We're doing pasta night tonight.

I'm contributing a spicy sausage pasta bake and butterscotch chip cookies.

Oh, and I'll be making garlic toast at the shelter.

I'll bet they really enjoy the pasta bake and the cookies.

a couple of months the last time our group was working.

The shelter is officially the Interfaith Shelter, commonly known as Pete's Pets because the building used was formerly a pet supply store. Different faith groups take turns working at the shelter. Our congregation is aging and losing membership, so we can no longer do a week at a time, just four days. We take great pride in fixing good meals. Last night was fried chicken, stuffing, green beans, salad, cookies. Tonight will be pasta, including spaghetti and mac & cheese, salad, garlic bread, dessert. I think we might be offering corn as the vegetable.

I've learned to cook massive quantities.

you take pride in your menus. That sounds like a wonderful project, and even if you can't do the whole week, 4 days is a lot.

Which means I ride herd on how the food comes out of the ovens, restocking the steam table, the salad, the desserts, and other items as needed, while other people do the actual serving. I am able to keep ahead of what's needed. Often, just as someone turns to me and says something like, "We need more corn" I'm getting ready to put in a new container of corn.

It is hard work, but very gratifying. The people who eat there are very grateful.

Tomorrow night we'll be making green chili stew at the shelter and serve it with cornbread. We pretty much always offer salad, and I'm not entirely certain what the full menu is tomorrow. Someone has already made 10 or 12 dozen cookies she calls Monster Cookies.

I'll make more of the butterscotch chip cookies for Wednesday, our last day.

and a melange of broccoli steamed with carrot and yellow squash. Relish of cold baked beets in blackberry viniagrette on the side. I do miss sourdough bread, though...

I miss sour dough bread also...that blackberry vinaigrette with beets sound great. Do you use fresh beets or canned?

wrapped in foil and baked. I peeled them after they cooled and put them in a mixture of the juice of one blood orange, 2 T. blackberry jam, and the juice of the beets. Reheated them in the sweet & sour and then saved the remainder and served them cold. Sourdough...sigh, so chewy, so tangy.

I know. I miss good bread.

Rice, beans, beef, veg salsa and dairy free sour cream. Cookies for dessert. Note to self, you are no longer feeding eight people...reduce the amount you cook!

lettuce salad.