Garlic Recipes Streaming In
More than 300 recipes have streamed in from across North America for the Garlic Festival’s annual recipe contest.
Festival organizers had a May 10 deadline for entering the contest, which carries a first-place prize of $1,000. The 29th annual Gilroy Garlic Festival has drawn quite a few recipes that will make the mouth water, according to Barbara DeLorenzo, chair of the Garlic Festival Association committee that organizes the cook-off.
Recipes run the gamut this year from the exotic (“Cedar plank spicy red snapper over Gazpacho salad with creamy tomato garlic vinaigrette”) to the mundane (“Pork and Bean Soup”), DeLorenzo said.
The four-person committee in charge of the contest will spend coming days narrowing the field of entries to about 40 recipes. Those are then passed on for review to Wendy Brodie, a former restaurateur and host of a PBS show called the Art of Food TV. The eight finalists selected by Brodie will prepare their dishes before a panel of celebrity judges at the Garlic Festival Cook-Off stage. The event, a highlight of the festival that takes place each year on the last weekend of July, is often featured on the Food Network and draws scores of onlookers to the stands.
Jennifer Malfas, who won the competition last year with her first-ever entry in a cooking contest (“Oh Baby Prosciutto-Wrapped Roasted Garlic Feta and Rosemary Stuffed ‘Bellas”), said contestants shouldn’t worry too much about stage fright.
The list of eight finalists will be announced in mid-June. Though only one recipe can win, none of the top eight go home empty handed. The nonprofit Garlic Festival Association awards $750 to the second place finisher, $500 to third place, and $100 each to the remaining finalists. Also, all the contestant’s recipes will be featured in the Garlic Festival’s annual cookbook.
This year’s Garlic Festival takes place July 27 to 29. To learn more about the contest and the festival, visit www.gilroygarlicfestival.com.
Student Hit in Crosswalk
An El Toro Elementary student was hit in a crosswalk in front of the school on May 8 at approximately 7:46am as he was going to school, but fortunately was not seriously injured.
According to reports from the driver, Vu Kim, 34, of Morgan Hill, and witnesses, it appeared the child ran into the vehicle as Kim was making a left turn at the intersection of East Main Avenue and Calle Mazatan.
Paramedics and an ambulance responded to the scene, along with Morgan Hill Police Department officers to direct traffic and take the accident report.
The boy had minor abrasions and was not transported by ambulance to the hospital.
The incident is a reminder for parents and others to drive safely near schools, said MHPD Cmdr. David Swing.
“When you have a situation like this, an accident involving a child, we all need to pause and think about how we are driving, certainly how we are driving around a school,” he said. “We need to be aware, be alert and drive responsibly, obeying the 25mph speed limit. We’re certainly grateful no one was injured. It doesn’t take much. If you change the timeline by second or two, it could have been very serious.
San Martin Residents Urged to Attend Incorporation Workshop
The regional land-use agency processing San Martin’s incorporation bid will hold a public workshop at 6:30pm, Thursday at the Lions Club Hall, 12415 Murphy Ave. to explain proposed boundaries and legal requirements of becoming a city.
All residents of San Martin are encouraged to attend the free event designed to spread awareness of the incorporation process. Santa Clara County departments providing services to the area and representatives from the cities of Morgan Hill and Gilroy will also attend.
“It’s really a kick off for the next year’s worth of work,” said Dunia Noel, an analyst for the Santa Clara County Local Agency Formation Commission, which is processing the incorporation effort.
Earlier this year, San Martin residents circulated a petition and gathered 25 percent of registered voters’ signatures. Now incorporation proponents are raising money and working with LAFCO officials to complete a comprehensive fiscal analysis, an environmental review and public hearings, among other tasks. Assuming LAFCO supports the town’s incorporation, the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors would need to call an election and let the community vote. Proponents hope to hold such an election in November 2008.
LAFCO is spending $20,000 on a consultant to provide assistance and advice through the incorporation process. The consultant, Rosanne Chamberlain, is a retired LAFCO director from El Dorado County. Chamberlain will lead Thursday’s workshop as well as a second forum on May 30 at 10:30am at the county government building, 70 W. Hedding St., San Jose.
