Thanks to all who are donating! This is shaping up to be a monthly thing at $300 a month so ideally we could get some monthly donators or maybe even some people who would like to sponsor a month on their own.
Have confirmed a bunch of dates to serve dinner at the shelter:
- January 26
- February 22
- March 23
- April 27
- May 25
- June 22
- July 27
This is the organization: Union Station Homeless Services
And we are participating in the Adopt-a-Meal program:
They have a super legitimate commercial kitchen space with all the tools anyone could need. 6-burner gas range, two ovens, fryolater, flat top griddle, 3-bay dish sink, big ass dishwasher, and a walk-in fridge.
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I could maybe stand to lose a few pounds, but I’m not that big.
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$50 donation received (thank you). Puts us at $250 for the Jan 26 meal.
So there was a hiccup on this donation and I got the donation instead, but it was $100, so we are fully funded for January 26th!
Thank you generous benefactors!
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Beginning to prepare for next Sunday’s meal at Union Station Homeless Services in Pasadena, coordinators said to expect for an additional 25% headcount of dinner guests due to displacement from the fires.
This is roughly what I’m thinking for menu,
- Smoked Brisket Mac n Cheese (already have a bunch of brisket chopped up in my freezer, but will need to get another chunk of something beefy and smoke it later this week)
- Buttermilk Biscuits
- Roasted Veggies
- Mini / Individual Lemony Cheesecake
- Brownies or Cookies (?) - something to leave out that people can grab for their pocket on their way out the door
- Lemonade / Coffee
My wife recruited a couple of her friends to join, so it’ll be a full kitchen between them and the Unstuck crew (@LFS, @microbet, etc.)
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Sounds great. Looking forward to it.
Looks great! I could do a Costco trip Wednesday or Thursday AM if that would be helpful/works for you. No wife (or kids) with me this time, but I’m pretty sure she’d be down with making a big batch of cookies on Saturday. Also we should grab some olive oil for the veggies. Especially knowing that we have helpers I will probably leave on the early side, both wife and son will be out so I’ll need to get home to the dogs.
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I believe I have two +1s or is it one +2.
FWIW there are/were reports of norovirus in the evacuation shelters in Pasadena, and there is other stuff going around. I will bring hand sanitizer and will probably mask up on Sunday.
Should be okay with the +2. Max is 8…us 3, my 3 friends, your +2…8.
My wife will stop by towards dinner time to say hi to her friends and whatnot.
I’m gonna load in at 3:30pm, told my friends to show up at 4pm. Will see you all anytime between 3:30-4pm.
Last night was Unstuck Politics’ second dinner event at Union Station Homeless Services in Pasadena, CA! My estimation is that we served around 30 people at dinnertime, and then we left food out for another 20 or so people who trickled in later.
On top of what was served for the meal, we left one big ass aluminum disposable dish of Brisket Mac and Cheese in the fridge at USHS AND there was an additional big ass disposable aluminum dish of said delightful pasta left over on top of that, which I brought home, reheated this morning, and dropped off at The Women’s Room today for lunch. I swore carrying that container out to the car today that it must have weighed 15 lbs; so by the time everything gets eaten, I’m confident that we’ll have served at least 100 people (we yielded 5 big ass disposable aluminum dishes of Brisket Mac and Cheese in addition to roasted vegetables, biscuits, banana pudding, and Mrs. LFS’s chocolate chip cookies).
With that said, THANK YOU to the community sponsors who funded this event. Before this week is over, 100 people will have put some warm food in their bellies because of you.
I’m going to vaguely transcribe a few of the recipes after each event, if anyone wants any more specifics please ask.
Brisket Mac and Cheese with Ritzy Topping
- Sharp cheddar, gruyere, and muenster
- Velveeta cheese block (aka Liquid Gold aka GOATed mac and cheese cheese)
- Butter
- AP flour
- Whole milk
- Dry macaroni
- Frozen bagged vegetable medley
- Chunked or shredded smoked meat, such as brisket (had a bunch of this in my freezer)
- Ritz crackers
- Grate the good cheese. Tear the shitty cheese (Velveeta) into chunks. To make a roux, melt butter and then whisk in flour. Scald milk, then whisk in roux. Stir over low heat until desired thickness. Add good and shitty cheeses, continuing to stir until cheese is homogenized. Season to taste. You have now achieved mornay sauce and Escoffier is smiling at you from heaven in Provence, France.
- Par boil pasta in salty water (undercook it now so it finishes cooking correctly in the oven). Chop brisket. Par cook frozen veggies in boiling water.
- Basically, combine everything in desired quantities in big ass aluminum disposable dishes.
- Crush Ritz crackers by hand. Pour in some melted butter and additional shredded cheese. Top macaroni et all with Ritzy crumble.
- Bake in 400°F oven for 20-30 minutes, until desired gratinee is achieved.
We yielded 5 of these.
Honey Rosemary Roasted Veggies
- Broccoli, cut in 2" chunks
- Carrots, peeled and cut in 1" chunks
- Idaho potatoes, peeled and cut in 1" chunks
- Brussels sprouts, halved
- Red onion, peeled and cut in 1/8s
- Rosemary, chopped
- Honey
- S&P
- EVOO
- Combine everything in a large bowl. Toss to combine and season. Roast in 400°F oven for 20-30 minutes, until tender but not soft.
We yielded 2 full sheet trays of these veggies, and they were all eaten!
Red Lobster Biscuits
- Purchase boxed Red Lobster Biscuit mix from the Baking aisle of your grocery store.
Banana Pudding
I regrettably do not have any photos of this dish, but it was a huge hit. We followed this recipe: Girls Can Grill Banana Pudding. We yielded around 50 (?) individual containers of pudding, @microbet can advise on precise quantity.
Chocolate Chip Cookies
Also no photos ): @LFS’s wife made these and they were a hit
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Our next meal is confirmed for Saturday, February 22.
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Red Lobster biscuits? Are you trying to kill them?
Kidding, of course. It all looks great.
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50 is close.
Was delicious, but pretty hard not to be with pudding, bananas, and cool whip.
The brisket mac was the star.
Next month is already funded/pledged, but we are open for donations for the month after… But I won’t solicit more until after the next one.
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Good luck finding a better gluten free biscuit for the effort required. They are literally magic.
Wow, didn’t know they’re gluten-free.
Most gluten-free stuff doesn’t taste great to me.
I don’t know how they do it. I’ve never had a gluten free biscuit that was anything more than barely tolerable.
To be clear, I’m talking about the mix sold in stores, idk about the real Red Lobster.
canned and dry goods arent very good in my area because homeless get them and have nowhere to heat them or prepare them and then try to go somewhere to do so and get harassed by gas station 24/7 workers (just enforcing company policy). in my area they let them but i had to go hard to the paint to convince anyone that was a good idea. like, this dude wants to heat his noodles. its cold. let him. he might die if you dont let him.
hot meals are the best way to help. food kitchens. in my area they’re understaffed and overrun by local nzi churxh money that’s basically just sending them to these understaffed spaces. I’m so disgusted. There are like literal breadlines
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