One thing that makes the Indiana State Fair different from other state fairs is the venue for demonstrations. In the Pioneer Our Land Pavilion, there’s a stage in front of seating for about 200 people and 100 more standees.

Let me take you through the layout… to the left of the stage is a real, honest-to-goodness operating room for animals. It’s totally enclosed in glass so everything that takes place inside can be seen, not only through the glass, but on television monitors on either side of the stage for close-ups.

To the right of the stage is cockroach racing at “Roachill Downs,” a real racetrack scaled down to the size of the dozen or more real live cockroaches, which themselves measure about 2-inches long with spindly hairy legs and slippery shiny backs. And there are television cameras for their close-ups. Ugh! Gross! Barf!  …but oh how the kids love it.

On the stage in the middle of all this is the table from which I presented my omelet making demonstration. My demo was sandwiched in between the arthroscopic spaying of all manner of dogs and cats, live and in-person by veterinarians from Purdue University dressed in surgical gowns and shown way bigger than life size on the TV monitors, and the “Bug Bowl Cockroach Racing,” prepared by the Entomology Department at Purdue, also televised so you can see their creepy eyes as they round the home stretch of the track.

Happily, the ovary-snipping surgery ended by the time I put my first ladle of eggs into my hot pan. And, happily, the roaches were hidden in their scaled-to-size paddock until I finished my last omelet.

During my omelet demonstration, I prepared about 15 different omelets. Each was cut into 4 or 5 pieces, put on a small plate with a plastic fork and distributed to my audience. And all of the samples got eaten just in time for the opening trumpet at the roach racetrack. Whatta gig!

This is all the truth. I didn’t exaggerate at all. If the pavilion wasn’t air conditioned, I’m sure I’d faint. Can’t wait for next year’s fair!

Here are some pictures I found of Roachill Downs and the fair:

State Fairs celebrate agriculture. With only a few exceptions like Pennsylvania and Florida, the State Fairs happen in late summer or early fall to coincide with the harvests.  Every year I go to at least seven State Fairs. At each of these fairs there’s a venue for demonstrators (most often local restaurant chefs) to prepare a dish using one or more of that state’s agricultural commodities. As I did in Delaware, I always try to create an omelet or demonstrate another egg dish that incorporates one or more of that state’s most notable agricultural products.

All states have their own fair except for the New England states. The New England states combine themselves into one huge fair that they call the Big Exposition – the “Big E” for short — which is held in Springfield, Massachusetts. At the Big E, each New England state has its own pavilion, but they all share a single food demonstration stage. I’ll be there this year demonstrating New England Johnny Cakes, which are essentially cornmeal pancakes. It’s one of my favorite egg dishes to demonstrate because it’s so simple and because it uses maple syrup, one of the area’s major commodities.

A little history: originally they were called Journey Cakes. The story goes that in 17th century New England, settlers began acquainting themselves with the corn the Indians introduced them to. They learned that mixing corn meal with eggs and sugar produced a product that baked quickly, even on campfires, and was perfect for traveling. That’s how they got their Journey Cakes name. I promise that once you try this amazingly easy and totally inexpensive dish (besides eggs its chief ingredient is one of those little boxes of corn muffin mix you buy for a quarter or sometimes 6 for a dollar) it’ll become a permanent fixture in your culinary repertoire.

New England Johnny Cakes
6 eggs
1 box (8-1/2 ounces) corn muffin mix
1 can (8-ounces) whole kernel corn, drained
1 teaspoon cooking oil
Butter and REAL maple syrup

Preheat oven to 300°-F.

In a medium mixing bowl, beat the eggs until foamy.

Stir in the muffin mix until thoroughly blended. Stir in the corn.

Evenly coat a 12-inch non-stick griddle or skillet with the oil (you only need to do this for the first batch). Over medium-high heat, heat the oil until just hot enough to sizzle a drop of water.

For each pancake, spoon a generous tablespoon of the batter onto the griddle or skillet. When bubbles appear at the edges, turn the pancakes over and cook until lightly browned. Transfer the pancakes onto an ovenproof plate and cover it with foil, then put the plate in the oven. Repeat with the remaining batter.

You’ll end up with 10 or 12 3-inch pancakes. Slather them with butter and REAL maple syrup.

Here is an article I posted on the Incredible group on Gather.com this week and it includes one of my favorite recipes – tortilla roll-up. It’s basically an omelet-to-go, and sometimes I call it “eggs with legs.” You can learn how to make this recipe from a video I posted on this blog awhile ago. Be sure to go to http://incredible.gather.com and share your healthy eating stories and recipes!

Tortilla Roll-Up: One of my favorite breakfasts!

Wow – Melissa Green truly is incredible! I was thrilled to see her last week on the last “incredible people” segment on the “Rachael Ray Show,” inspiring kids to eat a healthier breakfast and change their sugar-filled morning routines.

Melissa’s story got me thinking about my favorite ways to start the day. It probably comes as no surprise that I’m a huge fan of a healthy omelet breakfast – after all, I am the “Omelet King.” I thought I would share one of my favorite recipes – a Tortilla Roll-Up! With the addition of a tortilla you suddenly have an omelet to-go, or, as I like to call it, “eggs with legs.”

Tortilla Roll-Up
You can multiply the recipe by as many servings as you need and use 1/2 cup of the egg mixture for each omelet.

Ingredients
• 2 eggs
• 2 tablespoons water
• 1/8 teaspoon salt, optional
• Dash pepper, optional
• Up to 2 cups of fillings of your choice
• 1 large (burrito-sized) flour tortilla
• Cooking spray or 1 teaspoon butter or cooking oil

To prepare the omelet

1. In a pre-heated 10-inch coated pan over medium-high heat, take the tortilla and place in pan for 5 seconds on each side until warmed tortilla is soft and flexible. Place tortilla on plate and set aside.
2. In a small bowl thoroughly beat together the eggs, water and seasoning until well blended.
3. In the warmed pan, heat the butter until it sizzles and distribute it around the pan.
4. Pour in the egg mixture – it should bubble and immediately set at the edges.
5. With a spatula, pull the cooked portion of egg from around the perimeter of the pan towards the center while simultaneously tilting the pan so that the uncooked egg can reach the exposed pan surface. Continue doing this, always keeping the entire bottom of the pan covered with egg, until there is no more runny egg but the egg is still moist on top. This should take about 20-30 seconds.
6. Sprinkle desired fillings over the entire top of the egg – to create a pizza-like omelet.
7. Slide the unfolded omelet onto the tortilla.
8. To roll the tortilla, fold the sides in first and then loosely roll it from back to front. Finally, hold the tortilla tight for a few seconds to secure the wrap’s shape and cut it in half for easy eating.