Location: Breaking Bread Ministries/LaSalle Street Church
Date: Wednesday, March 02, 2016; 5:45-8:15 pm
It seemed like forever since I had been here, but it had
just been a month. I arrived to see that
Marianne was here and that was great since I had missed her last time. She was wearing a Paper “Sailors Hat” over the “hair
net” and also had new glasses on. She
said that they weren't good though and that she was going to take them back. I reminded her of our very first meeting when
I had given her some advice on “contacts”
and she had called me her “eye doctor”.
That was 3 years ago. Has it really been that long?
 |
| This is what I would be making |
I met one of the volunteers that I had chatted with last
time regarding my travels and we exchanged notes on everywhere that we had been
the past month. She had been to Sonoma Valley
and Hawaii and I had gone to Columbus and Indianapolis. Not quite an even comparison! There was a huge pot of “Black-Eyed Peas” and I carried it to the cooking area and put it
on the stove. Chef Dan instructed me to
add 2 pitchers of water and then proceeded to add several spices, explaining
all the time why he was adding them. He
really is a very good teacher. I noticed
that there were several pieces of "Turkey Neck" inside, which would eventually
give the beans the desired flavor. I
hope the guests aren’t expecting them to be vegetarian!
Chef’s wife was next to me, making cheese sauce, which was
going on top of broccoli. I was stirring
the pot and behind me some volunteers were chopping onions and green
peppers. One of the younger volunteers
came over to sauté peppers and onions which then went into my peas. Chef Dan was showing him how to do the one
handed flip using the pan, saying that it took lot of practice and lot of mess,
at which his wife nodded. Chef
encouraged me to taste and I said that it needed more salt. He said, “Yes
Chef” and added salt and some more spices, telling me to
taste at each stage. Next to me a volunteer was grilling dozens of large sausages. Marianne looked at those and said, “That’s a really large sausage. I must get a
picture”. And I muttered, “That’s what she said”. Yep, real mature.
The peas were almost ready and Chef Dan continued to impart
wisdom, saying that you can never overcook beans and all how they breakdown
their complex carbohydrates. He asked me
to move the giant pot to the table nearby and scoop out everything into a deep
pan. He also asked me to “fish out” the turkey necks and if we
had time, we could shred it and add the meat back to the beans. Marianne was giving her speech and mentioned
that she had reached out to ‘Zagat’
and wanted us to be the first ever “Zagat
rated” soup kitchen. She also asked
us to always wear hair net, aprons and gloves since we may be inspected at any
time.
Hannah was here and wearing a “Free Hugs” apron, like her brother during my first visit all those
years ago. I asked for a hug and
inquired how she was doing. She said much
better today, which was great to hear. The menu was “hot dog” with the sausage inside, topped with grilled onions;
black-eyed peas and broccoli with cheese sauce.
There was also a plate of desserts which would be distributed towards
the end. I helped distribute the
individual salad bowls – thank you - and then plated a bun with sausage in it;
passing it down for peas and broccoli.
The room was closed off on the left for “nurse’s office” – since the usual area was under construction –
and that made the room appear full. But
we were actually full, based on the plates served and the second’s line. After
that I helped stack chairs and put away tables and then it was time to
leave. It had been great to see everyone
again and also get a cooking class from the Chef.
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