New York State Fair

Seneca County 4-H’er Receives
Purple Rosette at State Fair

Zachary Ramirez of Junius has had a personal goal for the past three years inregards to his Heritage Recipe Book. The third time was the charm that resulted in a purple rosette. The Heritage Recipe Book is a collection of recipes that has been passed down in his family. Each recipe feature’s a story about the recipe, nutritional information, and even a photo of the family member of whom the recipe originated from. In previous years Zachary  received a blue ribbon but, had his eye on the rosette, taking the judges comments seriously he  implemented them each time. “Its hard work” says Zach “but I have done something for my family.” Zachary has made copies of his book and given it to members of his family for holiday gifts.

4-H evaluations are based on the Danish System of judging. Within the Danish System, each exhibit - be it a birdhouse or a flower - is compared to the ideal for the exhibit given the exhibitor's experience & age. Exhibits are not placed in a ranking, instead each item is judged on its own merit. Participants receive either a blue ribbon (excellent), red ribbon (good) or white ribbon (worthy). Green ribbons (participation) are distributed to exhibits that are display only. The emphasis is placed on the process of learning, not necessarily the end product. Purple Rosettes are awarded to the exhibits that the judges feel are the absolute best of the best.

To learn more about Seneca County 4-H Youth Development at the New York State Fair visit the 4-H section of the website.

Seneca 4-H Dairymen Among the Top of the Herd

Two Seneca County 4-H Youth recently participated in the New York State Fair Guernsey show in both categories 4-H and Open.

Sixteen year -old Christopher Fleming in the 4-H show received the following placings with his Guernseys: a 4th place blue in showmanship, 1st place with his winter calf, Goldie, 1 st place red with Tranquil his fall heifer calf, 1st place jr. 3year old cow Junebug, a 1st place with Pansy a dry cow and receive the honor of Best Udder with Junebug.

Jeff Thurston age 9 in the 4-H showmanship class received a 2nd place blue for youth showers aged 8-10), a 3rd place blue for his winter heifer calf Liza, and a 2nd place blue for Swish his fall heifer calf.

In the open Guernsey Show in the spring heifer calf Jeff and Chris both participated. In the winter heifer calf class Christopher placed 8th and Jeff 10th. In the fall heifer calf class Christopher place 1st and Jeff 5th. Pansy, a Dry Cow 3 years and over; Christopher received a 2nd and with Junebug, a Jr. 3 year old cow he placed 5th.

4-H Teens Work at New York State Fair

Seneca County 4-H Teens could be found working in the New York State Fair Youth Building August 28 to 31st in a variety of areas. Teens develop many life skills while they interact with the fair visiting public such as communication and cooperation skills, stress management, self discipline, self-responsibility, teamwork, marketable skills, leadership and sharing . This year Seneca County booth workers showed fair-goers that learning about Agricultural can be fun using various Agriculture in Classroom activities.

Seneca teen booth workers were: Jessica Heusler, Zachary Ramirez, Melissa Teeter, and Caitlyn Freier. Working in the Youth Building’s Welcome Booth were Ashleigh Leisenring and Amanda Williams while Emily Thayer - the Kids n’ Horses Tent, Andrew Schibley -judges’ assistant, and Charles Hardin - poultry. Representing Seneca County in the daily Fashion Show and mannequin modeling were Sarah Goodman and Sarah Dickenson.

To learn more about Seneca County 4-H Youth Development at the New York State Fair contact Seneca County Cornell Cooperative Extension at 315-539-9251 or visit at 308 Main Street Shop Centre, Waterloo.4-H is a Community of Youth Across America who are learning leadership, citizenship, and life skills.

Taking Pride in New York State Produce

Wednesday, August 30, Seneca County 4-H youth participated in the annual New York State Fair Produced in New York State Foods Program.  The purpose of the Produced in New York State Foods Program is to showcase the wide variety and use of agricultural products grown right here in New York State. The event is a marvelous opportunity for youth to demonstrate their food preparation skills while promoting a tasty New York State Food Product recipe.

During this presentation program, youth do a silent demonstration concurrently with several of their peers. This experience assists younger 4-H’ers in gaining poise in presenting in front of an audience, while providing older and more experienced youth the opportunity to tackle more advanced skills, preparation techniques, and recipes. 2006 demonstrators were:  Zachary Ramirez, Lindsay Carson, Jordan Osborne, and Brianna Halsey showed fair goers that preparing dishes made with ingredients grown/produced in New York State are easy to do, tasty, and nutritious.

For a copy of their recipes or to learn more about the various public presentation programs the 4-H offers contact Seneca County Cornell Cooperative Extension 4-H Youth Development at 315-539-9251 or stop in at 308 Main Street Shop Centre, Waterloo where 4-H Connects Kids to Cornell.

