°Front Lines NOTEBOOK Menthe Ready, Set, Cook! The rules are simple; the rewards worth heat- ing up over. Entering the third annual Simply Manischewitz Cook-offi simply involves submitting a kosher recipe using a Manischewitz product. Six finalists will be awarded a February 2009 trip to New York City for the final, live competition where the grand-prize winner will receive a kitchen full of GE Profile appliances, Manischewitz products and a $5,000 check. All that's necessary to enter is an original kosher entrée or soup recipe that uses at least one Manischewitz product. The Joy Devor with her winning Fantastic Flounder Rolls dish should include eight ingredients or less, not including salt, pepper and water, and take one hour or less to prepare. The contest is open to amateur cooks age 18 or older in the U.S. To help assure contestants that their entries are kosher, a guide to acceptable ingredients is on the cook-off Web site. "I have been eating Manischewitz Tam Tams my whole life and that's why it's so meaningful to me that they are the key ingredient in my winning recipe said Joy Devor of Far Rockaway, N.Y., mother of six and substitute teacher who won last year's contest with her Fantastic Flounder Rolls. "Somehow I feel that my memories will be passed on through my dish." Devor's recipe as well as those of previous year's finalists and semi- finalists — ranging from falafel pizza and southwestern potato kugel to pea and fennel soup and whitefish and potato knishes — are on the company's Web site. For official Cook-off! rules, go to manischewitz.com or call (908) 654-1098. - Shell! Liebman Dorfman, senior writer Lobbying Bubble Young Jews are being encouraged to travel to Florida to lobby their grandparents on behalf of Barack Obama. A new Jewish political action committee, the Jewish Council for Education and Research, is encouraging "The Great Shlep" over Columbus Day Weekend, Oct. 11- 13, in an effort to help tip Florida to the Democratic nominee. An Internet video starring Jewish comedian Sarah Silverman, which was viewed about 1 million times in its first day of release, boosted the effort. See it at vimeo.com/thegreatschlep. "It's clear from any sort of political operative you talk to that the best way to persuade somebody is for them to talk to someone they trust," said Mik Moore, a co-executive director of the Jewish Council. "Our indications are that these are the best people to make the case. And we've seen a huge amount of interest in doing this." Organizers intend to provide travelers with training and materi- als, and they are hosting a social event on the evening of Oct. 11. Participants are expected to secure their own funding and accom- modations. Keri Guten Cohen, story development editor Snail Mail For Chanukah "It looks like 2008 is another repeat year," said Ronald Scheiman of the Florida-based Quest for Annual Hanukkah Stamps. Although Scheiman works year-round to have a new stamp created for the holi- day each year, he said, "I have been advised that the 2004 dreidel design will be reissued for the fifth time at the new first class rate of 42 cents. Of course, there is a new religious Christmas stamp design for the new Last year's stamp rate." The revised 2008 stamp will go on sale Friday, Oct. 24, and should be in all post offices by Monday, Oct. 27. Scheiman suggests that if any post office does not have the stamp in stock after the release date, you can send an e-mail to the postmaster general at pmgceo@usps.gov and copy Scheiman at hanukkah@myspeedworks.com . "Let's show the LISPS there is a demand for the stamps:' he said. - Shelli Liebman Dorfman, senior writer Jewish Teen Makes Finals Leah Larson, age 17, editor and publisher of Yaldah magazine for Jewish girls, is a finalist in the Someday Stories Contest sponsored by Wells Fargo Bank. Leah's mother, Evelyn Krieger, of Sharon, Mass., wrote the winning essay, "Dream Girl;' describing her ambitious daughter's talents and dream of expanding Yaldah magazine, which she started at age 13. Krieger's essay was one of five finalists selected from 10,000 entries and is the only Jewish finalist. After winning $10,000 as a finalist, the mother/daughter team now is competing for the grand prize of $100,000, which will be invested in expanding the magazine and programs for Jewish girls. Public vot- ing takes place at wellsfargo.com/somedaystories, where you can read the winning essays and watch video interviews. The finalist with the most votes by Nov. 10 will earn the grand prize. Jews worldwide have voted and spread the word to their friends. Yaldah has been in first place since the contest opened, but recently slipped to second over Rosh Hashanah. Yaldah magazine's mission is to celebrate Jewish girls and women, inspire creativity, leadership and Jewish living. Yaldah is a quarterly, full-color magazine available by subscription and at select bookstores. Visit yaldahmagazine.com . - Kul Guten Cohen, story development editor A8 October 9 • 2008 iN Promoting Diversity Students in grades 6-8 who live in or attend a school in Oak Park are eligible to enter an essay contest sponsored by the Ethnic Advisory Commission of Oak Park. Essays answer this questsion: "How Can I Increase Diversity Awareness in My School?" Essays should be typed and double-spaced and be between 250-500 words. Include your name, address, telephone number, date of birth and school name. Submission deadline is 5 p.m. Oct. 24. Winners will be notified by Nov. 14. Winning entries will be published in the January issue of the Oak Park Report, and all participants also will be acknowledged in the publication. First place prize will be a $30 gift certificate to Office Depot, a one-year family membership to Detroit's Charles H. Wright Museum and a $25 gift certificate to AMC movie theater. Second prize will be a $20 gift certificate to Office Depot, a one-year family membership to the Henry Ford and Greenfield Village in Dearborn and a free haircut at Salon Ultimo in Oak Park. Third prize will be a $10 gift certificate to Office Depot, a family 4-pack Promoting on page A10 This Week www.JNonline.us Latest From Israel Want the most current news from Israel? Check our streaming news from Ynetnews.com for continu- ous updates and longer news, opinion and feature stories. And look at the center of our homepage for an Israel story that changes twice daily. Visit JNonline.us and click on a scrolling story on left. What've I Got To Lose? Check in on Story Development Editor Keri Cohen's quest for fitness and weight loss. There's a lot to learn Keri Cohen along the way, as she says in this new blog post. Only at JNonline.us . Go to the right side of homepage and click on box that says What Have I Got To Lose? Celebrations! Find weekly listings of births, b'nai mitzvah, engagements, weddings and anniversaries as well as past simchahs all online. They are all bundled under each week's publica- tion date. Just visit JNonline.us and click on Lifecycles on left. Online Poll This week's poll question: Will you build or visit a sukkah for the holiday of Sukkot? Visit the JNonline.us homepage, below the left menu, to cast your vote. Last week's question: Will you be making amends to others during this High Holiday season? Last week's poll results: Yes: 62% No: 38%