This being the 3rd Share Sunday this season, we feel like we are getting the hang of putting on a food share event. We arrive at the church at 11 to fire up the ovens and get the water boiling. On the "menu" based on what we picked up Friday and had in the freezer was a mixed vegetable soup, roasted potatoes, and cooked kumquats.
We did some research on these before hand because we figured they'd be a difficult "sell" on the table because they aren't common. So fun facts: they are a relative of the orange (not surprising), native to china but are grown in many warm climates including the U.S., and the flesh tastes strong and sour but the skin is edible and tastes sweeter. A basic recipe online suggested simmering them in water, sugar and cinnamon for 40 minutes.
We roasted the multi-colored fingerling potatoes...
...And made soup from bags of frozen vegetables such as broccoli, carrots, red peppers, butternut squash. We also added some of the roasted potatoes. We made a lot because 1) We had a lot of bags of veggies in the freezer and wanted to free up some space/not take up too much of the church's space and 2) Last week there were a lot of people and the food was gone in about 20 minutes.
We did some research on these before hand because we figured they'd be a difficult "sell" on the table because they aren't common. So fun facts: they are a relative of the orange (not surprising), native to china but are grown in many warm climates including the U.S., and the flesh tastes strong and sour but the skin is edible and tastes sweeter. A basic recipe online suggested simmering them in water, sugar and cinnamon for 40 minutes.
We roasted the multi-colored fingerling potatoes...
...And made soup from bags of frozen vegetables such as broccoli, carrots, red peppers, butternut squash. We also added some of the roasted potatoes. We made a lot because 1) We had a lot of bags of veggies in the freezer and wanted to free up some space/not take up too much of the church's space and 2) Last week there were a lot of people and the food was gone in about 20 minutes.
It was then pureed because pureed soups are comforting, convenient, and delicious. But aesthetically...
😧😱
We sautéed some fresh mushrooms, zucchini, peppers, and pine nuts and added it after it was pureed to give it some texture.
It still looked pretty unappetizing, but this is not a cooking competition. So we did the dishes and packed up for The Buttonwood. And decided in which order we would trade who had to carry the huge pot of soup.
And as we walked, we brainstormed where to come across some sort of cart... That pot was super heavy.
😂
We set up and started talking to people. Everyone was interested in the kumquats and most people tried them and liked them! Even if their initial face was 😧 because of the tartness. The general consensus was the sugary syrup made it worth it.
The food went slower this week because we made more and there were a little bit less people outside (the weather was cloudy with impending showers). This was nice though because it gave us more time to talk to the people on the street. Among many others, there was a man who made jewelry to keep his hands and mind busy, a woman who loved to cook and spoke of how much she missed it and appreciated a home cooked meal, and a man with a broom and an idea. This reminded us that there are many aspects of FNB beyond sharing food such as treating people with respect and kindness regardless of where they are in their life.
This week, we are working on making a banner for the table and accumulating a few items we have found we need. So time to go thrift store hopping 😄
✌❤
Comments
Post a Comment