Hooray! The TomatoFest is definitely on thanks to the people in our community who were good enough to donate funds. This has always been a great, worthy event ever since Melina Carnicelli organized it. I was lucky enough to be on her board for several years, and you couldn't have asked for a more caring group to work on it. Hooray again.

Now I have a questions. They had a blueberry picking contest to see who picked the most blueberries. I'm curious. How did they decide? Count each berry being picked? Or weigh the amount? Some berries are bigger than others, so would weight more with less picked. Oh well, I'm really being a smart alec.

So many festivals, barbecues and different events have been going on. Everyone is taking advantage of the summer months. Last week, the Harvest Festival seemed to be the biggest. And The Blue Lights did it again. It was a wonderful, wonderful evening. They are so good, and I really mean good. I said it before, and I'll say it again: They should be booked every year to start our summer off and booked to end our summer. Don't you agree?

I read a copy of the “Day Trip Guide” in The Citizen Sunday, and just out of curiosity, I counted the different events and days with places to go for July, August and September - there's approximately 125 ending with the State Fair in September.

I think this fall and winter I'll make it a point to check on what is different to help us through the cold season to keep us from being bored.

On Aug. 10, there are two places I'm invited to go. The Italian American Club is having a dinner at the Owasco Fire House. They always have such fun parties. It's open to whoever wants to attend, starts at 4:30 and costs $5 per person plus a dish to pass. They provide the meats and cook it. There will be games and Bocce. Sam Chindamo has tickets at his Shoe Store. I hope the turnout is great.

The second invitation is for my friend's son's wedding. The wedding and reception is also on Aug. 10. A big reception of course and then, and this is the first time I've heard of this done, the bride, groom and some family members, will fly to Greece a few days later because the bride's family lives there. There, the couple will be in another ceremony and reception in Athens. That is amazing and wonderful.

We had the nicest family get together last week. My cousin, Pavlo, brought his bazuki, which is a Greek string instrument, to my aunt's house. They are in their late 90s and both have Alzheimer's and Parkinson's Disease, so they do not get to go out anymore. Well, he sang to them in Greek, and their response was amazing. Sophia cried, then laughed and smiled. She is mostly immobile, but her feet kept tapping to the beat of the music. Mickey was asleep, but her feet kept tapping to the music also. Four of my friends were with us, and they really enjoyed it. They were amazed at the responses they saw. Only one of my friends is Greek and knew the music, etc., but everyone was delighted. I never knew Pavlo was so talented, and he never took lessons. He taught himself. I can't thank him enough for being there.

And another special thanks goes to Dr. Joseph Karpinski for bringing us back The Blue Lights, who performed this past weekend.

Hope everyone is feeling well and enjoying this summer. My ethnic recipe for today is North African. It's called North African cauliflower soup. This is a thick, smooth, creamy soup. My other recipe is for buttermilk corn bread.

Today's blooper

A young woman about to become a mother put spare ribs in the oven for dinner. When they came out of the over, they looked like pretzels. Why? She didn't realize she couldn't bend to take them out of the oven and had to wait for her husband to get home to do it. Needless to say, no spare ribs for dinner that night.

Diana Sobus, of Auburn, specializes in making ethnic foods.

North African Cauliflower Soup

Makes 4 to 6 servings

2 1/2 cups chopped onions

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 cups diced potatoes

1 medium head cauliflower (about 5 cups), chopped

I teaspoon ground cumin

1 1/2 teaspoon ground fennel

4 cups hot water

1 vegetable bouillon cube

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Salt and pepper to taste

Chopped fresh tomatoes

Chopped scallions

In soup pot on medium heat saute onion in oil 5-10 minutes until translucent. Stir in cumin, fennel and potatoes in pot. Cook 1 minute. Add hot water. Cover, turn up heat and bring to a boil. Add cauliflower and bouillon. Bring to a boil for about 10 minutes until vegetables are tender.

In blender puree vegetables and broth until smooth. Add lemon juice and salt and pepper. Reheat soup taking care not to scorch. To serve, garnish with chopped tomatoes and scallions.

Buttermilk Corn Bread

Makes 12 servings

2 cups yellow cornmeal

1 cup sifted all purpose flour

6 tablespoons sugar

1 tablespoon baking powder

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 stick chilled unsalted butter, diced

1 1/2 cup buttermilk

3 large eggs

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Butter bottom of a 9-by-9-by-2-inch baking pan.

Mix first six ingredients in processor.

Add butter and cut in using on off turns until mixture

resembles coarse meal.

Beat buttermilk and eggs in bowl to blend. Add cornmeal

mixture to egg mixture and blend. transfer to pan. Bake until light golden brown on top and tester inserted comes out clean. About 30 minutes. Cool in pan on rack. Cover and let stand at room temperature. (May be prepared one day in advance.)