Chop, Chop, Chop

Volunteers Leo, Helen and Steve worked nonstop in the dining room today.

Gosh it took a lot of chopping to prepare today's Wednesday Community Meal. I am so thankful for all of the volunteers who helped because we served one labor intensive lunch,  and it was a very busy day. We served 443 meals during our two hour service.

The line for the meal started forming early, just after 8 a.m. and by the time our doors opened at 11 a.m., it went all the way through the courtyard of Trinity Episcopal Cathedral and out to the sidewalk on NW 19th. I think everyone was just happy that there was a break from days of rain and anxious for the opportunity to sit and eat inside.

There just was so much prep work to be done. There was the bread that needed to be cut for the croutons, vegetables that needed to be chopped for the salads, oranges that needed to be sliced as a side and then there were the ingredients for our main dish.

We made a flavorful saute of Italian sausages, zucchini, onions, tomato and beans that we served over pasta and rice. The dish was our own creation, utilizing the ingredients we had on hand and we made enough of it to serve more than 400.

Just the chopping of the zucchini and onions took more than an hour and a half and for nearly an hour,  there were five volunteers in the kitchen just vigorously cutting the five cases of Italian sausages that were donated by Lift Urban Portland.

We topped our creation with shredded Parmesan.

The dining room volunteers and dishwashers worked nonstop too and deserve kudos. The Wednesday Community Meal really is a team effort and I know our guests are thankful for it.