FOOD TRUCK FEST AT THE VALLEYFAIR

We were at the ValleyFair once again this Summer for their Food Truck Festival about a week ago. We always have a great time there so it's a pleasure to visit every time. Ian gets very excited about the rides for the kids,which I think is plenty and non scary. His highlight of every trip to the ValleyFair is the big train ride. It goes through the entire fair and is so soothing especially if it had been a hot day. It was Zarakutty's first toy train ride!

We really enjoyed the Cinnamon Waffles (so buttery!) by the Nordic Waffle. They had a variety of combinations and served waffles like a sandwich. Sometimes we tend to buy the most basic flavour choice because if they can get the basic one right, then the other ones should be really good! Ian pretty much ate the entire waffle by himself. We also tried out other food trucks which sold delicious steak served on smashed red potatoes, awesome fried rice, fried shrimp etc.

It was our first time attending the Food Truck Festival at the ValleyFair. We love to eat out and we eat out quite a bit at food trucks during Summer. The food did not disappoint and Ian had such a blast gorging on some delicious organic frozen yogurt with all the toppings he could get his hands on. I do not have a picture of that one because it was the time Zara decided to dig in as well. Two kids,one big bowl of frozen yogurt and a camera is not the best combination! I also really liked the fact that this was right before Father's Day...Jobin and the kids got to spend some quality time together with each other.

This post is sponsored by Blog Meets Brand and Cedar Fair but all opinions expressed here are my own.

AN EVENING AT THE VALLEYFAIR

We were at the ValleyFair twice last year and enjoyed every minute we spent there. So naturally,when Jobin & I got a chance to visit again,we happily grabbed the offer! It was for an Adult Night just before the Memorial Day weekend from 7 pm -11 pm. It simply meant that the park was off limits for anyone below 18 years of age at that time. Select rides (like crazy scary!) were open for us and we could go on it as many times as we wanted to. The craziest thing was actually getting to the ValleyFair.

You would think that I am exaggerating when I tell you that the traffic backup for was close to 2 miles. When we finally parked our car, the sun had set. The park was well lit up in various colours and I must say I did miss bringing Ian along with us. He had a ball of a time there last year. Since we had entry passes to the ValleyFair, we did not have to stand in the longest of the longest queue that I've seen my entire life!

Just like last year, the Hotdish & Hops event was scheduled to happen the next day so we got a preview of it. There was a wide range of Hotdish availabe for sampling right from my favourite Green Bean Casserole to S'mores. The sample size were so generous that we were literally filled all the way up to our nose by the time we were done. The timing was so perfect that it began to drizzle as we were leaving the park. There was no way that I would have been able to run back to the car with a stomach full of delicious food that I just ate at the ValleyFair!

This post is sponsored by Blog Meets Brand and Cedar Fair but all opinions expressed here are my own.

CORN FEAST!

Long weekends usually call for lots of food and drinks! This past Labor Day was no different. We went to the Valleyfair once again and took part in the 40th Annual Green Giant Corn Feast happening there.We love corn and didn't think twice about standing in the line to eat the freshly cooked buttery corn sprinkled with lots of lemon pepper! The stalls were giving out 30,000 pounds of fresh corn to the park visitors and the lines were growing by the minute!

Ian loves going to such fairs where there is fun and food involved. The weather was perfect, cloudy but not hot. So we sat down by the stage with the piping hot buttery corn and listened to the live music performed by local band Restoration Revue. After that,we took Ian for all the rides the little ones could ride on! He was so excited all throughout and couldn't decide which ride he should go on next! Appan & Amma are visiting and they found the caricature stall quite exciting and got a colour caricature done. It was really a lovely day,well spent with the people we love!

There will be a lot really fun events happening at the Valleyfair this fall,perfect for families & foodies alike, so keep your eyes peeled open for it! You can get more details regarding them here!

This post is sponsored by Cedar Fair Entertainment Company and all opinions are my own.

A DAY AT THE VALLEYFAIR

Our life right now is so busy that there are days when Jobin & myself don't see each other for more than a minute and I am not exaggerating.  We don't have anytime for get togethers, meetups, day outs...nothing. It's mostly my schedule at Hyatt. Jobin has a pretty 9-5 job where as mine is so not like that! I am not even home over the weekends. In between all this, Jobin is studying and he travels to New York for his school and there has been many official India trips for him this year. Finally, among this crazy schedule, we took some time off on Fathers Day to pay a visit to the Valleyfair.

Whilst we were there, we attended a 'Hotdish & Hops' food event. Basically,there were many stalls sampling different types of Hotdish (a.k.a Casserole) & beer. We decided to go for it and tasted some of them.There was a live band perfoming while the event was on. It was very hot that day and Ian wanted to go for a train ride that he had been eyeing ever since we entered the fair grounds. I should say that train ride was a calming one. We just sat down and enjoyed the hot yet fairly cool breeze while the train took us around the whole fair (and tunnels, much to Ian's excitement!).

We came back home sweaty and sticky,something that I have rarely experienced here but very happy that we could spend some quality time together as a family! I hope we get more such days together before our Summer is over,which is usually very short! If you live in Minnesota and would like to make a trip to the Valleyfair, here's the link to the various events happening this Summer & Fall.

