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Spring Fling: Eat Flesh-Free

Rick Bonino Food Editor

If you’re seasonally astute, you know that Friday is the first day of spring. And if you’re politically correct, you know that it also marks another Great American Meatout — the one day each year when vegetarian activists ask carnivores to forgo eating flesh.

This year’s event is dedicated to talk-show host Oprah Winfrey, fresh from beating a defamation rap brought by Texas cattlemen over a program about “mad cow” disease.

In a press release, Meatout National Coordinator Alex Hershaft says: “We have been broadcasting the dreadful truth about the devastating health and environmental impacts of the meat industry for 14 years. Frankly, we feel slighted that we are not the ones being sued.” (No offense, Alex, but your audience might be a bit smaller.)

Seriously, if you’d like to kick meat for a day (or more) and aren’t sure what to cook, check out some of the recipes in today’s food section. For more information, call 1-800-632-8688, visit envirolink.org/arrs/farm on the Internet or write to FARM, P.O. Box 30654, Bethesda, MD 20824.

Cut! Cut!

Late March also means another Academy Awards show, and celebrity chef Wolfgang Puck has again whipped up some winners for Monday night’s post-Oscars Governors Ball, including the dessert:

“A selection of sweets in the form of a white chocolate art deco movie palace topped by a chocolate tower and guarded at the four corners by miniature gold-powdered chocolate Oscar statuettes,” with strawberry layer cake inside.

Barbecue sauced

Calling all carnivores: Entries are due by April 17 in the Jim Beam Bourbonqueing Cook-Off, for barbecue recipes made with whiskey. Three finalists will be flown to Kentucky to compete for the $1,000 grand prize.

For complete rules, send your name and address to: Suzanne Duecker, Jim Beam Bourbonqueing Cook-Off, 207 E. Michigan St., Milwaukee, WI 53202.

Jell-O, friend

Finally, on a more vegetarian note (unless you believe those horse-hoof rumors), Jell-O is seeking essays of 75 words or less about how your favorite flavor of its gelatin, pudding or no-bake desserts makes you “smile more.” Grand prize is a trip to New York City, including a meeting with product pitchman Bill Cosby.

Send essays (adults only) on regular-sized plain paper, along with name, address, birthdate and day and evening telephone numbers, to: Jell-O Smile Contest, P.O. Box 35980-PR, Los Angeles, CA 90035-0980, or visit www.jell-o.com. Entries must be received by April 15.

, DataTimes MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: We’re always looking for fresh food news. Write to: The Fresh Sheet, Features Department, The Spokesman-Review, P.O. Box 2160, Spokane, WA 99210. Call 459-5446; fax 459-5098.

This sidebar appeared with the story: We’re always looking for fresh food news. Write to: The Fresh Sheet, Features Department, The Spokesman-Review, P.O. Box 2160, Spokane, WA 99210. Call 459-5446; fax 459-5098.