Senior Diners Club

Location: Lidia Pucinska Apartments

Date: Thursday, January 22, 2015; 6:00-8:00 pm

I had not been here for a long time and so when I arrived at the usual building, I was surprised to see that the entrance to the community room where we cook was blocked.  There was another volunteer there and we were told to go to the building across the courtyard.  She introduced herself as Chelsea, and we walked over to the building. We were directed towards the kitchen where we found our volunteer leader Margarita and another volunteer Fernando.  The first thing I noticed was that this was different setup than the other place.  This was a small kitchen attached to an activity room of sorts – in fact a resident lady was working out on a stationary bike.  Margarita told us that the dinner would actually be served in a room on the top floor – 20^th.  This was not ideal because the volunteers would miss out on interacting with the guests during the initial phase, not to mention that all of the food would need to be transferred upstairs.

The meat station

The menu was ‘Sloppy Joe's’, ‘Mac & Cheese’, and ‘Coleslaw’ and ‘Chocolate Chip Cookie Brownies’!!  The water for cooking Macaroni’s was boiling and Fernando was preparing the coleslaw.  Chelsea and I were tasked with making the Sloppy Joe's.  We started by chopping the vegetables - green peppers and onions.  I was discussing with her ways of avoiding watery eyes by keeping the stem at the end – all learnt from ‘Food Network’. Once the veggies were chopped, Chelsea and I moved to the cooking of the meat and there was a lot of it.  We both had our pans full, with almost half of meat still waiting to be cooked.  It was a tight spot in the kitchen and we had taken 2 of the smaller burners on the tiny stove with boiling water on the back burner for pasta.  The meat was taking a long time to cook and by now another volunteer, Joey, had arrived.  He and Fernando took over the brownies, while Margarita had to go out to get some last minute supplies.

I added onions and peppers to the meat and now the pan was really full and I was struggling to keep everything inside.  We also put 9 packs of macaroni’s the boiling water and Chelsea and I then drained the fat from our pans using a lid for support.  Margarita came back from her shopping expedition and then went upstairs to run the Bingo game.  Another volunteer arrived and since the kitchen was already crowded, I sent him upstairs to help her out.  I was enjoying conversations with my fellow volunteers and we were wondering what sauce we would be adding to Sloppy Joe's, but we were actually creating a sauce in the pan using ketchup, mustard, brown sugar, garlic powder and salt.  There was no seasoning beyond that and I was concerned how it would all come together.  Fernando was our taster and declared the macaroni cooked and ready for mixing with the cheese and butter.  The meat was simmering with all of the sauces and other ingredients in it and the brownies were in the oven. 

The incredible brownies

Just as the meat was being removed from the pans and into the trays, Margarita came down and said that the Bingo was done and that the residents were ready for their meal.  I asked how many guests were attending this evening and she said 30.  I said that we should proceed with the meat that we had ready and that I would come upstairs after cooking the remaining meat.  Chelsea and Margarita went to the dining area leaving me to cook the rest of the meat.  The brownies were done and I finally got a look at the concept, which was cookies on top of brownies – a brilliant idea if there ever was one.  Joey took the pans upstairs and now it was just me cooking the meat while Fernando was doing the dishes.  For this batch, I decided to make the sauce separately, so as to get more consistency of taste.  I mixed the ketchup, mustard and brown sugar separately in a bowl and poured over the meat.  It also allowed me the freedom to manipulate the meat in the pan with more flexibility.

The view

The meat was done and before Fernando and I could go upstairs with it, one resident came and took some meat to go.  As we arrived on the 20^th floor, the most striking thing was the view, which was outstanding.  The dinner was almost over, though a few new residents had come in and so the meat was just on time.  I said to Margarita that I was perhaps the most popular person walking in with the tray!  The coleslaw was gone, as was the initial tray of meat.  Some brownies were still remaining as well as mac and cheese.  Margarita said that they would not be keeping the food here; meaning either people took it to go or she would take the rest and give to the homeless.  There was a sweet old lady who came to take some home some of the food, though she was feeling shy to ask.  I told her that she could take as much as she wanted.  One lady came to take some meat in a cup and as we went to hand it back to her, she said that we would have to place it in her palms since she was blind.  But based on her demeanor, she did not seem hampered by that at all.

It was time to go back down and as I waited for the elevator, I took another look at the view.  I could totally see myself sitting on the deck during summer admiring the skyline.  It was one of the best common rooms that I have been to through Chicago Cares.  There were a few residents in our elevator and a lady got in to go to the 6^th.  I jokingly said that that’s where the party must be.  In the meanwhile instead of going down, our elevator was called back up and it was the other lady who had taken the extra food.  We told her to go to 6^th for the party and for a minute she looked like she was thinking about it.  I came down and gathered my belongings.  Margarita had some wrapping up to do and I offered to help, but she said that she would be fine.  It had been a wonderful evening and I had enjoyed the company of my fellow volunteers, all of whom had worked really hard. Plus the residents were great...as was the view.