It’s really a very good thing that the Island County Fair comes around but once a year, because it often results in unexpected circumstances with long-term consequences.

Ever since they were very small, two granddaughters have attended the fair with me. This should not, in itself, be cause for any concern, only fun. But one year, when the Barnyard Scramble was still going on, they caught a rooster. They traded the rooster for a small, sweet bunny rabbit they quickly named Miss Buns, and took home to Everett. It grew, and grew, and grew and became the rabbit from Hades, aggressive and difficult to handle.

She terrorized every kid in the neighborhood until finally, one fateful afternoon, she took on a visiting raccoon, and lost the fight.

There were a couple of other, quieter rabbits after Miss Buns, and then along came a guinea pig named Harley, also a “prize” from the fair.

Harley was a sweet-tempered piggy, causing little trouble during the day, which is when he slept. Trouble was, Harley was a nocturnal guinea pig, coming to life about midnight every night and tearing around his cage as though demented. His squealing and scrabbling kept everyone awake, until finally his roomy cage had to be moved to the garage, displacing some of the girls’ dad’s shop space. Harley lived to a ripe old age, giving up his ghost less than a year ago. The girls were rather hoping to go home with another Harley this year, a hope not shared by their family.

Miss Buns and Harley were nothing, however, compared to the fearsome animal residing in the girls’ living room right now, in a huge cage, another “gift” from a previous fair.

One of the girls won the beast several years ago, while wandering past the games on the midway.

I told her not to play the coin toss game, that she’d never win and it would be a waste of her money, but it was her money and she played anyway. And won. And took home a lively green iguana, about eight inches long. Not a stuffed animal.

Phoebe, so named when they thought he was a girl, is now three feet long, with a large, menacing mouth, a lashing tail, dangerous claws and a crest on his head that he can raise or lower depending upon his mood. And his mood is usually bad. He lives on vegetables and fruit, and occasionally escapes from his cage, causing panic in the three resident cats.

When Phoebe escapes, he climbs the drapes, leaps from one piece of furniture to another and creates havoc until someone throws a blanket over him, and he’s returned to his habitat.

Would the girls be happy if he went to live in a zoo instead of their living room? No; Phoebe is family, and you don’t give family members away no matter how difficult they become.

But every year, when it’s fair time, I think of Miss Buns, Harley and Phoebe, and when the fair is finally over and the girls return home, without an animal of any kind, I breathe a huge sigh of relief.

I hope all of you enjoyed the fair as much as we did this year.

RECIPES

There’s another reason to be happy the fair is a once-a-year-only affair, and that’s my love of curly fries, fried onions, elephant ears and ice cream bars covered with chocolate and nuts. I tell myself it’s only once a year, and indulge in all of them. The girls, however, head immediately for a corn dog. I tried to tell them they can make corn dogs at home whenever they like, but they’d have none of it. I’m sending them this recipe nevertheless.

CORN DOGS

1 cup corn meal

1 cup flour

2 t. kosher salt

1 t. baking powder

¼ t. baking soda

½ t. cayenne pepper (or to taste)

1 can (8 oz.) cream style corn

1/3 cup finely grated onion

1½ cups buttermilk

4 T. cornstarch, for dredging

1 gallon vegetable oil, for frying

8 large beef hot dogs

Place oil in deep fryer and heat to 375 degrees.

Combine first 6 ingredients (dry ingredients) in a bowl. In another large bowl, combine the creamed corn, onion and buttermilk. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix just until combined. There may be lumps; it’s OK. Allow batter to rest for 10 min.

Spread cornstarch in a shallow pan. Roll each hot dog in the cornstarch and tap off excess. Insert a chopstick in each hot dog.

Transfer batter to a large drinking glass and dip each hot dog in and out of the batter (refill glass as necessary) and then carefully put in the oil in the deep fryer. Cook until golden brown, 4-5 min. Use tongs to remove dogs to a rack to drain for 3-5 min., then they’re ready to eat.

As for the fried onions, when Walla Walla onions are so readily available and relatively inexpensive, we can’t resist fried onion rings, ½ once in awhile. This recipe takes onion rings one step further, adding an interesting twist.

FRIED MANCHEGO ONION RINGS

2 large eggs, beaten

1 cup milk

1 large Walla Walla onion, thinly sliced

1½ cups flour

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1 cup grated Manchego cheese (or use cheese of your choice; another good one is Asiago)

Canola or peanut oil, for frying

In a bowl, whisk together the eggs and milk. Toss in the onion and allow it to sit for 30 min.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a large bowl, season the flour with salt and pepper. Pour an inch of oil in a deep skillet and heat to 350 degrees.

Lift onions out of milk mixture and toss them in the flour mixture. Fry in batches in the hot oil until golden brown. Transfer to paper towels to drain. Place onions in a casserole dish, sprinke with cheese and bake for 10 min. Serve immediately. Serves 4.

And finally, while I do love curly fries, I prefer something less ponderous and a lot easier when I have a craving for crispy thin potatoes at home.

BISTRO FRENCH FRIES

4 med. russet potatoes, unpeeled

2 T. canola oil

¼ cup chopped fresh parsley

2 garlic cloves, minced

Coarse salt

Cut potatoes lengthwise into 1/3-inch slices, then cut lengthwise into 1/3-inch wide strips. Pat strips dry with paper towels.

Combine potatoes and oil in a large bowl; toss to coat well. Divide potatoes between 2 large baking sheets, spread in a single layer. Bake in a preheated 425-degree oven in center of the oven until potatoes are a deep golden brown, about 40 min. Turn and rearrange potatoes frequently.

Transfer potatoes to a bowl; toss with parsley, garlic and coarse salt.