VIP FOOD BLOGGER MEET aka BIG BANANA NIGHT!

It's time for the Minnesota Food Blogger's meet once again! The wonderful VIP Food Blogger meet was sponsored by DOLE Bananas and hosted by Caribe Caribbean Bistro & Shaina of Food For My Family. I knew I was going to have fun and I was not wrong! I mean, a group of food bloggers and good food, the room can never be quiet!

Since it was sponsored by DOLE bananas, everything had a touch of banana in it, starting from the Grilled Bananas to the  Banana Spritzer below, which I have to mention was fantastic!

Here's the menu for you guys. Trust me, every single thing on that menu was just awesome!

It was such a wonderful evening! The food was so good...the dessert (Banana Coconut Rum Creme Brulee) blew our minds away! Some of us actually licked the bowl clean! Yes, really! It was that good!

Now I'm waiting for the next get together! :-)

CINNAMON ROLLS...tops my current fave list!

I've always complained about American goodies having a lot of Cinnamon sprinkled on them. Whatever I pick to eat, it has cinnamon. Whatever I order to drink, they sprinkle cinnamon over it. I used to tell Jobin it was one of the most misused spice here and there was a phase that I just couldn't bear it anymore.I used to frown at anything with Cinnamon in it, except for when it is used in Indian cooking,which is subtle.

2 weeks ago, we had gone to a lovely cold place called Duluth and on the way we stopped by Tobies ,a restaurant cum bakery in Hinckley,MN. We were told by a person in church that they are the best place to stop for brekky and that they also sell Cinnamon Rolls and Caramel Rolls if we needed a quick grab. I frowned again. Too much Cinnamon, I say! Anyhow, we reached there and I was bowled over by their food! It was so old-fashioned.The waitresses were all 80+ and they were so kind and the entire restaurant was filled with the aroma of freshly baked breads, rolls, cookies, cakes and deep fried doughnuts! I was immediately transported to the Enid Blyton's Famous Five Era...all those homemade stuff she mentioned in her books had me drooling all these years, even today!

On the way back, we stopped at Tobies once again for a late lunch. I couldn't hold on to it anymore, I had to taste some of their baked stuff.When I went to the counter, I could see a long line of waiting customers who came to buy their Cinnamom Rolls and I thought,' Now what's with this Cinnamon Rolls everywhere?Maybe these people like the strong Cinnamon flavour because they must have grown with it!'.

Anyhow, the foodie in me persuaded me to go join that line to buy their famous Cinnamon Rolls. I was so hesitant to take a bite thinking I might end up having a headache...but boy! I was proved SO wrong! They were so so good that me and Jobin were literally fighting over that one roll. It got over even before we got onto the highway!

From that day on, it haunted me...Cinnamon was sprinkled over my dreams too! I had to make it somehow and the other day, I finally did.I'm so glad that  I have a recipe now to look upto when I crave for these yummy rolls.

SINFUL CINNAMON ROLLS
Recipe source: All Recipes

Ingredients:
1/2 c milk
1/2 c water
2 tbsp butter
3/4 tsp salt
3 c all purpose flour
2 1/4 tsp yeast
1/4 c sugar
1 egg


3 tbsp butter, melted
3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/3 c sugar 

• 
  
• For the frosting:
• 1 c powdered sugar
• 1 1/2 tbsp melted butter
• 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 tbsp milk
• 
  

Method:
In a saucepan , heat milk,water and butter till very warm.
Mix together the dry ingredients and break the egg into it. Pour the milk mixture and stir to form a sticky dough. You can just break up the egg while you mix everything together. Let it rest till the dough doubles in bulk (about an hour or so).
Punch down the dough and roll it out into a rectangle (keeping it parallel to the counter edge) on a floured surface. It will be a long rectangle and that's how we want.
Mix together the cinnamon and sugar.
Pour the melted butter over the rolled out dough and spread it out using your fingers. Slather it!
Sprinkle over the cinnamon sugar,evenly.
Roll the dough in a jelly/jam roll fashion from the longer side towards you.Pinch the ends together. Cut them into circles and lay them flat on an 8"square baking tray.Let it rise for 45 mins or almost doubled.
Pre-heat the oven to 375 F and bake the rolls until golden, 20-25 mins.
Meanwhile make the frosting by mixing all the ingredients together.
Once the rolls are baked and are out of the oven, let it cool for 10 mins. Pour the frosting over it.
Enjoy!

Verdict: My fingers,toes and eyes were crossed when I was making it because I really wanted to replicate that same thing in my house.I didn't eat the first one, I made Jobin eat it and hear what he had to say. I was standing by his side and pestering him to tell me if it tastes like Tobies and he said ' Athinte ezhu aiylokkathu koodi poyitilla'! (it has not even gone anywhere close to it).
Then he smiled and said,'It's good!'. I was a happy girl! When I had mine, I wanted that fresh out of the oven feeling, so I microwaved it for 15 seconds and boy! It was really really good!!

Try it if you have tasted one before and liked it.Try it if you have never tasted one before but always wanted to.Just simply try it, you will like it for sure!

I must mention that your house will smell like a bakery when you bake these soft,delicious cinnamon rolls!
These rolls are Yeastspotted!