Community
Related Photos
Discussion
Local wraps up finalist spot
GROVE CITY — Grove City’s Scott Hatfield has been cooking as long as he can remember, but even he was surprised to become one out of tens of thousands chosen as a Pillsbury Bake-Off finalist.
Hatfield said he thought the contest would be a waste of time, but his wife Sarah convinced him to submit a recipe for samosa taquitos.
The samosa taquitos are wrapped in a tortilla because the samosa – a traditionally deep-fried Indian appetizer – needed a bakeable wrap.
Hatfield figured there was no way he’d become a finalist.
“But I was wrong,” he said.
His samosa taquitos, complete with an apricot chutney sauce, are among 100 finalists that will compete April 13 through 15 in Dallas for the $1 million grand prize, according to Pillsbury.
Hatfield, a Kentucky native who’s a software designer at Grove City College, said his interest in cooking started young, but he’s had no formal training.
“My mom taught me to cook,” he said. “I‘ve always enjoyed cooking.”
Hatfield said his wife still does most of the cooking at home, but he likes it as a hobby. “I do like to take on cooking projects like baking bread. I like to spend an afternoon cooking. I like to do a lot of grilling, smoking.”
The 100 recipes were chosen from among consumers’ best original entries in five categories: Breakfast & Brunches, Pizza Creations, Entertaining Appetizers, Old El Paso Mexican Favorites and Sweet Treats.
Finalists had to use at least two different eligible products in their recipes, with at least one ingredient from a primary list of products and a second from either the primary or secondary list.
The Hatfields are both fans of Indian food.
“We played with it until we thought it tasted good, and baked it instead of deep frying it since it’s a bakeoff contest.”
They were careful not to go too spicy, and went with an apricot chutney for the sauce because of a particular preserve that Smuckers makes.
Just for being a finalist, Hatfield won $100, a free microwave, and airfare to the Dallas competition. He said and his wife will fly to the event. “I guess it will be sort of a vacation.”
To view finalist recipes, and vote for a favorite, go to www.Pillsbury.com
- Community
-
-
Actors visit Camelot
The magic and mysticism that abounds in the King Arthur legend has been just as prevalent in the life of a woman who has written a three-part play chronicling the history of Camelot’s famed ruler.
Youngstown native Carol Weakland said she’s been working for 12 years on the play that premiered last weekend: “The Arthurian Trilogy Part One, Arthur and Merlin: The Making of a King.” She was never able to assemble a cast to play the demanding roles or “whittle down” the lengthy script into a compact but complete show. But this year, everything came together.
-
Annual senior fair is Friday in Sharon
State Rep. Mark Longietti will hold his fourth annual free Senior and Health Education Fair from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday at the Sharon American Legion, 1395 E. State St., Sharon.
The fair will feature farmers market coupons, free health screenings, about 50 vendors, door prizes and free information and services.
For more information, call 724-981-4655. -
Dolata carves time for local fest
Walter Dolata shows and sells his wood carvings at arts festivals — sometimes large ones — in New York, Maryland and Ohio.
But he always makes time for the arts festival in his back yard: the Hermitage Arts Festival, which runs this weekend at Rodney White Olympic Park.
“I like it,” said Dolata, who lives in Hermitage. “It’s a local festival. It’s a nice little festival.”
-
Farmers market vouchers for seniors available
Mercer County Area Agency on Aging Inc. is again offering the Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program to eligible Mercer County Seniors.
This program is made possible through the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Food Distribution.
The purpose of this program is to encourage older adults to eat more fresh fruits and vegetables produced by local growers.
Eligible seniors can pick up vouchers at locations in Greenville, Grove City, Mercer, Sandy Lake/Stoneboro and the Shenango Valley . -
Victorian Weekend begins Friday evening
Step back into a gentler era during the 22nd annual Victorian Weekend Festival, planned for Friday through Sunday on the historic Mercer County Courthouse Square.
The weekend begins with “A Victorian Concert” by the Mercer Community Band at 7:30 p.m. Friday at the bandstand on the east side of the county courthouse; the warmup concert starts at 6.
-
Girl Scouting gold goes to RHS grad
Lorrie Lehman, daughter of Dave and Rosemary Lehman of Reynolds and sister of Tommy, was recently awarded the Girl Scout Gold Award from Girl Scouts of Western Pennsylvania.
The Gold Award recognizes leadership, hard work and service to the community and for exemplifying the ideals of the Girl Scout Promise and Law. Only five percent of Girl Scouts nationwide earn this recognition annually.
-
Public invited to annual Farm Safety Day
Our annual Mercer County Farm Safety Day will be held from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Thursday at the Leslie N. Firth Learning Center, home of Mercer County Cooperative Extension, and the adjacent 4-H Park, 483 N. Perry Highway, 1 1/2 miles north of Mercer in Coolspring Township.
Our staff, along with event sponsor, the Agricultural Health and Rural Safety Advisory Committee, invite you and your family to attend and actively participate in a full day of safety demonstrations and open dialog on an issue which affects us all. Our goals are to make rural residents more conscience of common hazards, risky behaviors, and cultural traditions which often contribute to farm and rural accidents.
-
Urban League offers outdoor movie series
It’s been decades since movies have been shown on a big screen in Farrell.
The Shenango Valley Urban League is changing that this summer, with its “Films in the Square” series, to be held Friday nights at Veterans Square.
-
Fourth of July activities
There's no lack of Independence Day celebrations planned in the area.
-
League levels the playing field
It might not look like a traditional baseball game at first glance, that is, the baseball game one would see in the Brookfield Community Park on summer Sundays.
Some of the players are in wheelchairs, others use walkers and canes and most are mentally challenged, but they all come out every week for the same reason: the chance to play baseball, and it’s an opportunity they might not otherwise have.
It’s called the Challengers League, a baseball league for the mentally and physically challenged. - More Community Headlines
-
Actors visit Camelot
