Participants entered into the savory, sweet and youth categories. Clearly, many of these amateur bakers had extraordinary skill.

The market had invited three esteemed judges who definitely knew their way around a bakery—Deputy Food Editor of the Washington Post Bonnie Benwick and Joseph and Ruth Poupon, owners of Patisserie Poupon.

The four of us were asked to judge the pies on originality, appearance and taste. It was no easy task to decide between such luscious entries, but someone’s got to do it.

Check out the photos from the event here on Patch. (Don’t you wish we had smellavision!?!)

Each baker made a $5 contribution to Manna Food Center as an entrance fee. The second-place winner in the sweet category was an utterly stunning confection made with fig, almond and port by Victoria Lai.

Meghan Giardiello won first place in the savory category for her scrumptious sweet onion pie; it tasted like French onion soup in a pie. Maria Stechschulte took second with her country garden veggie pie.

In the sweet category, Tita Monroe took home first place for her pecan tart. The youth category was a tie between a cherry and a pecan — the winners were Maya Grayer and Alexis Russell.

Both Newton’s Table and Assaggi Mozzarella Bar provided gift certificates to the winners. Le Crueset gave a pie pan to the runner-up. After the judging, the organizers cut into the pies, and everyone was invited to try them.

Congratulations to the winners, and special thanks to the Bethesda Central Farm Market’s Mitch Berliner, Debra Moser and Ann Brody Cove for organizing this delicious event.

This story has been updated to reflect the names of the contest winners.

  “My philosophy is everybody plays in the game. It’s their chance to try things out. They need to learn, and then they need the opportunity to perform on the court what they’ve learned in practice,” says Coach Dwayne Bryant, President of the Maryland Lady Hoopsters. Although Bryant wears many uniforms–head of Alumni Relations at Georgetown Preparatory School in Rockville, coach of the Georgetown Prep varsity boys’ basketball team and former Georgetown University basketball superstar, Bryant has a new passion-one that’s turned his focus to developing girl athletes. It was a natural progression for a father of three daughters. Today, Bryant has made enhancing confidence, athleticism and sports-womanship in adolescent girls his top priority.

“You have to win the right way. I want them to maintain their integrity,” he explains to a group of parents gathered to register their eleven-year-old girls to participate in a newly formed Hoopster team. His team of 13 year-olds won the US Junior Nationals this year after playing together for only two years. He is a proven winner, but that’s not what draws parents away from other established AAU girls teams. These parents appreciate Bryant’s philosophy of every girl getting court time, regardless of their height, experience or skill level. “I want to help them grow and develop a love of the game. Girls will learn by survival of the fittest whether they can handle the competition,” Bryant tells them.

A native of New Orleans, Bryant came to the DC Area on a basketball scholarship to attend Georgetown University. He was a high school “All American” and four year starter for famed Coach John Thompson. For the last 17 years, Bryant has directed local high school basketball teams to championships. His nine year record at Georgetown Prep is 183 wins to 72 losses. Younger DC Area basketball players and fans remember him from his days at Georgetown University where they studied his technique for record-setting three-point shots. Antwan Brown, a former player at Forestville High School who now coaches the Hoopster 11 year old girls’ team, remembers that his coach at Forestville made Bryant the example to which they should all aspire–for his combination of skills on the court and academic success.

 http://mdladyhoopsters.com/default.aspx

Kaifa Anderson-Hall has an inspiring story to tell. She is the director for the Washington Youth Garden, a forty-year old education program at the US National Arboretum. The Washington Youth Garden is a living breathing classroom for several of Washington’s urban children.

Anderson-Hall was in 5th and 6^th grade at a DC public school, Charles Young Elementary, when she was first introduced to the Washington Youth Garden. Raised by a single mom in the low-income Carver Terrace apartments nearby, she says. “The Arboretum was my childhood playground. I remember harvesting the plants at the Youth Garden, and bringing home greens to cook for my aunts.”

Anderson-Hall received her college degree in social work, but in 2005 decided to enroll in a master gardener program at the University of District of Columbia. During that time, she began volunteering as an instructor at the Washington Youth Garden. She says, “That was when I fell back in love with the Arboretum.” When the Youth Garden’s program director retired, the Friends of the National Arboretum (FONA) asked Anderson-Hall to take over the reins. Since there is no federal funding for the Youth Garden, the non-profit FONA organization raises money to keep it operational.

