Feeding The Hungry And Then What Will We Eat?

Yesterday was our turn to help out at the Beth Emet Soup Kitchen in Evanston, Illinois. The leaders of this soup kitchen started it with the idea that the guests must be treated with respect. They usually feed about 100 guests although nobody is ever turned away. The tables are set with tablecloths and flowers and usually volunteer musicians play music.

Working there is always a humbling experience. It's humbling to see people who could easily be our neighbors walk through the line. One person working there recognized a guest who he had gone to school with many years ago. Phil Ochs' song "There But For Fortune" kept going through my mind as I stood at the serving table.

Last night our menu was salad, chicken and vegetable stir fry, rice, and bread. Another helper and I got assigned to making the salad. We filled three huge bowls with salad vegetables. I knew it would be tiring. It's tiring to know that so many people in America need to eat at soup kitchens but what can we expect when the top 2% of the population has more than 25% of the wealth.

To be prepared for getting home late, I made the dinner in a bowl recipe from Peace de Resistance. The owner of the recipe says, "Been marching all day and forgot to defrost anything for dinner.." This is a really good recipe. It can be made in 10 minutes and put in the refrigerator to be eaten later. If you did forget to defrost anything, the ingredients defrost quickly. You can make it when you get home.

                                                        Dinner In A Bowl

Ingredients
8 oz crabmeat ( fake crabmeat made from fish is just as good. You can buy it in a package with fish that comes already cut in cubes to save time)
lettuce
tomatoes
5 mushrooms
1 zucchini
1 red pepper
1/4 cup raw macaroni
lemon juice to taste
2 tablespons of olive oil
grated parmesan cheese to taste
oregano to taste

1. Boil a cup of water to make the macaroni.
2. While the macaroni is cooking, cut up the zucchini, mushrooms, and red pepper.
3. Saute in half the olive oil.
4. tear lettuce into pieces and cut the tomatoes
5. put all the ingredients in a bowl.
6. pour the second half of the olive oil, lemon juice, grated parmesan cheese, and oregano over the rest of the ingredients for a salad dressing