On Jan 5, 4:14 pm, "chefhelen" > wrote:
> "cshenk" > wrote in message
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> > We've gotten friendly with the church our huge monster commercial chest
> > freezer went to. (Replaced by a newer model as mentioned in the past).
>
> > On Sunday and holidays, they have a big free potluck for local homeless
> > and others who are short on funds. When it gets cold like it is now, they
> > always have trouble having enough food to go around. They arent
> > government subsidized or anything.
>
> > We signed up to bring food on this Sunday (and plan to for the first
> > Sunday of each month if work permits me to be off to bring it, will
> > alternate another Sunday if cant or drop off something during the week if
> > needed).
>
> > Anyways, I'd love any ideas of things others would find useful to feed at
> > least 20 people a good serving for 6$ or roughly that. This isnt intended
> > to be a full meal, just one of 3-4 items they'd get.
>
> > For tomorrow, I have a hodge podge bean pot using 2lbs (dry weight) butter
> > beans, 1 largish onion, 1 green bell pepper (big one) and about 1/2 cup
> > frozen chopped green bell pepper (one that was not going to be used fast
> > enough so we chopped and froze it which works find for a crockpot need), 2
> > smallish ham hocks (2$ worth at 1.39lb), a splash of mirin (a japanese
> > rice cooking wine), some osem brand chicken consomme powder, and water.
> > This is all in a very LARGE oval crockpot and I think it fair to say 25
> > servings in that. 6.5 quart? There won't be much meat per person, but
> > the protein content should be high and it can go as a soup or as a topping
> > on rice.
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> > They have a large ricemaker so I added in 5 cups dryweight of hinode (a
> > brand of medium grain 'sticky' rice).
>
> > I am thinking I may try next Sunday too with a large batch of
> > dashi-tofu-chinese broccoli soup to serve in mugs with a 1/4 cup of rice
> > at the bottom. It will make a nice warming soup and I can get tofu at 3
> > for a dollar (about 3/4 cup block each). Might change the greenery type
> > pending on what there is fresh at the asian grocery, but they always have
> > something <grin>. They have these 3 big tureens of broth at the door
> > which are often just bullion cubes and water so 6 quarts of this soup
> > would be a nice match to the beef and chicken ones.
>
> > I was thinking a large pot of spagetti sauce but that shows up every time
> > since it's pretty easy to hit 3$ for 20 servings if you leave out the
> > mushrooms and meats. (They have their own pots for making up the pasta
> > and folks gift them with dried pasta all the time so just bringing the
> > sauce is ok).
>
> > One they arent used to but I didnt know in time for this week to stock up,
> > is just baked potatoes or baked yams. Thats dead simple too and I'd be
> > able to make up a big pot of either in the crock. If doing sweet yams, I
> > could make a sauce and have them soft and like 'baked yams with brown
> > sugar'. I passed the idea over though and they think it will work well.
>
> > Oh, the place for food safety reasons *does* have rules and won't just
> > take 'anything from anyone' and put it on the line. If it is prone to
> > fast spoilage for example, they require it be made there on site <g>.
>
> > The only rules are it be safe, and have as close to 20 servings as
> > possible. They also ask us to not become poor ourselves by adding in more
> > than we can afford.
>
> > Any other ideas? They will be most welcome! I plan to have fun and do a
> > little good in the world at the same time, while not going broke. I'd
> > also like to try to add things with as much nutrition as possible and in
> > winter, warming things like soups and stews.
>
> Sometimes here we get chicken legs for $.29/lb. With these you can make a
> dynamite chicken soup, baked chicken with rice and a veg, chicken pot pie,
> chicken casseroles, etc.

That was exactly what I was going to suggest. If volunteers are up
for adding the *love* (read: labor), then leg quarters gotten dirt
cheap are always great.

First, separate into 3 pieces, drumstick, thigh and back portion.
Reserve drumsticks to cook whole, maybe popping them into that large
freezer to accumulate to fry for some future meal, like fried chicken
drumsticks and baked potatoes.
The thighs can be baked, then the meat taken off of the bones, and the
bones tossed in the large stock pot with the back portions (from which
those nasty little lymph glands should first be removed). Toss in an
onion or onions, and let boil and reduce. Strain it and reduce more.
Add carrots and celery, which are cheap bought in large bags, and
after that's cooked, add boatloads of noodles, then the thigh meat
(cut into small pieces), and some parsley flakes and black pepper.
Have salt on the table to add as desired.

There are so many things you can do with leg quarters, but the
important part is getting them cheap and not wasting any. The skins
could be fried into cracklins, and people could take little bags with
them. Another great thing to serve with chicken is rice. It is SO
cheap, and a little soy sauce and finely chopped onion can turn it
into a great accompaniment.

Potatoes can be gotten cheaply too, and real butter and (I'll catch
Hell for this) a bit of MSG, with some milk, can make a lot of mashed
potatoes for not a lot of money. S&P on the side, of course.
Volunteers can serve on washable plates, with washable flatware, and
include some of the recipients in the washing up. Don't waste money
on disposables; money that could be spent on food should not be spent
on throw-aways.
>
> Another good idea, to me, is split pea soup. Bits of ham make it nice
> and/or sliced sausage added in at the end.
>
> Cabbage is another good veg either for braising and serving with hot
> dogs/other meat or making soup with. It makes a ton and can usually be
> found at about $.39/lb.

I know that beggars can't be choosers, but a non-cabbage alternative
should always be available. Cruciferous vegetables make some of us
want to hurl.
>
> Quiche and eggy things such as that are also good when filled with cheaper
> ingredients and made in to casseroles.

Eggs in general. So good, so inexpensive.
>
> I sometimes run across bananas and other fruits at a good price and I'm sure
> that those would be welcomed also. I'm sure if these folks are hurting for
> money that they think fresh fruit and veg are prohibitively priced.

That's nice. I work at a church, and they do this thing called "Room
at the Inn," where homeless folks spend the night there. They make
food for them for dinner and breakfast. It's usually 6-10 homeless,
up to a max of 12. They never make anything I'd want to eat, but I'd
have happily eaten it when *I* lived on the street (when I was 20
years old, for Dec. - Feb. '80-'81). I know, what a dumbass thing
that was, but I was a little bit depressed at the time.
Anyway, good home cookin', with fresh ingredients, especially fresh
veggies would be a very kind thing to do for folks who are down on
their luck.

I hope that this is helpful, and please don't feed them trans fats.
These folks don't have the resources to afford heart bypasses/
transplants.
>
> just ideas.....
> helen

--Bryan