Meatloaf And Pork Roast

A plate of meatloaf and rice.

We guessed right that this Wednesday, the last and fifth of the month, would be one of our busiest.

With the holiday weekend, guests weren't able to find food so easily this past Monday when many places were closed. And with it being the end of the month, the 361 guests we served today were extra hungry and as always appreciative.

We served homemade meatloaf made from premium ground beef donated from Phil's Meatmarket and pork roast that we made from pork we purchased at Cash 'n' Carry.

Alongside the meat, we served rice donated from Good Samaritan Hospital that we extended by adding frozen green beans and seasoning. The rice didn't last the whole service so we also served mashed potatoes and pasta.

Salads, soup and dessert were also on the menu.

One of the beautiful salads made by dedicated volunteer Kate.

It was such a busy day that I didn't get a chance to get a photo of the beautiful pork roast after it was cooked. But here's a pre-oven photo. I seasoned the pork with a homemade rub made with chili powder, cumin, oregano, a bit of sugar, salt and pepper.

Seasoned pork roast that's ready for the oven.

Thankful

Adding a few spoonfuls of drippings to a roast beef sandwich that is ready to go into a hot oven. The beautiful roast was donated to us by Phil's Meat Market.

We were unexpectedly busy today at the Wednesday Community Meal.

With it being the first of the month when our numbers are typically lower, we were thinking we would serve around 275 meals today — But boy were we wrong.

We served 354 meals and at the end of the day I am so thankful that we didn't have to turn anyone away.

There was just enough for everyone in large part due to the generosity of Phil's Meat Market and Good Samaritan Hospital who donate wonderful food to us each week and help us keep our pantry stocked.

From Good Samaritan today we had soup, rice, pasta, enchiladas, sweet and sour chicken and barbecue ribs. And from Phil's Meat Market we had roasted turkey, chicken breasts, ground beef, chili mac and a beautiful beef roast.

With the latter, we sliced it thin and made hot roast beef and cheese sandwiches which were the hit of the day.

All of the food was delicious and enjoyed by our hungry guests. I am so thankful for our generous donors.

Thanks to Good Samaritan Hospital, we were able to serve steaming hot bowls of hearty soup. The hospital donates wonderful food to us each week.

Last Community Meal Of 2012

Santa Claus? Or is it longtime volunteer Dan? Whoever it is, he worked very hard serving coffee, tea and hot chocolate and made our guests smile.

Today was our last Wednesday Community Meal of 2012.
Trinity Episcopal Cathedral will be closed the Wednesday after Christmas so the next service will be on January 2, 2013.

It's been a busy year at the Wednesday Community Meal. Every month we've seen the number of meals we serve continue to rise. We've also increased our gleaning to help fight the increase in food costs. Without the support of organizations and businesses like The Oregon Food Bank, Good Samaritian Hospital, Pizza Schmizza, Starbucks, Baker & Spice, Spring Hill Organic Farm, Phil's Meat Market and Grand Central Bakery, we couldn't feed our guests with our limited budget. The gleaning has been a real blessing to our program.

When we started the Wednesday Lunch in 2004, there were just two of us handing out peanut butter sandwiches and if we served 50 we thought that was huge.

In the Spring of 2008 we served our first full-service indoor meal and our numbers were hardly ever over 150 for that first year.

Now, four years later, we regularly serve between 250 and 320 meals each Wednesday. Guest come for the food but I believe they return because of the hospitality. Everyone is welcome and treated with kindness.

Thanks to our wonderful hardworking volunteers, we served 289 meals today.

We had numerous meal changes today. One of the most popular was roasted pork with gravy, asparagus and a baked potato.

With school out for Winter Break, we had extra help from some young volunteers today. Here is high school student Zane stirring a pan of teriyaki chicken.

The meal couldn't go on without our hardworking dishwashers. Longtime volunteer Bill even smiles as he works.

Gourmet Treats

At the Wednesday Community Meal today we enjoyed surprising our guests with some real gourmet treats - smoked salmon and smoked oyster chowder, just baked apple crisp, grass-fed Angus beef and a homemade lasagna inspired pasta dish. And, it was a busy day - we served 325 meals.

The smoked salmon and oyster chowder came courtesy of Fishpeople Seafood, a local company that has released a whole line of seafood entrees.

The company was so nice to donate to us and the chowder was a welcome change from our usual soup options.

The Fishpeople entrees which include Thai Coconut Lemongrass Tuna, Salmon in Chardonnay Dill Cream Sauce and Coconut Yellow Curry Tuna are available online and in local stores including New Seasons and Whole Foods.

A pouch of Smoked Salmon and Oyster Chowder.

The chowder in the warming pot.

A hearty serving topped with a few homemade croutons.

The apple crisp was made by our dessert expert Cheryl who amazingly assembled them and baked them in just over an hour. She is so well organized - she had the apples sliced and the topping mixed and ready to go when she entered the kitchen and voila, just out of the oven apple crisp which made the kitchen smell amazing.

Servings of just baked apple crisp.

The grass-fed Angus beef was donated to us by Trader Joe's. We sliced the thick steaks in half so more guests could have a taste. All the volunteers were excited about serving the steaks and were anxious to see the response.

Alongside the steak, we served a homemade pasta dish and garlic bread. Volunteer Steve who works the front table told me that he heard the guests raving about the food as they left. Yeah! Mission accomplished.

Our lasagna inspired pasta dish made with ground beef donated by Phil's Meat Market and whole milk cottage cheese from The Oregon Foodbank. And, a tender treat — a petite Angus steak.

Main Dish Mania

Whew! We served no less than 11 different main dishes today at the Wednesday Community Meal.

We used today's meal as an opportunity to clean our fridges and freezers of all our gleaned odds and ends. Changing the menu so often kept us on our toes but we were able to create and serve 268 full meals by using just some of this and some of that.

Thanks to the generosity of Good Samaritan Hospital, Phil's Meat Market (17 Northwest 23rd Place, Portland, OR)  and Trader Joe's (2122 Northwest Glisan Street, Portland, OR),  our guests left happy and satisfied.

Curious about how our menu evolved? Here's the list of our 11 main dishes.
 1. Sweet Chili Ribs
 2. Baked Chicken
 3. Enchiladas
 4. Baked Halibut
 5. Pasta with Marinara Sauce and Sausage
 6. Shepherd's Pie
 7. Sweet and Sour Chicken
 8. A Spicy Vegetarian Entree
 9. Baked Potatoes and Chili
10. Tri-Tip Steak Sandwiches
11. Turkey Sandwiches

It was a busy day!