Cookie Camp It’s More Than Just A Fantasy

It’s time to start thinking about sending the kids off to summer camp - Land O’Lakes Camp Cookie, that is.

Children in grades three through six are eligible to enter an essay contest, explaining in 25 words or less, “I’m a smart cookie because …” and telling why they deserve the trip. Ten winners will fly to Minnesota with a parent for three days to learn about baking and help make a giant, edible cookie map of the United States. Each will also receive a $1,000 savings bond.

Better hurry; the entry deadline is May 15. For complete rules, call (800) 782-9602 or send a stamped, self-addressed envelope to: Camp Cookie Rules, P.O. Box 39104, Chicago, IL 60639. You can also ask for a free recipe brochure, called “Baking Fun at Camp Cookie.”

Competitive juices

Among the cooking contests with deadlines fast approaching:

Pace Picante Sauce’s Pick Up The Pace contest, for recipes using at least 1/2 cup of Pace salsa. Categories include appetizers/dips/spreads; chili/soups/stews; main dishes; salads/side dishes and 30-minute main dishes. Grand prize is $3,000, or a trip to San Antonio. Postmark deadline is May 31. For complete rules, write to: Rules, Pace Picante Sauce Recipe Contest, 60 East Chestnut #402, Chicago, IL 60611.

National Beef Cook-Off, for recipes that can be made in an hour or less using 1 to 2 pounds of beef. Grand prize is $25,000 and a set of appliances. Postmark deadline is June 1. For rules, call (800) 848-9088 or write to: National Beef Cook-Off Rules, 444 N. Michigan Ave., Dept. D., Chicago, IL 60611.

Cooking Light magazine’s Souper Bowl Cookoff, for flavorful, low-fat soup recipes. Grand prize is $1,000. Postmark deadline is June 1. Send recipes on plain, white, 8- by 11-inch paper, along with name, address and daytime phone number, to: Souper Bowl Cookoff, Cooking Light, 2100 Lakeshore Drive, Birmingham, AL 35209.

Soup to nuts

Elsewhere on the contest scene, congratulations to Bill Sayre, a cook at the Wilmer/Davis residence hall at Washington State University, whose Fiesta Shrimp recipe won third place in the college category of the Golden Ladle Recipe Contest sponsored by Campbell Soup’s foodservice division.

And condolences to the South Carolina woman who tried to sue for emotional distress (while her husband filed for loss of companionship), claiming she suffered a nervous breakdown after a utility company printed the recipe she entered in a rice cooking contest without her permission. The U.S. Supreme Court rejected her appeal last week.

, DataTimes MEMO: 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.