Throughout the school year, Anderson-Hall oversees classes of 3^rd and 4^th graders from neighborhood schools. Teresa Harris, a teacher from Center City Public Charter on the Trinidad campus in DC, talks about her experiences teaching at Washington Youth Garden: “My students are a hands-on group. They’re not pen and paper children. This type of educational environment is critical for the lessons that come from it.” Harris laughs, “Like being able to identify veggies or learning to eat all the colors of the rainbow! Every moment here is a ‘teachable moment.’ Just when you think they aren’t learning what you’ve taught, they show up here with that knowledge.”

 The curricula incorporates understanding soil science, plant identification, developing edible crops from seedlings, deterring pests, and attracting pollinators, like bees or butterflies. The kids also learn food preparation and nutrition from beekeepers and health practitioners. DC celebrity chef Carla Hall is a staunch supporter of the Washington Youth Garden and gives cooking demonstrations. One of the highlights for the students is the day they prepare veggie pizzas with homemade tomato sauce – all hand-picked from their garden at the Arboretum.

This month, students, teachers and instructors are in the throes of harvesting the garden and preparing it for the winter.

The Youth Garden has a blog that you can checkout: washingtonyouthgarden.blogpost.com.

climbing the seats of the amphitheatre

Visiting Ephesus is not unlike touring the sidewalks of Hollywood. In both places, guides point out where bygone superstars lived, worked and played. Picking through the ruins of Ephesus in Northern Turkey, a guide informs me that Cleopatra’s chariot is responsible for the ridges in the stones under my feet; an image that causes me to wobble in my sensible shoes.  Walking past various structures, like the ancient library and operating theatre, I shiver despite the searing heat. Imagining the presence of others who walked here before isn’t difficult, especially when there are actors dressed in period garb happily posing for photos all around me. Roman conquerors of Ephesus may have built these buildings thousands of years ago, but their uses were quite contemporary; innovations that persist in the modern world.

Ephesus citizens once famously welcomed Apostle John, a person who at the time created the same excitement that Brad Pitt commands when he drops by the Kodak Theatre  in LA. John visited Ephesus to spread the word of his Messiah Jesus in the enormous Ephesus amphitheatre. Thousands came to hear the Apostle speak, and the guide relays that there was great concern for his safety. According to legend, authorities kept his location shrouded in secrecy before he sprang to the stage. Today, wild grass grows in between the seats of the  amphitheatre, an architectural feat made of perfectly-cut limestone boulders.

It is believed that John brought the Virgin Mary to Ephesus to live out her final days. Her tiny home has been turned into a chapel where church masses have been delivered by two Popes. Visitors dip their hands into the stream on the property because it is rumored to have healing powers. They leave with miniature statues of the Virgin made in everything from stone to gold.

Ghosts continue to whisper their memories in this ephemeral land, not unlike the way a walk through an old movie set feels. The eras may be different, but for some, the reverence is the same.

Longwood consists of palatial indoor conservatories and acres of paths. If you actually happen to visit in May, you’ll gulp in astonishment over the soaring Japanese Pauwlina trees with their delicate lavender petals hanging like bayou vines. There are 1050 acres of woodlands and meadows in what was originally an arboretum. It was purchased by Henry du Pont to save plots full of rare tree specimens.

Close by lush and soothing Longwood Gardens is the Winterthur Country Estate. This museum-style property sits in the middle of its extraordinary grounds like a dowager inspecting her audience. Surrounded by acres of grand gardens, gazebos and benches, I can’t help but wonder what it was like to be this wealthy. Lucky for us, du Pont put his money into beautifying and preserving his environment. The man loved his gardens and old growth forest so much that he instructed local firefighters to save the trees first before the house. Fortunately, there was never a fire.

A tour of his home and surrounding grounds offers a peek into the lives of one the American “captains of industry.” I know my kids would love the fairy tale garden, part of the 60 acres of naturalistic magic.

Both Longwood Gardens and Winthurtur are located in Brandywine Valley, Delaware, close to the border of New Jersey. Rustic, ruby red barns speckle the countryside, and towering oaks shade the roads. Gnarly magnolia and ancient birch trees, their branches resembling curling witches fingers, festoon the lawns of many houses.  

Brandywine Valley is halfway between New York and Washington and boasts numerous quaint bed and breakfasts and country inns dotting the rolling hills. There are dozens of antique shops and boutiques, along with upscale dining in the village. Before you leave Brandywine Valley, take one more tour. This one is less highbrow and certainly more decadent: Herr’s Potato Chip factory offers tours and tastes of their snack products. Bon Appetit!

