Fisher Fair Scones

Fisher Fair Scones...a classic Walker family tradition and let's be honest, my sole reason for attending the county fair. The fair has always been an important family tradition. Some of my earliest memories from my childhood include going to the Kitsap County Fair.

First off, we had to enter something into the fair to get free admission. One year, I entered placemats, another peanut butter cookies and surprisingly, one year I won a Grand Prize ribbon for my vegetable figure (in case you're having trouble picturing it, imagine a Mr. Potato Head like guy made solely out of veggies)...must not have been much competition in that category!

My mom also used to bake brownies to serve at the Young Life BBQ Beef Booth. This was another favorite of mine, because I would get to "taste" some of the brownie batter and any scraps of the finished product that didn't find their way into plastic bags to sell. YUM! The YL Booth was our chosen lunch spot due to the delish sandwiches and corn on the cob. My mouth is watering just thinking about that meal :)

Then we always made our way to the livestock. When your Mom grew up on a Dairy Farm it is a must to visit the Holsteins. I enjoyed the cows, but LOVED the horses. I remember being jealous of all the girls showing off their 4-H horses. I think I typically ended a visit with a request to move out into the country so that we could raise horses.

Finally, our trip was not complete without a trip to the Fisher Fair Scone trailer. What goes on in that trailer is pure magic! I don't know how they do it in such a small space, but the cutest little Grandpas and Grandmas bake up the most incredibly delicious, melt in your mouth scones slathered with butter and homemade raspberry jam. They are most perfectly browned on top and bottom, while being warm and soft inside. Every, year I would savor one, two, maybe even 3 scones...depending on how many days I made it to the fair. One year I remember buying a whole dozen to share with family over the next few days.

There really is nothing more comforting than a hot, fresh out of the oven scone. One day this past week, I went to bed in a somewhat sour mood and woke up thinking that the only way to brighten my day would be to fix up a batch of Fisher Fair Scones...and it's true, they never fail me.

While you can buy the Scone Mix at stores in the Northwest, I haven't seen them down here in California. The recipe below is one that I found online and tweaked a bit. It's a pretty accurate replica of the original! Enjoy!

Embroidery and Family

This past summer my Mom and I drove out to South Dakota to visit family. I was amazed by our  road-tripping skills, such as, sleeping at rest stops in the middle of the night for three hours, playing putt-putt, drinking milkshakes at an old school diner, and efficiently packing the cooler with sandwich fixin's and veggies (there were a few unhealthy snacks too) :) We were a fabulous team taking turns behind the wheel, while the other navigated and played DJ (aka chose which audiobook to listen to next).

The 2 1/2 day drive was well-worth the quality time spent with my Grandma, Uncle and his family. I loved being back at the farmhouse that is filled with memories from the time spent there as a child: sleeping in my mom's old bedroom, watching lightening strike the yard, be-friending the kittens (by bribing them with fresh milk and bacon fat), exploring the old barn, baking yummy goodies, taco pizza from pizza ranch...It's a little different now that I'm older, but I still enjoying fixing a fresh cup of tea or coffee and sitting down at the table to chat about whatever comes to mind. The conversations are what I value the most...especially the stories surrounding my Grandma's life....she just celebrated a birthday this past June and has so many experiences and wisdom to share from her last 90 years.

As we all get a little bit older, the roles begin to shift. My mom and I take over most of the cooking and cleaning, while Grandma sits in her chair by the table folding plastic grocery bags :) I love being able to serve her in these small ways. We also were able to put a fresh coat of paint on the kitchen and dining room walls, giving the space a fresh and bright look/feel. Another highlight was the fact that my Grandma used my Nook to read The Help...she LOVED using it! Too bad she isn't technologically savvy enough to operate her own (downloading books, etc). I've also become a crafter of sorts and enjoyed browsing the attic for treasures. I walked away with a bag of fabric for a scrap quilt and some embroidery fabric stamps, which I most recently used to make dish towels for my mom for Christmas! (Now I'm thinking about making some to sell on Etsy???)

I cherish time spent with family, especially my grandparents. It was a tremendous blessing to be able to love and serve my Grandma for those 10 days.

Enjoy the slideshow of pictures that I think capture the essence of my Grandma's farm!

When life hands you lemons...make lemon bars!

I'm a little embarrassed to say, but yes, this is the second time this week that I have made lemon bars. However, the second time was more social in nature because I was able to teach my friend Jen, over at The Arizona Russums, a thing or two about baking :)

First of all, I grew up loving my Aunt Pam's lemon bars. Occasionally, she would bring them to family gatherings and I would always over-indulge. In fact, I'm pretty sure I've specifically requested them for parties/gatherings. Her lemon bars had the perfect ratio of shortbread crust to lemony goodness.

Recently, I tried Ina Garten's lemon bar recipe. I typically love anything that Ina makes, but her lemon bars fell short. The lemony goodness (I don't really know what else to call it...the topping?) was too thick and gooey, almost like the filling in a lemon jelly donut. So I went to one of my most visited cooking blogs, Smitten Kitchen for help and I was not disappointed. She too, had tried Ina's recipe and also wasn't a huge fan of the proportions. Lucky for me, she had posted her revisions which decreased the amount of topping to an almost 1:1 ratio. You can find the recipe over at her blog or down below with a few of my added tips.

_________________________________________________________________________________

Lemon Bars
Adapted from The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook

These are bold and tart lemon bars, ones I feel are best in smaller doses than Ina Garten suggests. I’ve made a few changes to the recipe–increased the salt in the crust, reduced the sugar in the lemon filling and an encouragement to grease your pan, as mine were all but cemented into their non-stick pan. For those of you who like the 1:1 crust to lemon layer ratio, use the second option (Smitten Kitchen alterations).

For the crust: 
1/2 pound unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 cups flour
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt

For the full-size lemon layer: 

6 extra-large eggs at room temperature
2 1/2 cups granulated sugar
2 tablespoons grated lemon zest (4 to 6 lemons)
1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 cup flour

Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting

[Or] for a thinner lemon layer: (this is the topping that I prefer)

4 extra-large eggs at room temperature
1 2/3 cups granulated sugar
1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest (3 to 4 lemons)
2/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
2/3 cup flour

Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting

Preheat the oven to 350°F and grease a 9 by 13 by 2-inch baking sheet.

For the crust, cream the butter and sugar until light in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Combine the flour and salt and, with the mixer on low, add to the butter until just mixed. Dump the dough onto a well-floured board and gather into a ball. Flatten the dough with floured hands and press it into the greased baking sheet (I greased the baking sheet and then lined with parchment paper to ensure sticking was not a problem), building up a 1/2-inch edge on all sides. Chill.

Bake the crust for 15 to 20 minutes, until very lightly browned. Let cool on a wire rack. Leave the oven on.

For the lemon layer, whisk together the eggs, sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice, and flour. Pour over the crust and bake for 30 to 35 minutes (I baked the thinner topping for 20 min), or about five minutes beyond the point where the filling is set. Let cool to room temperature.

Cut into rectangles and dust with confectioners’ sugar.

_________________________________________________________________________________

The stars of this dessert are the fresh California lemons...I have a few leftover, but think I'm going to freeze the juice to use at a later date :)

While Jen's lemon tree wasn't quite producing fruit, this orange tree was in full bloom!