State Fair Time
Lena’s Purchase at the Minnesota State Fair
Today I took in all the hot spots at the Minnesota State Fair – via the news coverage. I would have totally wore out my shoes if I had covered all the events in person compared to a close and personal view with the news cameras. I did get into the spirit of fair food goodies by using my old garden butcher knife slicing open a cantaloupe and handing off a spoon for Dennis and one for me. Yup, right there in the backyard we enjoyed the juicy sticky treat.
During the Farmer’s Market season I am reminded on a regular basis of the best buy my Mom ever made at the Minnesota State Fair. In today’s kitchen gadget world it is called a Mandolin. In the early 1950s it was called a food slicer. For decades my Mom used this as a main stay in her kitchen. I was very happy to add this little workhorse to my kitchen. Dennis has sharpened the blade several times and it does wonders on carrots, potatoes, cucumber and onions. The only thing it does not do is protect the user from the flood of tears when doing onions. The notches that set and regulate the thickness of the slices have been worn smooth over the years but a little pressure of the left hand while the right hand whips the produce through makes for saving a lot of time compared to hand slicing. This for sure is one of my favorite things.