I love your creations – thank you for making my morning sweet!
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
LikeLike
Glad I could sweeten your morning with the snot sauce cookies! :)
LikeLike
so tomorrow we will know the result? I am sure you won everything! and I want to see more pictures of your beauties! I think you should start a baked goods company and make millions of dollars. that would be just fair. xox
LikeLike
Yes, I’m drafting the post to be scheduled right now. :) I most certainly didn’t win everything but thanks for your confidence in me! <3 I've been thinking about starting to sell baked goods again as we're needing the money…and millions of dollars would certainly come in handy. lol!
LikeLike
Well at least it made for an entertaining blog post. Best of luck to you :)
LikeLike
OMGosh! Thanks for the Laugh.. Too Funny. Lord, I did 3 pies and I thought that was alot. Girl, you are the State Fair Bomb! :) Love It. I can’t wait for the results. Go Team Veronica & Dennis
LikeLike
The state fair bomb! You’re a hoot! I’m going to get a shirt that says that-haha.
LikeLike
Thanks Rhonda! :)
LikeLike
sounds like quite the adventure, veronica! i’ll be back tomorrow to find out what happened :)
LikeLike
I tend to make everything an adventure–it’s the drama Queen in me, but at least things stay exciting. haha
LikeLike
Veronica! It’s funny… I was looking for a site the other day that would list the State Fair results (you know, because the Fair site does not deliver as promised) and your blog popped up in my Google search under my search terms. Then I remembered meeting you in line at check-in. I have to say I am seriously impressed with your motivation and success! And I am also laughing with your stories… Not funny experiences, but you have a way with words! :) Excited to hear how you do!! Best of luck to you!
LikeLike
Oh my goodness, Amanda, I’m so excited to see you here! My hubby actually caught you in that first picture, sitting beside me while we were checking our entries in. And I took a picture of your winning peanut butter cookie-I was so excited for you!!! Congratulations!! I hope that makes you excited enough to enter again next year. It’s fun to try to do better each year.
LikeLike
I see that! I guess I’m famous now? :) Yes, I was so excited! My other two entries did not place, but that gives me something to strive for next year. You did so well, I am so happy for you! But I did not want to give it away to everyone else, I’m not all about spoilers.
LikeLike
Oh good, I’m glad you made it to the fair to witness your cookie in all its glory. And I’m glad you’re excited for next year–I look forward to “competing” each year. I think my favorite part is the criticism, because they give you an idea of how to do better each year. The only thing I refuse to listen to them about is not greasing the sides of my bread pans. Every year, they tell me “DON’T GREASE THE SIDES OF YOUR PAN! The edges will be more tender without it. Just grease the bottom.” Sorry, I tried that once and not only did it NOT make a difference in the texture, the bread stuck and looked so ugly by the time I unstuck it. I don’t know what their issue is on this! lol (That’s prob why my bbread didn’t place-they just got fed up with people greasing the sides of their pans. Arg!) Oh and thanks for not giving any spoilers! :)
LikeLike
I would eat that candy for dinner, for sure. :-)
I can’t wait to hear about the results!! But I also wish I could eat them!
LikeLike
Me too, Sophia. And I was thinking, hey, it has oatmeal in it, so it’s almost like breakfast! lol
LikeLike
The suspense is killing me!!!
LikeLike
It’s up now! :)
LikeLike
You are hilarious. Snot sauce? Hahahahaha. The trials and tribulations of fair fare. I like that you entered the not so perfect items. My mom and I used to go ’round and ’round about entering non-perfect items in the county fair. I usually gave up and entered whatever came out do the oven. That bunt cake looks delicious and I hope you post a recipe. Good luck. (now I’m off to read about the results.)
LikeLike
Anonymous is me. Lol. Haven’t got used to the iPad. :)
LikeLike
Pingback: Kansas State Fair 2012 part 3: You Miss Every Shot You Don’t Take « Veronica's Cornucopia