I took a walk around town on Sunday evening with the waxing crescent moon as my guide.  That and the scent of lilacs drew me up and down the familiar hills and neighborhoods through which I walked.  I’d been daily cutting lilacs from the bush in my backyard, trying to understand when the purple flowers were most fragrant.  I hadn’t been able to figure it out and the interwebs had not helped.  When I searched the term “when are lilacs most fragrant” I was told which plant types are most fragrant and where I could buy them.  Old folk wisdom or general botanical information about capturing the scent of lilac eluded me.

But on Sunday night, the whole town was misted with the delicate old-fashioned perfume.  Even the ugly things were quite lovely, the lilacs acting like smelling salts.  It’s too bad more people weren’t out walking about, enjoying the simple things in life.

As I walked, I thought about the Moxie Recipe Contest.  Since last Friday, I’ve been counting the days to the event.  This year, it’s going to be different in many ways.

First, it’s going to be on Saturday afternoon instead of Friday night.

Second, it’s going to be at the MTM Center gymnasium.  Over the last two years, the event has outgrown Chummy’s Mid-town Diner.  Although I’m going to miss Ben and his cool retro horseshoe-shaped dining bar, this year I want to give entrants a chance to showcase their cooking prowess in all dimensions, including presentation.  So the MTM Center will give them the space to do that.  The way I saw it in my lilac-addled mind was a “food bazaar” with each entrant having a small table space set up where they could present their Moxie-infused foods.  Even though I won’t be eligible to win a prize, I’m contemplating an entry myself just to have an opportunity to experience the contest excitement and anxiety.  I’ll admit, The Old Goat’s Chili Cook-Off did inspire me to change the dimensions of the Moxie Recipe Contest.

There will also be changes in the judging and the prizes; you can read about it all here.

Best of all, there’s a new logo for the contest, created by artist and graphic designer Robin Swennes.

These are the kinds of things I think about when I’m walking around town under the influence of lilacs.  That and Moxie crepes, Moxie and chocolate dipped pretzels, Moxie fruit dips, Moxie-marinated meat on a stick, and Moxie granola.  Just today, I saw a recipe for Tarte Au Sucre (Canadian sugar pie) and I said to myself “I wonder if someone could make that pie with Moxie for The Recipe Contest?”

Even though the lilacs may be fading, the flower of the Moxie Recipe Contest is just forming.  It will be in full, fragrant bloom in 45 days, more or less.

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