A place to share my love of baking and feeding people -- family, friends and strangers. These are culinary adventures from my Northeast Portland kitchen and Trinity Episcopal Cathedral's Wednesday Community Meal.
Showing posts with label community meal at trinity episcopal cathedral. Show all posts
Showing posts with label community meal at trinity episcopal cathedral. Show all posts
Wednesday, November 21, 2012
Sack Lunches
Trinity Episcopal Cathedral is preparing to serve 500 to 600 Thanksgiving meals tomorrow so for our community meal today we handed out 236 sack lunches and cups of hot soup.
In the lunches were peanut butter sandwiches, fruit, chips and a cookie. Most guests also chose to get a cup of soup to help warm them up.
With the cold rainy weather the volunteers felt bad about not being able to invite our guests inside today. But our kind guests handled it well — they were understanding and said they were looking forward to coming back to Trinity tomorrow for Thanksgiving.
Wednesday, October 3, 2012
Forming Friendships
Someone I'm so pleased to have gotten to know is Sue.
Every Wednesday, I look forward to seeing Sue and her group of friends sit and eat at their reserved table right in front of the kitchen window.
Sue has a warm personality and lovely smile. She always goes out of her way to greet me and simply makes my day.
I also enjoy seeing her and her friends visit and enjoy the social aspect of the meal. Sue reminds me of the importance of friendship and that it can be just as nourishing as food— I'm blessed to know her.
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
It Takes A Village
A hard working team of volunteers served 327 meals today at the Wednesday Community Meal at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral.
I wish I could say I helped but it was one of those days when things don't go as planned and you have to just go with it.
Two hours into preparing the meal, I cut my finger pricking potatoes with a knife. It happened so fast and I was afraid to look but my friends determined I needed medical attention.
Fred and Leah took me to the hospital where I received five stitches and the rest of the volunteer team carried on and did a wonderful job. We arrived back in the kitchen just a few minutes before the end of the meal service and everyone was hard at work.
At the end of the day I am feeling blessed to have such loving and helpful friends. And, from now on I am going to use a fork to prick potatoes.
I wish I could say I helped but it was one of those days when things don't go as planned and you have to just go with it.
Two hours into preparing the meal, I cut my finger pricking potatoes with a knife. It happened so fast and I was afraid to look but my friends determined I needed medical attention.
Fred and Leah took me to the hospital where I received five stitches and the rest of the volunteer team carried on and did a wonderful job. We arrived back in the kitchen just a few minutes before the end of the meal service and everyone was hard at work.
At the end of the day I am feeling blessed to have such loving and helpful friends. And, from now on I am going to use a fork to prick potatoes.
Wednesday, July 11, 2012
A Green Wednesday
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| Charyl who donated fresh greens from her garden for our Wednesday Community Meal. |
On Thursdays from June through September from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m., Spring Hill Organic Farm sells at the Northwest Portland Farmer's Market in the parking lot of Trinity Episcopal Cathedral at NW 19th Avenue and NW Everett Street. At the end of each market day the farm donates remaining greens to the Wednesday Community Meal.
These highest quality organic greens are such a treat for our guests and I love being able to serve fresh salads and add kale and chard to soups and other dishes.
We also receive smaller batches of greens from home gardeners who kindly share their bounty. Every single donation makes a difference and is greatly appreciated.
Wednesday, June 27, 2012
Pigs In A Blanket
Our meal choice today of old fashioned Pigs in a Blanket at the Wednesday Community Meal at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral was very popular and even brought back some childhood memories.
As soon as volunteer Brad saw what we were cooking he smiled and said, "I haven't seen these since grade school."
I think I know why they were a popular grade school cafeteria item. They are crowd pleasing, they cook fast and they are easy to serve.
We made our Pigs in a Blanket with 100-percent beef Costco hot dogs and homemade crescent dough and served 350 meals.
Just to give you an idea of how much food we go through — I multiplied my crescent dough recipe by 27 and there was just enough dough leftover to make a few rolls after wrapping the hot dogs.
