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William Troxell
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VEGETABLE RECIPE CONTEST
Winners Declared in 2011 Vegetable Recipe Contest
Four Pennsylvania cooks were declared winners in the eighth annual Pennsylvania “Simply Delicious, Simply Nutritious” Vegetable Recipe Contest Cook-Off. Kenneth Ward became the first male first-place-prize winner with his “Colorful Corn Chowder”. First-time finalist Shauna Yorty of Lebanon, won the first place prize in the Snap Bean/Lima Bean/Pea category with her “Shauna’s Super Summer Salad. The other first-place-prize winners were Kathy Rohrbaugh of Shrewsbury and Frances Dietz of York. The Cook Off was held on Friday, August 5, 2011, at the Olewine Center for Culinary Arts at Harrisburg Area Community College, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. George Greig, state Secretary of Agriculture presented the $100 cash prizes to the winners.
Ms. Dietz, a veteran contestant and prize winner in previous years, won the first-place-prize in the Beet/Carrot/Turnip category with her “Roasted Beet and Candied Walnut Salad” which one of the judges described as a “very nice blend of flavors and textures, unique.” Her entry received the highest score of any entry – 36 of a possible 40 points. Ms. Rohrbaugh, also a veteran contestant and prize-winner, won the Broccoli/Cabbage/Cauliflower category with her “Oriental Cabbage Salad” described by one of the judges as “refreshing” and a “nice blend of flavors – sweet with a little heat”.
Mr. Ward, a second-year finalist, won the Sweet Corn category with his “Colorful Corn Chowder” that featured carrots, potatoes, red bell peppers, onions and bacon along with the corn. Ms. Yorty’s salad included snow peas, carrots, zucchini, raisins and couscous with a poppy seed dressing – a winning combination of “great flavors” that produced a “nice and refreshing salad” according to one of the judges.
Four finalists in each category completed for the top prizes. Judges choose the finalist recipes for the Cook-Off from 66 written recipe entries submitted by 30 cooks from across the state. Recipes were scored on the basis of four criteria: creativity, nutrition/healthfulness, ease of preparation, and overall appeal. Recipe entries had to contain as a major ingredient at least one vegetable in the category. Recipes were required to be created or modified by the contestant or a member of the contestant’s family.
The other recipes prepared by the finalists at the Cook-Off are listed below. All the finalist recipes are available on the Vegetable Marketing and Research Program’s on our recipe pages or by sending a self-addressed, stamped envelope to the Program at :
PA Vegetable Mktg. & Res. Program, 815 Middle Road, Richfield, PA 17086.
Broccoli/Cabbage/Cauliflower
Broccoli, Cauliflower, Smoked Turkey and Orzo Salad – Cindy Kerschner, Schnecksville
African (Ethiopian) Cabbage Stew – B.J. Reed, Chambersburg
Fruited and Curried Cole Slaw – Frances Dietz, York
Snap Beans/Lima Beans/Peas
Snap Beans with Pancetta and Roasted Garlic – Deb Lyon, Bangor
Snap Bean Salad – Mary Ann Deeble, Tamaqua
Pittsburgh Peas and Noodles – Jennifer Bornes, Mechanicsburg
Sweet Corn
Three Sisters Succotash – Kathy Rohrbaugh, Shrewsbury
Spicy Corn Salsa – Bonnie Mortimer, Mount Pleasant
Healthy Fettuccini Alfredo – Deb Lyon, Bangor
Beets/Carrots/Turnips
My Yarden Salad – Shauna Yorty, Lebanon
Red Beet, Barley and Mozzarella Salad – Cindy Kerschner, Schnecksville
Orange-Maple Roasted Carrots – Becky Frey, Lebanon
These finalists each received a $25 gift certificate to the farm market of their choice.
Judges for the contest were:
Linda Anderson, family and consumer sciences teacher in the Allentown School District
Autumn Patti, chef instructor at Harrisburg Area Community College
Debbie Gregory, extension educator, Penn State Cooperative Extension, Huntington County
Kyle Nagurny, chocolate lab manager at The Hershey Story and cookbook author
The Vegetable Recipe Contest is sponsored annually by the Pennsylvania Vegetable Marketing and Research Program, a marketing order for vegetable growers under the state Department of Agriculture. Growers pay annual assessments to the Program to promote Pennsylvania-grown vegetables and to fund practical vegetable production research at Penn State and other universities. The Vegetable Recipe Contest is designed to generate creative new recipes for consumers to use to enjoy “Simply Delicious, Simply Nutritious” Pennsylvania vegetables. The finalist recipes for the previous years’ contests are also posted on our recipe pages.