Helping others have the Best Summer Ever

Well, probably not the best summer ever. Some of these 'others' in question are probably hoping they make it through the summer at all. This morning I volunteered for Project Chicken Soup, an organization that provides meals for people with HIV. I'm so glad I did.

Last week, my mom asked if I was free for a few hours today. Rochelle, a woman at my parents' synagogue, had befriended her, and knowing that Violet (mom and I are on a first-name basis) is always eager to help anyone in need, Rochelle asked her if she was available to help out with this project. Violet was busy today, but got me to volunteer in her stead. I was excited to help out -- I've definitely been caught up in my own problems lately, and could use a reminder of how good I have it, not to mention a chance to get my hands dirty and help out some people in need. Also, they were preparing the meals at the Hirsch Family Kitchen on Fairfax, a building about 5 blocks from my apartment that I have passed a million times, but never seen inside.

It was a 4-hour commitment, from 8 am (yeesh) to noon. By the time I got a coffee and drove over there (yes, I drove. Pathetic, but every snoozy moment counts in the 7 o'clock hour on a Sunday morning), they were already in full swing. The front room was filled with volunteers in hair nets and nametags, filling out forms and waiting to get their assignments. Some of these people have been doing this for years, some were newbies like me. There was a handful of high school students, fulfilling their community service requirements. The rest were older -- the same characters you'd see at Sisterhood and Men's Club meetings. A dearth of kids my age though, sadly.

After a short orientation, Paul, the head of the organization, led us into the fully equipped industrial kitchen. Giant mixers, a bathtub-sized cooker for chili, vats of soup. Probably about 60 volunteers dicing vegetables, mixing cookie dough, cutting chicken into pieces. The process was very impressive. This was quality food -- fresh vegetables, ample seasoning, kosher meat. And of course, all the food was prepared with large amounts of love. Everything was very well-organized, with a few more experienced volunteers doling out tasks to the rest of us. I spent most of the day on chili patrol -- we had to pack 100 containers with rice, top it with chili, lid them (check all four corners, no air bubbles!), and send them off. Trouble came in the form of nasty rice. It had cooked totally inconsistently, and much of it had to be trashed. We did not have nearly enough decent rice for all 100, so Mark, our lead, had us go to Plan B: dump all the meagerly filled containers of rice into the chili. Genius.

Over the course of the day, I introduced myself to vivacious Rochelle, who in turn introduced me to her husband, her daughter, and her son, and made it very clear that now that she knows me (and "has fallen in love" with me), she will be contacting me for more opportunities to help mend the world. I met Rose, a smiley Stanford-bound 11th grader hoping to study international policy en route to becoming Secretary of State, who happened to be in the same history class as my cousin Justin (I beamed as she said, "He's such a talented filmmaker!"). I also ran into my own 12th-grade English teacher! I hadn't seen her since then, and was tickled that she still remembered me after all these years.

After 4 hours of thawing, rinsing, cutting, mixing, mopping, wiping, sanitizing, and packing, we had 100 paper-in-plastic bags filled to the top with:

- baked chicken with roasted potatoes
- pasta aglio e olio with fresh parsley
- chili with beef, beans, corn, peppers (and rice!)
- chicken soup (of course)
- minestrone soup
- steamed veggies
- cucumber salad
- fruit salad
- whole fresh fruit
- protein bars and juice boxes
- apple crumble
- peanut butter cookies

Special meals were even made for those with low-sodium, vegetarian, and diabetic diets. And as I was walking out at noon, a whole other set of volunteers was walking in: drivers, who would spend the next few hours hand-delivering these meals to households across Los Angeles County.

People. This is such a worthy effort. They do this twice a month, and can use all the help they can get. If you live in the area, I encourage you to help out. If you shop at Ralph's, you can have 5% of the cost of your purchases go to Project Chicken Soup. And of course if you can make a donation, that would be incredible -- they need knives and cutting boards, they need office supplies, and they could sure use a good rice cooker! (which is to say, they need money)

Sometimes you get what you need. For me, the swift kick in the pants and the reminder of how lucky I am that I got this morning were exactly what I needed. I will certainly continue to go on about beach days and glorified Hershey's kisses, but every so often, it's important to take stock. Chicken stock, that is.

