Washington state is home to so many delectable edibles, and that fact was on display at our Teen Feed dinner service in July.
The main attraction was Seattle dogs. We served jumbo Costco dinner franks and Field Roast vegan stadium dogs on big' ol Franz Pioneer rolls (all three companies are founded in Seattle).
It wouldn't be a Seattle dog without a copious amount of cream cheese, plus genuine Walla Walla sweet caramelized onions. Would you believe we went through about 10 pounds of them!? And would you believe we here at Mag Prep made all of those. (I have learned from previous Teen Feeds to do that outside, so our house doesn't smell like onions for a month.)
We were fortunate to receive a generous donation from Seattle's DRY Botanical Bubbly for our beverage for the "locals only" meal. Rainier Cherry, Vanilla, Ginger, Cucumber and Lavender sparkling water were *such* a refreshing treat for the teens (and the Teen Feed staff loved it, too).
Dessert was nothing short of spectacular. I'm serious! The morning of Teen Feed I picked up a flat of the most delicious raspberries I've ever tasted from the Carpinito Brothers' produce market down in Kent. The berries were harvested that same morning! (If you haven't been to Carpinito's before, it's worth a field trip some time!) To go with, Annabelle harvested huge stalks for rhubarb from our garden. The very-local rhubarb and raspberries were expertly mixed with strawberries and the delightful combo was served with beautifully baked Krusteaz shortcake/scones. Add a little Darigold whipped cream, also local, and it was a stunningly wonderful treat. Definitely a dessert to remember!
Ice, napkins, to go containers and a festive tablecloth ... there are so many pieces to the Teen Feed puzzle. We try to remember all of the little things along with the big things each month.
Multiple teens voiced deep appreciation for the array of food and drink they had to choose from to build a special dinner customized to their personal preferences.
In addition to the 30 meals we box up for ROOTS, the in-person Teen Feed guest count is on the rise, and boy are they a hungry bunch! For example, our very first guest requested TWO huge franks on his bun (that's a half pound of hot dog!), and another young man had at least four bags of chips. I was glad I went ahead and bought an extra 14-pack of hot dogs and bonus buns ahead of our service, or we would have been down to our last dog at closing time. The meager leftovers we did have went to the nearby Community Fridge.
After the service, I made sure to send a customized thank you card to the DRY Soda folks for their generous donation
So that diners could learn more about what inspired what they were eating, I printed little signs with QR codes that would take them to the viral videos for each menu item.
Our main entree was the wildly-viral and super hearty feta pasta bake. When it went viral, it was so popular, an entire country (Finland) experienced a feta cheese shortage. There are many versions of this recipe online. I favor the New York Times' version, with just one alteration: Right before the final bake, I add one pound of browned Italian sausage to up the protein and flavor. This recipe became an instant family favorite when we test drove it!
Just look at how fresh and healthy these ingredients look as we prepped the Green Goddess at home.
Creamy Lemonade was our special beverage for the service. Served in little mason jars with colorful paper straws and a slice of lemon on the rim, it was a pretty as it was tasty - almost like liquid lemon meringue pie. "This lemonade is awesome!" raved one teen.
Our leftover pasta bake went to the Tiny Home Village near Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, and the balance of the leftovers went to the Community Fridge a couple of blocks away from Teen Feed.
Of course, we're already planning the September menu. Since fall and football are in the air, we're going with a tailgating party theme. Steak nachos supreme and more!
