Millennium Fun From M&Ms;
While most of us are still trying to get used to 1998, the M&M’s candy people are already pondering the next millennium (appropriate, we suppose, since “millennium” begins and ends with an “m”).
M&M’s is sponsoring a contest to name “Official Things of the Millennium” in 200 categories, from “backyard BBQ king/queen” to “gelatin mold” to “potato that looks like a president.” (Funny, there’s no “coated chocolate candy” category. Guess they figure that one’s already taken.)
Entrants must send a photo of the person or object they’re nominating, along with an essay of 50 words or less. Each category winner will receive a certificate, T-shirt and two packages of M&M’s, with one grand prize winner chosen in a drawing for a trip to the 1998 MTV Video Music Awards.
Entry deadline is March 9. For complete rules and a list of categories, send a stamped, self-addressed envelope to M&M’s Center for Millennium Hype, P.O. Box 7150, New York, NY 10150.
Vegging out
One of your New Year’s resolutions was to eat more meatless meals, but you’re worried about staying healthy?
Loma Linda University’s new Vegetarian Nutrition and Health Letter, billed as the first university-associated vegetarian newsletter, has some of the answers.
The first issue of the eight-page publication included articles about such topics as diet and cancer, cooking with textured vegetable protein and reducing the gaseous effects of eating beans - a matter of interest to vegetarians and carnivores alike.
The newsletter will be published 10 times a year. Subscriptions cost $24; write to Vegetarian Nutrition and Health Letter, 1707 Nichol Hall, School of Public Health, Loma Linda University, Loma Linda, CA 92350, or call toll-free to 1-888-558-8703.
Gallivanting gourmet
If you like to eat, and travel, check out Seattle’s Epicure Fine Food & Wine Tours.
The 1998 itinerary features “food culture” tours of the California wine country, Pacific Coast, British Columbia and Asia, including Hong Kong, Canton and Bangkok.
Trips last from six to 13 days, at a cost of $1,850 to $5,000 per person. For more information, call toll-free to 1-888-623-7464.
The first-place Noel
Finally, a tip of the toque to veteran cooking contest competitor Betty Noel of Spokane, whose “Oatmeal Squares Snacker-Jax” won the $1,200 first prize in the snack mix category of Quaker Oatmeal’s “Bake It Better With Oats” contest. Look for her recipe in a future edition of IN Food.
, 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.