Thanks to all who helped make our first ever salsa contest a great success! There were many of you: sponsors/donors, individuals who made purchases, those who made donations, and those who volunteered time. The local community certainly came together for this event. All of us helped in raising almost $800 and all within a context in which we came together despite being at different points on the political, religious, socioeconomic, cultural, or educational spectrums.

What I truly appreciate about ECWT is the way in which this model encourages individual initiative and responsibility while recognizing that such initiative and responsibility is equally reliant upon the social context within which the individual exists. The significance of this reality and the potential of the community gardens and skills bank is just now becoming visible to the community. Thanks to David and others of ECWT for bringing this new paradigm forward and using it to address the very real needs which I’m sure most, if not all, of us see on a daily basis.

The winners of the Salsa Contest on October 2 were:

1. People’s Choice – Chamberlain Elementary Parent Teacher Organization which will receive almost $150 as part of their share of the donations made to this event

2. Judges Panel Choice – Tyler Hartford, pastor of Pleasant View Mennonite Church (PVMC) in Jefferson; although there are no financial rewards for Tyler or PVMC Tyler can now know for certain that his salsa truly can compete with the best!

Our Judges were: Marshall King (food columnist and editor for the Elkhart Truth), Sonny Carreno (talented local musician with the gift of improve), and Goshen Mayor Alan Kauffman.

Secret ingredient drawing winners were:

1. Nate Gingerich – gift certificate to Los Primos Restaurant at the corner of 5^th and Clinton in Goshen

2. Jane Beyeler – gift certificate to Duranguense Restaurant on Washington St. in Goshen

3. Barb Swartley – gift certificate to Duranguense Restaurant on Washington St.

4. Perta Ramos – gift certificate to Universal Tamal on Main St. in Goshen

5. Emily Moore – gift certificate to Hacienda at Linway Plaza in Goshen

The “secret” ingredients were:

1. 1. Comunidad Cristiana Adulam Church – vinegar

   2. Comunidad Cristiana Adulam Church – green tomatillos

   3. Boys and Girls Club of Goshen – strawberries

   4. Joel Barrett of WVPE (FM 88.1) – fresh ginger

   5. Chamberlain Elementary PTO – garlic

   6. Contestant had to make an unexpected late withdrawal from the competition

   7. Goshen High School Girls Cross Country Team – chicken bullion

   8. Tyler Hartford, Pleasant View Mennonite Church – lime

   9. St. John’s Catholic Church Youth Group – cinnamon

   10. Angel Williams – chile arbol peppers

In reality the word “secret” was somewhat of a misnomer. Some of the contestants did not consider their ingredient to be a “secret”. Rather, as coordinators of this event we decided to simply allow people to take a guess at which ingredient, although used in the recipe, was missing from the list of ingredients that was presented at each contestant’s table. Some of these missing ingredients were “easier” to determine while some (i.e., the truly “secret” ingredients) were intended for the connoisseurs in the crowd.

The Salsa Knowledge Questionnaire drawing winner was Jodi Beyeler. Jodi answered the first 5 questions of the questionnaire correctly and received 2 Free tickets to the Los Lobos at the Goshen College Music Center as part of the Performing Arts Series. Congratulations Jodi!!!

And finally, what you have all been waiting for: answers to the Salsa Knowledge Questionnaire:

1. In Spanish, salsa means sauce .

2. Name 3 ingredients used to make salsa.

Answer: Tomatoes, garlic, peppers, cilantro, etc. .

3. Salsa verde (pronounced BEAR-day) means that the salsa is what color?

Answer: Green .

4. Salsa as it’s known in the United States has roots with which groups of people:
A) Incas, Aztecs and Mayans
B) Netherlanders, Swedish and Icelanders

C) Lichtensteiners, Lithuanians and Luxembourgers

D) French, Portugese and Italian

The answer, of course, is A: Incas, Aztecs and Mayans

5. Aside from food, salsa is also a popular form of dancing/music .

“Bonus” questions that were not part of the requirements for winning the tickets were:

6. Hot sauce was first bottled and sold commercially in the U.S. in what year:

1. 1916

2. 1986

3. 1446

Correct Answer: A – 1916

7. In a popular urban myth, salsa outsells which other popular kitchen condiment? (In reality, more dollars of salsa are sold each year, but more pounds of the other red condiment are sold, according to the Wall Street Journal.) Answer: ketchup .

8. What popular brand of salsa, which the company calls picanta sauce, was started in 1947 and continues to be one of the best sellers?

Answer: Pace .

Thanks again for visiting us and be sure to also check out our Skills Bank. Do you or someone you know have a project for which you would normally not “hire” someone to do yet would be able to pay someone else to do? If so, the skills bank is for you!