Calling All 4-H Cooks!      With the coming of the autumn season, youth in the 4-H Foods Project turn their thoughts to the county 4-H Food Show.  The project started in the summer with a field trip to Mary Puddin' Hill to tour the candy and fruit cake kitchens, followed by a community service project to fill backpacks for Hopkins County Community Action Network.  The 4-H Foods Project group prepared desserts for the annual 4-H Achievement Banquet (lots of them!) and received rave reviews from attendees.  They also had the opportunity to participate in the Kids Cook at the Market workshops held once a month during the Farmers' Market.  Now, it time to focus on the County 4-H Food Show.  Each year, 4-H'ers from across the county awe the judges with their delectable dishes and their knowledge of the preparation techniques.     

The Hopkins County 4-H Food Show is scheduled for Saturday, November 13, at the Texas AgriLife Extension Office in Sulphur Springs.  Starting time is 2:00 p.m.  Here's how it works: 1)  Select a recipe from one of the following categories: Main Dish, Nutritious Snack, Fruits & Vegetables, Breads 2)  Fill out a simple project/entry form and return it to the Extension office by 5:00 p.m., November 10. 3)  Study the questions that you will receive with your project form. 4)  Practice making your dish. 5)  On the day of the contest, bring your completed dish to the Extension office and sign in. Judging will begin at approximately 2:15 p.m.  There will be a panel of judges who will ask you some questions about your dish, but they will not sample it (that part comes later!)     

Following the judging process, we will have an awards ceremony, and recognition of all participants, leaders, and parents.  Then, the fun starts - everybody will sample all the dishes brought by the 4-H Food Show participants!  We will have refrigeration and an oven to keep the foods at a safe temperature until time for the tasting bee.          If the Food Show doesn't spark an interest, the 4-H Food Challenge is also being offered.  This is a relatively new contest where a team of four participants are given a list of ingredients and the cost of each ingredient.  They must come up with a dish using those ingredients and determine the cost per serving.  The group prepares a presentation to tell the nutrients and steps they used in preparing the dish.  It is similar to Iron Chef because the team comes up with their own recipe.  This is a fun contest and is open to all three age groups.     

Junior, Intermediate, and Senior participants who score the highest in each category and contest will advance to the District 4-H Food Show to be held at Texas A&M-Commerce, in early 2011.     

Any youth who would like to participate in this fun event are encouraged to contact the Extension Office for the entry forms.  You must enroll in 4-H in order to participate, but there is no charge to join - only lots of good experiences!  Contact our office at 903-885-3443 for more information.   Caption:  Youth at the October "Kids Bake at the Market" receive hands-on fun in preparing Pumpkin Muffins and Apple Cinnamon Muffins.     

Johanna Hicks
Texas AgriLife Extension Service - Hopkins County
Extension Agent - Family & Consumer Sciences
1200-B W. Houston Street
Sulphur Springs, TX 75482 Phone: 903-885-3443
Fax: 903-439-4909
e-mail: jshicks@ag.tamu.edu

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