Quick Cookie Decorating With Edible Markers

If you don't want to spend a lot of time mixing colors and piping, you can still make some pretty cute cookies using edible markers.

The markers are especially nice for tiny details that are difficult to add with a piping bag.  To make these cute Christmas cookies, I flooded the cookies with blue royal icing and immediately added some dots for snow. After that dried, I used the same white icing that I used for the snow to add snowman and tree shapes. Then you just need to wait for the icing to dry completely before you can go to town decorating with edible markers.

The edible marker method is really the easiest way to decorate cookies and the perfect project for young children.

My favorite markers to use are from AmeriColor. The colors are vibrant and not translucent. They are available online and in specialty baking shops. Once you have the markers, you'll find lots of other uses for them besides cookie decorating. Who wouldn't love to find a funny faced apple in their sack lunch?

Pass The Chicken

The Wednesday Community Meal at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral was extra busy today. We served 323 meals.

We had six donated cases of chicken quarters so we oven roasted them and served them with a salad, roasted tomatoes, mashed potatoes and gravy. The guests were kind and appreciative as usual. It's a wonderful community.

We expected a large crowd with it being the end of the month when money is typically tighter but we didn't expect the sun which I suspect drew even more guests out and into our dining room. Good thing it was Spring Break and we had lots of extra help from young volunteers in the kitchen. Thank you Micah, Zane, Olivia, Iris, Sierra, Elise and Eleanor! You were a big help.

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?