Friday, February 21, 2020

The Actual Third Week

Tuesday as I was doing my after cleaning at the serving area/dining room, a police man came in and was talking to our resource division (I am the Kitchen Division, and there is a Thrift Store Division as well). Then the owner of the Org walks in, and after some polite talk I didn't hear, they headed out to the back where we have a temporary tent village, in about a 1/4 acre behind the building (it was approved for 6 months to help people make it through the winter, I want to say there are about 8 tents back there maybe).
On the way back officer spots a young man and asks if he is so-andso, he says yes, and the officer tells him the department has had several calls just wanting to make sure he is ok, and to please contact his family. He does and two days later he was getting bus tickets printed to go home :)
Then the officer and the other two went to the back yard. They were there to evict a tent resident (we call it Camp Silver). He was in a bad mood, in his tent, and saying he needed to get his jacket on before coming out of the tent to talk. As he puts his jacket on, they could tell he was hiding something just inside the jacket. Officer asks him three or more times to please put his hands where he can see them.
Young man doesn't comply, just ays he doesn't have to do anything he is being told. Officer says he doesn't want to tase him. Kid lunges, officer shoots taser, taser has no effect on kid, kid starts punching officer, gets him on the ground, puts him in a choke hold. Officer asks another tent resident for help to get kid off, he does, possibly saving officer; at the same time officer was pushing radio button asking for back-up, within three minutes there are 5 more police vehicles, and an ambulance.
I had one of our dining guests that also volunteers, to lock the door behind me, not to let anyone in because we had loved up the whole shop, all three divisions, to deal with the altercation. Kid was taken to jail after I left, the next day went on as normal.
Otherwise Tuesday was normal (the same volunteer cook I have on Tuesday will be cooking in my place with a different volunteer while I take the food safety course). Wednesday my normal male volunteer was there, Shepherds pie was awesome. Thursday a volunteer friend and her husband helped that day, its really so nice to have volunteers, even if they are just cutting, stirring a pot, washing dishes, taste test adjusting, the more help we have , the easier it is, and the more you can chat and have real connections. Connections help volunteers figure out which jobs they enjoy, are comfortable with, or want to learn from.
Wednesday we were donated about 8 dozen eggs, so the menu changed for next week, but I think we are having my Volunteers Goulash Tuesday, Ham and Cheese Strata (like a quiche from what I gather), and Thursday probably spicy sausage lasagna.
Supposedly I am saving them at least half what they were spending in the previous cooks' menu program! I am using 50% or more in donations to make meals, I am just cleaning out four freezer/fridges of meat and bread and stuff, so once those meat donations go away I told her the menu cost may go up, but all I can say is that I buy frugally.
Three people asked me about my soup bases in the past 2 weeks. All I do is sautéed the veggies until transparent, about 5-10 minutes, add flour to begin a gravy, seasoning, dry milk (we had donated) if it is a creamy soup. But I tell them it is just about adding flavor while cooking every part of it, and I told the last enthusiastic lady to come by the kitchen anytime and I will help her cooking any way I can (she said her soup always tastes like water)
So I made it through the study book once last weekend, I will do that again this weekend, then the test on Tuesday, then about 10 days after that I am Kitchen Manager Certified when it comes to safety!
For the future meals, I think I can do SoS, but with all the extra ham that is frozen, Mac and cheese if I still have more ham left over, spinach lasagna, all the home favorites, and the odd donations I cook on the side (roasted vegetables like potatoes, spaghetti squash, they all taste good roasted!

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