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AMHERST – Lorraine Alice Hamilton of Amherst, New Hampshire, Beach Haven, New Jersey and Rancho Mirage, California died June 14, 2020 from pancreatic cancer at her home in California. She was 73 years old and a participant in the trial of a new cancer drug at NYU Langone in New York City since April 2019. She hoped that results from the trial would improve care for other patients who develop this cancer. She was with her family when she died and was
Clubs
Amherst Lions Club Announces Winners of Fire & Ice Chili Cook Off and Ice Cream Social Held March 11
by Joan Ferguson
AMHERST – About 300 attendees tasted and selected Bill Swift’s 5 Sides of Chili as People’s Choice.
Judges selected Bedford Mike Sills’ U.S. Coast Guard recipe as Best Lions Club chili and Moulton’s Kitchen & Market’s tri-tip steak and portobello chili as Best Restaurant Chili.
The jam-packed event was the largest ever with 16 chili entrants said Lions Event Chairman Bill Loscocco. He speculated the event was popular because it was among the first community events to emerge as pandemic restrictions started to lift.
“Amherst’s chili contest recipes are probably the most diverse,” said Sills, “Of the entrants I talked to, all have been making their chili recipes for decades gradually making changes to create unique, flavorful combinations.” He explained he is a regular chili contest participant, and his observation is that most contests focus on elements of what typically characterizes traditional chili such as heat and balance. At Fire & Ice, entrants serve recipes that tend to have unique tastes.
He admitted his original 1970s recipe chili has some changes from the original, including cutting the acid with a little sugar and apple vinegar. Also, plain tomatoes are better than flavored tomatoes.
Swift said his desire to compete overcomes his distaste for cooking. With a bit of research to discover where chili might have originated, he found the Cincinnati (Ohio) Five Sides recipe and sought family and friends’ opinions of the various batches he produced. His “Brain Trust” initially didn’t much care of the chili, he said, probably because of their New England preferences, but when he “sold” them on the recipe, his ratings increased. “Some folks at the event did recognize the recipe as tasting like what they had eaten at the Skyline Café. And they were right.”
Swift admitted he also uses apple cider vinegar to cut the acid but demurred when asked about the chocolate and the 15 spices he adds.
Moulton’s Nicole Lawson explained both Store Manager Brad Pare and she decided to enter individual chilis with Lawson’s taking the top
The top winners of Amherst Lions Club’s annual Fire & Ice are (left to right) Best Lions Club Chili Mike Sills, People’s Choice Bill Swift and Best Restaurant Chili Moulton’s Kitchen & Market Chef Nicole Lawson. (Amherst Lions Club photo.)
restaurant honors. Chunkier bits of meat combined with the flavor of mushrooms makes for a robust chili, she said. But her approach is simple: throw the basics into a pot, add “a few things” and let it cook. Both chilis are found in the kitchen’s soup bar, but noted, with a grin, the winning recipe often disappears faster.
All agree standard heat is boring when it comes to chili. Rather, it’s all about flavor. The three winners received an engraved traveling trophy and bragging rights for one year.
Entertainment for this year’s Fire & Ice was provided by musical groups from the Amherst Middle School Band lead by Conductor Kevin Swift, Lion guitar soloist Don Tower and Amherst favorite balloon maker Krickey The Clown. There was a coloring contest with winners for age group 1-5, Everleigh G; age 6-10, Clara L: age 11-15, Jodi G. Souhegan High School volunteers scooped build-your-own ice cream sundaes and BSA Troops 613 and 22, Cub Scout pack 613 helped bus the tables. Twenty-five eye-screenings were conducted with one finding for a referral.
Funds raised from the event go toward local charities.
Amherst Lions Club Announces 48th Pancake Breakfast
Sunday, April 10, 8 am-noon, Wilkins Elementary School,
80 Boston Post Road.
Tickets are available from any Amherst Lion, may be purchased at the door or online at www.e-clubhouse.org/sites/amherstnh.
Cost for the all-you-can-eat breakfast is $8 per person, $25 for a family of four or more, and children under the age of 5 are free.
All funds go to local charities, including sight and hearing-impaired programs and citizen leadership scholarships.
This year’s menu features pancakes, fruit toppings, sausage, pastries, and New Hampshire maple syrup. Drinks -- orange juice, tea, coffee, and milk -- are included.
The club will offer free vision screenings and the Amherst Police and Fire/Rescue promise a variety of demonstrations and information tables. An Easter basket will be raffled, and children of all ages are invited to participate in a coloring contest. Prizes will be given for the best coloring in three age groups (ages 1-5, 6-10 and 11-15). Also, the club will collect your used eyeglasses and hearing aids.
BSA Troops 22 and 613 will assist the Lions’ event.
Sponsors for this year’s event include Gage Hill Sugar Shack, Parkers Maple Barn, Panera Bread, The Copy Shop, Speed-Pro, and Suburban Propane. They join our 2022 Platinum and Gold sponsors Ponemah Crossing Dental, Budget Blinds of Amherst & Westford, McGuigan Financial, Cardoza Flooring, AG Grocers of New England, and LaBelle Winery.
