There has been a lot going on at the State Fair since I first went down on Friday—much of it has involved my sweating all over myself as the temperatures hover in the ‘90s.  The News Journal says that many people are coming at night this year in order to avoid the heat.  That may be true, but I have always thought there is something a little creepy about having a politician come up on you in the dark, so I have confined most of my politicking to daylight hours.

One major discovery that I wanted to bring to your attention.  Yesterday, Chad Robinson, a friend who I have dubbed the Prince of the Fair, and Donna Johnson, who knows so many people there I may have to give her a title as well, were taking me around to meet some of the many Delawareans who were showing animals and working at booths.  I said to Chad “what are we doing after this?”  He said “We are going over to a picnic that Abby Betts and her parents are throwing for a bunch of people in the grove.”  “Awesome,” I said, “what’s for dinner?”  “Boiled cabbage and ham,” the Prince of the Fair replied.

From the moment we had this conversation until the moment I sat down next to Senator Nancy Cook with my plate, I had a deep sense of foreboding.  Because when someone says to me “Matt, it’s over 90 degrees, what would you like to eat for your outdoor picnic tonight?” the response “boiled cabbage” would not have been in my top 1000.  But ladies and gentlemen, I am here to tell you this morning that boiled cabbage (topped, as I was instructed, with vinegar) is outstanding.  I ate every last bite, and might have had seconds if the Betts clan hadn’t decided to make my corner of the picnic table the resting spot for all of their homemade desserts.  If we could just figure out how to deep-fry the boiled cabbage, it might challenge corn dogs as my favorite State Fair food.