Winning just a piece of cake

   The Gwinnett County Public Library is always cooking up some fun. Remember the essay writing contest for 2003 Gwinnett Reads? Well, they're doing it again. The selection this year, Clyde Edgerton's "Walking across Egypt" features Mattie Rigsbee, an elderly woman with a loving heart and a mean pound cake recipe. Many of you know a Mattie Rigsbee, a person who has had a positive influence in your life. If you tell about that person in 250 words or less-about half the length of my column-you could be among twelve talented winners to dine with the author and have your essay published on the library Web site. Also, just like last year, I will include excerpts from my favorite essays in my column. 
   To enter, you must possess a GCPL library card and be at least 18 years old. The deadline is July 27, 2004. You can mail it in or enter online. More information is available at www.gwinnetreads.org.
   But this year, there's even more. In addition to the writing contest, there is also a reading contest. Well, the library people call it their Pound Cake Baking Contest, but I'm calling it a reading contest. Isn't that what baking is all about? Reading the recipe? 
   I remember when my niece Donna was in high school. She raved about a dessert I had made so I gave her the recipe. Some time later, she called me to ask if I'd given her the right recipe.
   "Yours was so light and foamy and mine is all heavy and flat," she said.
   "Did you read the recipe?" I asked.
   "Yes. I put in every single ingredient just like it said."
   "Did you beat the egg whites till they were stiff?"
   "No, I didn't beat them at all. But I used all the ingredients."
   "You have to read the recipe!" I said, then referred her to "Science Experiments You Can Eat" by Vicki Cobb, which, among many other kitchen chemistry books, is available at the Gwinnett library.
   I must have taught her well because Donna went on to earn a degree in chemical engineering at Georgia Tech.
   The Pound Cake Baking Contest is open to all bakers with a GCPL library card and who are at least 18 years of age. Local judges will select three winning pound cakes. The top winner will receive a blue ribbon and two tickets to the final Gwinnett Reads event on August 20th at the Gwinnett Performing Arts Center where author Clyde Edgerton and his band of Rank Strangers will present a program of storytelling and singing. The ticket price of $20 includes hors d'oeuvres before the performance. For more details, see the Web site or call 770-978-5154.
   The Pound Cake online registration deadline is tonight at 11:59 p.m. Good luck to all. And remember: if you read the recipe, winning should be a piece of cake.

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