Durango is a medium-sized town nestled in sky high mountains; it’s a casual place where the locals are happy to have you. Durango is home base for the Durango/Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad operating continuously for 126 years. The Railroad runs vintage steam locomotives, rising up 11,000 feet in the San Juan Mountains. You can ride in an open-air gondola or fully-enclosed coach for the three hour trip to the tiny mining town of Silverton.  This trip offers jaw-dropping cliffs and a spectacle of nature certain to impress. Although the tracks were constructed to haul gold and silver, visitors soon realized the views are what made this railroad so special. The train has starred in dozens of famous Westerns.

The Durango/Silverton Railroad

After a day riding the rails, dinner awaits the hungriest varmints at the Real Texas Barbeque restaurant overlooking the Animas River.   While parents relax and watch, the kids can play miniature golf or drive go-carts.  The next morning, stop in the friendly Durango Coffee Company for some gourmet smoothies before you try whitewater rafting. We signed up with Outlaw Rivers/Jeep Tour Company.They offer a rafting through class-one to class-four rapids, that is secure enough for small children. Expert guides insure that everyone will go home safe, but wet.  You can spend the day picnicking on the river, but bring a wet suit if you plan to swim. Even in August, the Animas is freezing. After the tour, you return by bus to downtown Durango, where Outlaw Tours offers photos of your group riding through the most thrilling rapids. The photos capture the exhilaration and fear on every face, so although overpriced, they are hard to resist. We bought a CD of all four pictures and still laugh when we look at them.

Nothing compares to the simple pleasure of a bike ride.  ~John F. Kennedy

Whether you’re a visitor to the Shore, or you’re a full time resident, pedaling in our villages and parks offers opportunities to interact with whatever catches your fancy.  Farmer’s Markets, a beautiful butterfly in a well planned garden, stunning architecture, an afternoon sunset, are all a full sensory experience when perched atop a bicycle seat.

Gerald Johnston, 70, a Rehoboth Beach resident and retired professor, is an avid cyclist. He joins two cycling tours per year.  The tours start out a local inn or B&B, and then each morning after a rousing breakfast, the group receives a map with riding directions.  Participants go at their own pace, stopping to enjoy a packed picnic lunch until they reach their next stop: usually another quaint inn with a hearty dinner planned for the riders. “It’s a real getaway, with no TV and no computer. We go on back roads, and you rarely see a car.” Johnston rides with Carolina Tailwinds, a successful tour operator that sponsors trips on the Eastern Shore and in North Carolina’s Outer Banks. Johnston says, “I use the trips to motivate myself to keep in shape year-round.”

There are several tour operators that offer organized cycling tours. Innkeeper Larry Kanudsen, of the Riverhouse Inn in Snow Hill, Maryland, sponsors “Inn Tours” – bike excursions between lodges.  Retirees, couples and families take Inn Tour vacations to explore secluded trails of Chincoteague, Assateague and the surrounding environs.  Kanudsen describes the trip, “When you’re riding along you see lots of farms and water, golf courses, stands of timber, and wildlife.” 

Insert:  When I see an adult on a bicycle, I do not despair for the future of the human race.  ~H.G. Wells

If you want to try biking for a good cause, sign up for The “Between the Waters Bike Tour,” in October, a fundraiser for the Nature Conservancy. The tour is an ecotourism event that gives riders the opportunity to see the beauty of the Eastern Shore. Routes are loops, winding along back roads, with scenic rest stops and views of barrier islands.  The bicycle is just as good company as most husbands and, when it gets old and shabby, a woman can dispose of it and get a new one without shocking the entire community.  ~Ann Strong

Attention all Washington Area residents: Go Do Something Fun! Surprise yourself with a moonlight stroll among the Presidents. I love taking the Metro downtown to the Smithsonian stop or L’Enfant Plaza. Both drop you close to Constitution Avenue. Point yourself in the direction of Abe or perhaps Thomas.  Wander among Franklin and his companions, Eleanor, Fala and the guys in the Bread Line. All lit up against a black sky, the stone statues are nobler and even more imposing, beckoning you to reflect on their words spoken long ago. Fewer tourists venture out at night, so it’s a much more intimate experience.

On a warm night, head over to the World War II Memorial. There’s nothing like the spray of the fountains to cool off a hot summer night. Find a marble bench and relax as the lights move among the great white structure. Find your state (Does DC have one too? I need to check next time) and take a moment to appreciate those brave soldiers who triumphed in that brutal crusade. Imagine our world had the war ended differently. Then contemplate the loneliness our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan experience so far away from home, facing the unknown. 

The Washington Monument from the World War II Memorial