Joy of Small Town Life

I love small towns.  I love how friendly people are, and how they take pride in the place that they live.  I love how they can get together for something like the Pioneer Machinery show and everyone has a great time!

Phil had to work last Sunday, so I went to the Pioneer Machinery show alone.  There were tons of old tractors that had been restored, and old cars and trucks.

There was a free pancake breakfast , in which I didn’t partake;  I was saving myself for the funnel cake.  There was a parade and a tractor pull.

The parade gave you an opportunity to see these tractors in action!

I met this wonderful couple that was sitting behind me.

Elmer and Marsha

We got to talking and I told Marsha how much I loved baking bread. She said that there was going to be a demonstration of stone ground wheat flour and asked if I wanted to go with her to see it.  Of course, I said yes! We wandered over to where this man had a tractor pulley system going.

The gentleman that was running this had only one arm but he got along very well.

The wheat is placed into the big funnel, is ground up, and comes out into this wooden wagon,

Finished Product

Marsha bought me a bag of flour, so I promised her that I would bake her a loaf of bread and bring it to her.

I also watched a tractor pull.  This was this young man’s first tractor pull.  He is only ten years old.

He did an awesome job!

It really was a great day!

When I got to work one day this week I had flowers waiting for me.

Red, one of the guys that Phil works with, sent me flowers for fixing dinner for him.  They are really beautiful!

The local Sheriff’s Department is right across the street from us, so I baked them cookies and took them to them.  Those guys are never usually appreciated unless they are needed, so I wanted to show them that we appreciate them.

They also come into the Pitstop for lunch.  Thursday I made Crab Wontons, or Crab Ragoons, as some people call them, and cooked them at work.  They had a sample.

The girls and I had them for lunch and they were a big hit!

My recipes is super easy, though a bit time consuming.  But, they’re worth it!

Crab Rangoon

INGREDIENTS:

• 8 ounces cream cheese
• 1 package classic imitation crab meat
• Dash Lemon juice
• Dash sugar
• 1 green onion, finely sliced
• 1 package won ton wrappers
• 1 small bowl water
• Oil for deep-frying, as needed

PREPARATION:

Combine the cream cheese and crab meat.  Mix in the remaining filling ingredients (up to the wonton wrappers) one at a time.
On a flat surface, lay out a won ton wrapper in front of you so that it forms two triangles (not a square).

Wet the edges of the won ton.  Add one teaspoon of filling to the middle, and spread it out toward the left and right points of the wrapper so that it forms a log or rectangular shape (otherwise the wrapper may break in the middle during deep-frying).  Fold over the edges of the wrapper to make a triangle.  Wet the edges with water and press together to seal.

Keep the completed Crab Rangoon covered with a damp towel or paper towel to keep them from drying out while preparing the remainder.

Heat wok and add oil for deep-frying.  When the oil is ready (the temperature should be between 360 to 375 degrees), carefully slide in the Crab Rangoon, taking care not to overcrowd the wok.  Deep-fry until they are golden brown, about three minutes, turning once. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain.

I won a couple of contests this week.

 And a Scentsy Warmer

 

I also bought a portable ice maker that I’m really excited about.  We buy so much meat that there is never any room in the freezer for ice trays or bags of ice, and at home our icemaker is broken, so finding this portable ice maker seemed just the solution.

It makes three sizes of ice and doesn’t use a water drain.  You just plug it in, fill the water reservoir, and in about fifteen minutes, you have ice.

So far it works very well and now I can have frozen Starbucks Frappuccino anytime I want.

I also started another blog. This one is to do my book and movie reviews. You can check it out here.Chick that Loves Flick and Books

Yesterday we were slammed at work. There was a football tournament and a craft show. Several bake sales and rummage sales. So lots of people were out and they all wanted ice cream!

Deb made me feel  good though, she told me that I was really fast and that I kept up better than some of the girls that had been working there a long time. I was worn out though by the time I got off at 4.

So that was my week. This coming week I have a doctor’s appointment and I’m suppose to be off Tuesday, so hopefully I’ll be able to get some photography done this week.