Tuesday, June 28, 2011

DAD - The 4-H Kind!

4-H District Activity Day (DAD) is an event that you have to see to believe. Around 200 4-H members (75 first timers), along with about 300 agents, judges, parents, friends & family gathered at Anson Middle School in Anson County to participate in presentation, public speaking and talent contests against 4-H’ers from across the South Central Extension District.

 
Three Richmond County 4-H’ers were on hand for the event. Two competed in presentations and two were part of the talent show. Nathan Ezzell took home the Gold for his presentation on How Bees Affect Farmers in the Bugs and Bees category while Santiago Acuña Robinson also won Gold in the Horse category for his presentation about Care of the Race Horse. Sarah Tyler and Santiago Acuña Robinson both participated in Talent. Sarah mimed to “He Knows My Name” while Santiago sang the song “Let Me Hold You”.

Nathan will be competing at the State Presentation Finals held during 4-H Congress in Raleigh in a few weeks. Santiago will be competing at the State Presentation Finals held during the 4-H State Horse Show in Raleigh, also in a few weeks.

Special thanks to all of the parents and family who support these 4-H’ers as they complete their projects! Good luck to everyone competing on the State level!  Special thanks for Tiffanee Conrad-Acuna for attending DAD with the Richmond County delegation & for writting this. 

Saturday, April 30, 2011

Chili Cookoff Rules....

Hey All,

Come out & support Richmond County 4-H, take a tour of the recent improvements made at Millstone 4-H Camp & see the Leadership Richmond Cow Pie Bingo Contest!

Chili Winners will be announced 12:00 noon with tasting for $5.00 until 2:00 pm (or until it’s all gone:)

To enter a chili, send $20 deposit to Richmond County 4-H (we will return deposits upon your arrival at Camp.) For complete rules, see below or stop by the office at 123 Caroline Street in Rockingham.

1st prize Chili receives $100! Taster's Choice receives $50! Doorprizes given throughout the day!

(Contact Michelle NOW to ensure you get your chance to win $1,000 & other prizes in Cow Pie Bingo to benefit the BackPack Pals Program - last day to buy tickets for Bingo is May 19th!!)

Contact Michelle Stumbo at the Cooperative Extension Office at 997-8255 or michelle_stumbo@ncsu.edu with any questions.


Top of Form
The Rules and Regulations for Cooks at Richmond County 4-H Chili Cookoff:

1.     Traditional Red Chili is defined by the International Chili Society as any kind of meat or combination of meats, cooked with red chili peppers, various spices and other ingredients.
Chili Verde is defined by the International Chili Society as any kind of meat or combination of meats, cooked with green chili peppers, various spices and other ingredients.  You may cook either of these varieties or your favorite spin-off! 
2.     Individuals or teams (up to three people) may entry the Cookoff.  Teams must designate a Head Chef during registration.  Youth under age 18 may be part of a team, but not be named the team’s Head Chef. 
3.     The entry fee will be $20.00 per chili entered.  Contestants may enter more than 1 batch of chili and will receive their entry fee back upon registration at the Event. There will be a 1st, 2nd, and Taster’s Choice cash prize.
4.     All ingredients must be pre-cooked & treated prior to the event – chili is to be brought “ready-to-eat” after the set-up period.  Registration will be from 10:30-11:00.  Judging will begin at 11:30 am. 
5.     Contestants are responsible for supplying all of their own utensils & products relating to their chili submission and maintenance of its proper temperature for serving.  Electricity will be available, however, plan to bring your own power cords.  Spoons and cups for use in serving chili to the general public will be provided. Condiments will also be provided.
6.     Each contestant must cook a minimum of four (4) quarts of competition chili.  Any additional chili (Other than that which is submitted for judging) will be for public consumption.
7.     Each contestant will be assigned a “contestants number” by the Chief Scorekeeper and be given a container in which their chili will be collected at the time of the official judging. Each contestant should verify that the number on the bottom of their container is the same as their contestants’ number assigned to them by the Chief Scorekeeper.
8.     The decision of the judges is final. Judging will be based on score cards which are numbered.  The Taster’s Choice Award will be based on donations collected during tasting.  One vote = $.25.  All tasters can vote as many times as they would like. 
9.     Each contestant is responsible for policing and cleaning up the area at the end of the day and removing all items from the area. No items shall be allowed to remain after the close of the Cook-off.
10.  In this competition the chili will be blind judged (no one knows the identity of the cook) and scorecards will be based on the following six characteristics:
A.     Texture: The texture of the meat shall not be tough or mushy
B.     Flavor: The chili should have good flavoring and chili pepper taste (not too hot or not too mild)
C.    Consistency: Chili should be a smooth combination of meat and gravy not too thin or too thick
D.    Spice and taste: Blending of the spices and how well they have permeated the meat
E.     Aroma: This will be a personal preference of the judge
F.     Color: The submitted chili should look appetizing

·       Chili may be distributed to the public only after judging has commenced.
·       The decisions of the Chief Judge are final.
·       The Peoples Choice Award is determined by the public.  The public will purchase chili.  It is up to you to entice them to try your chili and cast their vote for you.  The more chili you have the more votes you can get.
·       All cooking is to be done in a sanitary manner.  Conditions are subject to inspection by the Chief Judge.  In addition, failure to comply is subject to disqualification for that team.
·       Each team will provide all ingredients, utensils, and accessories necessary to cook chili.   This includes cook stoves, warmers and fuel.
·       At no time should you leave cooking chili unattended (for safety and integrity reasons).
·       Chili must be made from scratch: cooking beginning with raw meats, vegetables and spices; complete commercial chili mixes are not permitted.
·       Beans, pasta, rice, etc. are approved ingredients for this chili competition.