Here's the recipe:
Pigs in a Blanket
Crescent Dough
4 3/4 cups flour
1 package yeast
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup butter
2 eggs
Combine 2 cups of the flour, yeast and salt in a large mixing bowl.
Heat milk, butter and sugar in a saucepan until milk is warm and the butter is nearly melted. Let cool until warm.
Add milk to flour mixture and whisk until smooth. Add eggs and whisk again.
Add enough of the flour to form a soft dough and knead until smooth and elastic.
Cover and let rise one hour or until double in bulk.
To Assemble you need:
100-percent beef hot dogs
Extra flour for rolling the dough
Punch the dough down and divide it in half. Let the dough balls rest for 10 minutes.
Roll one half of the dough at a time into a 7x12 inch rectangle.
Use a knife to cut 1-inch strips of dough.
Roll each of the strips around a hot dog and place on a baking sheet.
Let the Pigs in a Blanket rise for 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
Bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until golden brown.
Note: If you don't want to use all the dough for Pigs in a Blanket, make rolls with the remainder. Just shape them and let them rise for 30 minutes before baking.
As soon as volunteer Brad saw what we were cooking he smiled and said, "I haven't seen these since grade school."
I think I know why they were a popular grade school cafeteria item. They are crowd pleasing, they cook fast and they are easy to serve.
We made our Pigs in a Blanket with 100-percent beef Costco hot dogs and homemade crescent dough and served 350 meals.
Just to give you an idea of how much food we go through — I multiplied my crescent dough recipe by 27 and there was just enough dough leftover to make a few rolls after wrapping the hot dogs.
Here's the recipe:
Pigs in a Blanket
Crescent Dough
4 3/4 cups flour
1 package yeast
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup butter
2 eggs
Combine 2 cups of the flour, yeast and salt in a large mixing bowl.
Heat milk, butter and sugar in a saucepan until milk is warm and the butter is nearly melted. Let cool until warm.
Add milk to flour mixture and whisk until smooth. Add eggs and whisk again.
Add enough of the flour to form a soft dough and knead until smooth and elastic.
Cover and let rise one hour or until double in bulk.
100-percent beef hot dogs
Extra flour for rolling the dough
Punch the dough down and divide it in half. Let the dough balls rest for 10 minutes.
Roll one half of the dough at a time into a 7x12 inch rectangle.
Use a knife to cut 1-inch strips of dough.
Roll each of the strips around a hot dog and place on a baking sheet.
Let the Pigs in a Blanket rise for 30 minutes.
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| Let the Pigs in a Blanket rise for 30 minutes before baking. |
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
Bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until golden brown.
Note: If you don't want to use all the dough for Pigs in a Blanket, make rolls with the remainder. Just shape them and let them rise for 30 minutes before baking.
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
Extra Help
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| Volunteers Micah, Colin, Eleanor and Elise |
I like the energy and enthusiasm our young volunteers bring to the meal in the summer when they're out of school. And we need the help since June, July and August have always been our busiest months of the year.
It's a pleasure to work with young people who are hard working and happy to help. Thank you!
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
Fresh Produce
Our bodies crave and need fresh produce but it's very hard to find for free when you rely on food donations.
Today we were blessed to be able to serve 320 meals accompanied by beautiful salads, bowls of soup and cake for dessert.
Thanks to the generosity of Good Sam Hospital, Trader Joe's, Phil's Meat Market, Pizza Schmizza and Baker & Spice, we had plenty of food, just not a lot of a single item. The guests were appreciative and understanding about us having to change the menu a few times.
Between servings of Meatloaf and Chili, there was Chicken Parmesan, Chicken with Mushroom Sauce, Enchiladas, Sweet and Sour Shrimp, Indian Curry, Roasted Pork, Pizza and Ribs.
I'm definitely looking forward to the Summer gardening season and hopefully being able to serve our guests more fresh produce.
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