(Note: I have no photos for this one. But there are plenty of them on the website -- check out the April 2006 newsletter, under "News". Also check out the "Webmaster's story" on the front page. Great story.)

Project Chicken Soup: Urgent Call for Volunteers

Hi friends, we've talked quite a bit about Project Chicken Soup around here, and what a great experience volunteering with them is. Well, they are at it again this Sunday, and they are short volunteers this time around. If anyone is available to help out, please let me know. Here are the details:

- It's a four-hour commitment, from 8 am to noon.
- The work involves preparing and cooking about a week's worth of wholesome, healthy, delicious meals -- noodle salads, fresh pear cakes, steamed vegetables, roasted chicken and chicken soup (of course) -- in an industrial kitchen, for about 100 people around Los Angeles living with HIV. (After the prep, another set of volunteers hand-delivers the meals to these people's homes.)
- It's fun! All of the volunteers are nice, nice people, and working in an industrial kitchen (vats of soup, mixers the size of a chimney), with such huge proportions of food, is a very cool experience.
- This all goes down at a community kitchen on Fairfax, just north of Beverly.

So, if you're in LA, and you have a few hours to spare on Sunday, please let me know as soon as possible. Thanks all!

Project Chicken Soup: A Call for Volunteers

Long time readers (ha) might recall I volunteered this past summer for an incredible organization called Project Chicken Soup. I'm going back, on Sunday, March 11. It's a 4-hour commitment, and involves spending time with a really spirited group of people in an industrial kitchen, preparing a week's worth of nourishing meals for people throughout Los Angeles living with HIV. Obviously, they can use all the help they can get. If you're interested in joining me, let me know.

Project Chicken Soup Recap

As if 8 am on a Sunday isn't early enough, it had to be the first day of Daylight Savings Time too. But we pushed through the grogginess, I, my mom, and Ramos and Rachel, who graciously volunteered to help out, and really enjoyed the experience. As usual, everyone was wowed by the giant vats of soup, overgrowned mixers, and cakes made with 40 eggs and 26 cups of flour. And as usual, the food was delicious: turkey meatloaf, teriyaki chicken with sauce from scratch, a gorgeous pear cake with tons of fresh pears that I can't wait to replicate at home, and sesame noodles, which I did replicate at home, just last night.

Thanks again to Erin and Rach for coming along, and for those who don't know about this great organization, check it.

Asian Noodle Salad with Sesame Peanut Dressing

While I didn't have the magical slicer/shredder at home that you just throw vegetables at and they come out the other end perfectly sliced/shredded, the labor was worth it -- lots of vegetables make this a healthy summer dinner (I know, it's March. But really, it's summer.), and the dressing is slippery and nutty and yum.

6 ounces dried long thing noodles (I used chow mein noodles, but soba, somen, or even spaghetti would work fine)
2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
1 1/2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
2 teaspoons honey
2 tablespoons creamy peanut butter, at room temperature (I use the peanuts-only kind)
1-inch-long knob fresh ginger, peeled and grated
crushed red pepper, to taste
4-6 green onions, thinly sliced
1 small head cabbage, shredded
2 carrots, shredded
1 English cucumber, peeled
1 red bell pepper, finely diced
1 teaspoon toasted sesame seeds

Prepare noodles, according to package directions. Meanwhile, make dressing. In a large salad bowl, whisk together one teaspoon sesame oil, soy sauce, honey, and peanut butter. Add ginger, crushed red pepper, and green onions. Stir to combine. Drain and rinse noodles under cold water. Toss in colander with remaining teaspoon of sesame oil.

Add cabbage, carrots, cucumbers, and bell pepper to salad bowl and toss to combine with dressing. Add noodles, and toss to incorporate all ingredients together. Sprinkle with sesame seeds.

Serves 3-4 as a main course

'Tis The Season

Hi all. It's the holiday season, which is to say, we're all caught up in purchasing a million gifts, making cookies and nog and all sorts of deliciousness, and filling our schedules with parties and celebrations where we get cozy with loved ones and stuff our faces. In the midst of all this joyful gluttony, it's a good idea to take stock of what we have (we are very lucky), and find ways in which we can give back.

