Last Wednesday

Every Wednesday, I enter the kitchen at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral in Northwest Portland sometime between 8:15 and 8:30 a.m. and the wonderful mayhem begins.

With a lot of help from a crew of the nicest and the most dedicated volunteers, we pull together a full meal for an unknown number of hungry guests using gleaned food, donated food and purchased food from the Oregon Food Bank.  I don't know all the ingredients I'll have to work with until the day before so it's kind of like an Iron Chef competition. Stressful but fun. Anyone can eat at Trinity between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. on Wednesday. 

Last week we served 268 meals. On the menu for the first 180 guests was a plate of frittata, roasted tomatoes, toast, homemade chunky apple sauce and bread pudding for dessert. Then it was onto our wonderful leftovers from Good Samaritan Hospital. The next group got roasted pork and a salad and the next taco rice casserole and a salad. And finally there was sweet and sour chicken and enchiladas.

Every Wednesday, there is a miracle in the kitchen. I don't know how it happens but we always seem to have enough for everyone.

Please come back for more stories from the kitchen of the Wednesday Community Meal at Trinity.  What will I have to cook with this week?