Recipes:

Seven Fruit Salad

1 - 29 oz. Can Sliced Peaches
1 - 11 oz. Can Madarin Oranges
2 medium Bananas - sliced
1 Cup Sliced Fresh Strawberries
1 Cup Fresh or Frozen Blueberries
1 Cup seedless Grapes
1 - 16 oz. Jar Maraschino Cherries
1/3 Cup Light Corn Syrup

In a large bowl combine all ingredients. Stir together to mix. Chill. Serve with a slotted spoon. Serves 10-12 3/4 cup servings.

Jordan Osborne - Seneca County
State Fair and Empire Farm Days

Macaroni & Cheese

3 cups macaroni, uncooked
16 oz. Shredded cheddar cheese
2 cups milk
½ tsp salt

Boil macaroni for 8 minutes in 3 quarts of water, drain. Put a layer of cooked macaroni in the bottom of a 9"x13" pan. Top with 3/4 of the cheese. Assemble another layer of macaroni and sprinkle with remaining cheese. Sprinkle with slat on top and pour the milk over the mixture. Bake at 350*F for 30 minutes.

Brianna Halsey - Seneca County
State Fair

Apple Pancakes with Maple Apple Sauce

1 ½ Cups all-purpose flour
3 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
3 Tbsp granulated sugar
1/4 tsp nutmeg
½ tsp baking soda
1 egg lightly beaten
1 Tbsp butter or margarine
1/4 tsp vanilla
1 cup milk
1 cup grated apple

Combine flour, baking powder, salt, sugar and nutmeg in mixing bowl. In a separate bowl, mix the baking soda, egg, butter, vanilla and milk. Combine both of the mixtures, stirring only until blended. Fold in the grated apple. Using about 1/4 cup batter for each pancake, pour batter onto hot, a lightly greased griddle to bake. When top of each pancake shows full of bubbles, turn to brown on other side. Turn pancakes only once while cooking. Makes 4 servings.

Maple Apple Sauce

1 Tbsp butter or margarine
2 large apples, peeled, cored and diced
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
1/4 cup dark corn syrup
dash of salt

Melt the butter in a non-stick skillet over medium high heat. Add apples to saute until lightly browned, about 2 to 3 minutes. Add maple and corn syrups and stir gently. Let cook another 2 to 3 minutes or until mixture thickens. Serve with apple pancakes. Makes 4 servings.

Zachary Ramirez - Seneca County
State Fair

Nutty Caramel Apple Dip

16 oz cream cheese, softened
1 cup apple butter
½ cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup chopped salted peanuts
2 apples, sliced

In a small mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese, apple butter, brown sugar, and vanilla until combines. Stir in peanuts. Serve with apple slices, refrigerate any leftovers.

Note: I use homemade apple butter my mom & I made together.

Lindsay Carson - Seneca County
State Fair

Seneca Youth Showcase
Projects at State Fair

Seneca County 4-H Youth showcased their 4-H projects at the New York State Fair in Syracuse August 28-31. The projects on display were selected at the Seneca County Fair in July,  by showcasing their projects youth have the opportunity to gather more constructive opinions on their project work while allowing the public to view what they are doing in their county.

Youth that had projects evaluated in the following categories were: Family & Consumer - Sarah Dickenson, Emma Freier, Caitlyn Freier, Emily Thayer, Zachary Ramirez, Ali Maher, Lindsay Carson, Jordan Osborne, Nicole Ellison, Trisha Henry, Courtney Tusch, Ashley Tarr, Joanna Reigle, Andrew Leisenring, Andrea Overslaugh, Dru DiCicco, Kodi DiCicco, Anne Marie Graziano, Photography - Charles Hardin, Horticulture - Shawn Daley, Charles Hardin, Zachary Ramirez, Communication Arts - Charles Hardin, Science & Technology - Brock Ware, Trisha Henry, Nicole Ellison, Charles Hardin, Zachary Ramirez, and Sarah Goodman

4-H’ers having projects for display only were: Courtney Tusch, Ashley Tarr, Emily Thayer, Jonathon Francois, Taylor Carter, Jessica Heusler, Sam Dickenson, Ashleigh Leisenring, Jessica Fisk, Caleb DiCicco, Brianna Halsey, Katie McWilliams

Receiving special recognition in the form of a large purple rosette was Zachary Ramirez of Junius with his Heritage Recipe Collection.

To learn more about Seneca County 4-H Youth Development at the New York State Fair contact Seneca County Cornell Cooperative Extension at 315-539-9251 or visit us online at http://counties.cce.cornell.edu/seneca /. 4-H is Community of Youth Across America who are Learning Citizenship, Leadership, and LifeSkills.