Here are a few ideas:

• The Menu for Hope fundraiser that I talked about a few posts down still has a few days to go. The proceeds go to the United Nations World Food Programme, and there are incredible prizes to be raffled off. Donate and get more info here.
• Project Chicken Soup gets a bunch of people together in an industrial kitchen to make healthful meals, which are delivered around town to people with HIV. If you're in the LA area, they are always looking for volunteers to help prepare and deliver these meals. I volunteered this summer, and was really moved by the experience. It's great to spend a few hours chopping and mixing to help out with such a worthy cause. Cook dates and further info here.
• Food Not Bombs LA: A coworker recently turned me on to a post-punk anarchist vegan movement, which I didn't really know exists. I'm not that post-punk, anarchist (maybe a little), nor vegan, but that doesn't prevent me from being really impressed with this group. Every Sunday, these friendly revolutionaries prepare vegetarian meals at a co-op in Silver Lake, then distribute them to people in Pershing Square and Skid Row downtown. If you're interested in volunteering, let me know -- I want to go with you. More info here.
• It doesn't get easier than The Hunger Site. Just click the big yellow button, look at a few ads, and they'll donate a cup or two of staple food to people who need it around the world.
• There was a great article in the New York Times yesterday about a chef on the Upper West Side who elevates soup kitchen fare in the basement of the Broadway Presbyterian Church with a hefty pinch of gourmet humanity (and is able to do it by taking leftovers from some of the finest restaurants around town).
  

Happy Holidays everyone.

Happy Birthday to Yum!

i've heard it said that if it's worth doing, it's worth doing right. i'm here to say that this is false.

that is what blogging teaches you. sounds disparaging, but it's not. inspired by so many others around the web, who, despite a lack of formal qualifications, had something to say, and decided to say it, i took the opportunity to take my chattiness to the next level.

it has meant a lot. it's been an avenue to connect with friends in a new way, and make new, very dear ones, in the most unexpected ways. it's allowed me to entertain dreams and fantasies i'd never really let see the light of day before. granted, those dreams haven't come to the forefront in the most romantic perfect way, but at least they've been recognized now. and in a way, they have been realized -- i get to yammer on about food, eating, and my fair city -- a few of my very favorite things -- and there are people out there who listen. wild.

so what's the state of the yum? i'd like to think the writing has improved considerably in these 365 days, although admittedly i sometimes miss my own crazy stream-of-consciousness style, which has sort of made way for real words and grammar and topic sentences and things (although judging from this meander of a sentence, it's not all that far gone). the photos have improved considerably (thank the lord), although i'm still stuck below the ceiling of completely uninstructed point-and-shoot. i've still got the very templatey blogspot template, which makes me sad, but hopefully an improvement is coming soon.

it's been a bang-up couple months as far as readership. april surpassed the next highest month by over 20 percent. i love these clicks. you have no idea how i obsess over pretty much every one. it's a little unhealthy in fact.

so, here we are a year later. i live in that same sweet apartment just off fairfax (now with cheery green living room!), yet again, i'm working in visual effects, i still swoon over evocative caffeine experiences, and as always i have a somewhat extreme obsession with summer (2007 is already gearing up to be the Best Summer Ever, i'm telling you). but i've had at least five sessions in my mother's kitchen -- finally learning the recipes that, little did she know, were very much the inspiration for all this food interest. i've gotten opportunities to get my words out further across the web. i've made a point to visit my local farmers' market on a somewhat regular basis (i mean, real farmers' market, a different breed from my fairfax one). i've been on the receiving end of delicious olive oils, high end steak tastings, invitations to our city's own winery, and inspiring cookbooks. i've also been on the giving end -- being able to participate in a menu for hope, and getting others to join me at project chicken soup.

so, all is well. thanks for reading. thanks a lot for reading. and now that you all know a little about me, i'd be tickled if you'd drop a note (a comment, or an email if you're shy) and let me know a little about you. i mean, we've known each other for a year -- i think it's about time we take it to the next level.

[thanks Amigurumikumi Kingdom for the photo!]