Rio Grande Valley Cook-off

Today we went to the cook-off.  We arrived about 9:45 a.m. and decided we would be judges in the first entry, which was fajitas.  We sat 5 people to a table.  There was a cache of forks and knives on each table.  There were also crackers, pickles and water.  Our instructions were:  we were each given a sheet of paper with the rules to judging on it.  There was a column of numbers from 1-20.  A man passed a numbered box of sliced beef down the table.  We were to rate the beef according to colour, aroma, and taste.  After we tried one piece we were to rate the beef from 1-10, 10 being the best overall.  We were to eat a cracker or pickle to cleanse our palate of the beef, take a clean fork and then rate box number 2.  We were not to discuss the taste with each other or we would be disqualified.  We had to rate beef from 19 boxes.  Of course, I kept my slices as small as possible as 19 pieces is a lot of beef. 

There were several different judged items.  There were beans, chicken and pork ribs.  Each product was cooked by a team that was sponsored by a business.  It was interesting to walk around the grounds and see the various set-ups.  They were required  to cook with a  wood fire.
 

 

Chicken

Roast Pig

We met our friends, Carol and Bob.

Bob and Carol

We were supposed to go to S. Padre Island and spend the rest of the week end with them, but we decided against it as it is supposed to be chilly on the island tomorrow.  One really likes a hot day to go to the island.

We were up at 6 a.m. as we thought we would have to do some ironing and packing.  It was chilly here in Donna this morning so we emailed Carol and suggested another day there.  As it was it turned into a hot day in Donna with a high of 26C.  But it is supposed to rain on the island tomorrow according to this morning's forecast.

I had my photo taken with Miss Cover Girl, 2013.

We match!

She was gorgeous and very nice.  We had home made ice cream made with this machine.

Ice Cream Maker

And we listened to live music for a bit.  We met friends there from other parks.  It is always good to run into friends.  When we felt we had seen it all, and smelled like B-B-Q meat we made our exit.

Good-bye