Boxing Day and Beyond

FANCY FEAST:  Though we usually host Teen Feed on the fourth Saturday of every month, this month we were moved to December 26, since the fourth Saturday was Christmas, and they had something different going on for that holiday.

Little did we know when we were bumped that that would just happen to be the day the Seattle area received about 5 inches of snow. Oh no!  Here's how much snow we had in the driveway when heading out for the University District, about 16 miles to the north. (Check out how the snow is piled on the alien's head!)

Cooking up a "Fancy Feast" of 65 meals for homeless teens and young adults was ambitious even "on paper." Mix in a thick layer of snow in a hilly city that's not used to the white stuff, and it became a monumental undertaking. 

Three days before service, I got a nervous text from Teen Feed, fretting about the forecast and asking if we were aware of the weather warnings. I told them we were monitoring the situation, but would be there no matter what. The morning of the 26th, when we all woke up to a BUNCH of the white stuff, I received a call from the volunteer coordinator asking if we were still going to make it. "We'll be there, with fancy food for 65!" I assured her.    

Because of the weather, some people dropped off donations a day or two early to Kennedy in Greenwood. Other donors changed from bringing to sponsoring, and three even braved the snowy roads to bring their stuff to the service site. My friend Bernadette walked for an hour in the snow to deliver her home baked rolls to Kennedy before the dinner service.

For the feast, over 30 pounds of top sirloin and New York steak were seasoned, vacuum sealed, and cooked via sous vide to medium rare. 

Those steaks were seared and sliced on site.

My friend Debi handled the vegan main entrée and, frankly, created a bit of a problem. The mushroom Wellington she made looked so darn amazing, everyone who saw it (vegan or not!) wanted some. 

Enormous potatoes were beautifully baked and the spuds were transformed from plain potatoes to dinner plate superstars with stellar toppings (sour cream, cream cheese, shredded cheddar, butter, bacon bits, and green onions). Beautiful broccoli florets were tossed in olive oil and balsamic, dusted with pink Himalayan sea salt, roasted, and then served up with plenty of Parmesan on top. So good!

We had cute little single serve glass bottles of Martinelli apple cider, and dessert was three different kinds of decadent fudge, including Annabelle's colorful "unicorn" fudge.

The fancy folded napkins and little LED candle lights helped make the meal more special. 

Because the weather was so bad, we weren't sure how many of the expected 65 would show up. I surmised the numbers would be super low because the teens simply don't have the clothing to be out in that kind of weather, but we had to be ready for anything. As it turned out, we served only about a dozen guests on site. But the people who came were so happy! Two of the diners each had four servings of steak! We were happy to hear ROOTS (the shelter where many Teen Feed guests stay overnight) opened their space to a 24/7 space due to the extreme weather.  (Each month, 25 our of Teen Feed meals are delivered to ROOTS after Teen Feed service.) Knowing that many of the regular Teen Feed diners were sheltering there, we boxed up many extra servings to feed the hungry folks there.

I couldn't help but feel a little proud of what we pulled off when I overheard a Teen Feed worker talking about Sunday night's service.  

"This is the best meal we've ever had here." - George, Teen Feed Kitchen Lead, 12/26/2021

 A bonus story from Sunday night. While working to get ready for the meal service, out of the corner of my eye, I saw someone bringing multiple BIG trays of foil topped food in aluminum trays to the dining room. I wondered what that was about, and found out after our service. Apparently another volunteer meal team had a mix up about their date and delivered on our service date. Their food was all frozen solid, and the current tiny kitchen at Teen Feed has absolutely zero space to store that. In a case of us being in the right place at the right time, before we left last night, we asked if they needed help making sure that donation didn't go to waste. So Monday morning, Christian and and I fired up our three ovesn  and cooked up the other group's really tasty looking chili, corn bread, brownie cake, and Buffalo cauliflower. We delivered it piping hot along with a few bonus leftovers from last night to Tent City 3 and the Tiny House Village on MLK in south Seattle at lunch time. They were over-the-moon thrilled, especially at Tent City, where their only way to cook food is a single microwave powered by a gas generator. Those folks (including two families with elementary aged children) were SO cold and so grateful for the warming, nourishing sustenance. 

YOU'RE KITTING ME: Among their Christmas gifts,  CJ and Annabelle each received gingerbread house kits. It's not like we hadn't had enough fun with baking already this month, but the kits were 70 percent off, and an impulse purchase.

As regular readers know, CJ and Annabelle know their way around finally and icing. In fact, they're award winning cake decorators. They put that experience to work completing the kits. CJ's Corgi dog house turned out pretty darn cute. 

(The corgi was pre-made and included in the kit, by the way.)

Annabelle's experience was not as pleasant. They (Wilton) didn't provide anywhere near enough icing to make completing the gingerbread igloo to look like the one in the photo on the box possible. The icing they did provide was lumpy and chunky, and the fondant was crumbly and dry. Super disappointing. 

We marveled at why Wilton would want to set people up for failure like that. Their business is selling cake decorating supplies. You'd think it's in their best interest to provide people with a positive experience, so that they want to pursue other edible decorating projects.