Class: Culinary continues to “cook” even though our group is small at this time. We are starting with basics including knife skills, location of pantry items and what is the purpose of our class. We are learning to be self sufficient and how to prepare healthy meals to nourish our bodies.
Garden Talk: Our garden that is in the works is a great element to encourage our residents by working with vegetables and herbs from the ground up. The residents have enclosed the area with rail ties, about 8 inches high. They have put in a walking path above the garden for observation and enjoyment. Three oak barrels were moved to the patio/deck off our main dining room where we will have more area for planting. I would like to have one barrel with herbs, one with tomatoes and another for lettuces. The lower garden will be for squash, and root vegetables. We will be filling the garden enclosure in the next week with healthy soil.
Culinary in the Community: On Sunday, we went to the Flagstaff Food Bank to volunteer for a couple of hours. The residents did prep work for the Sunday dinner, which included cutting up spaghetti squash for Chef Bob. They were placed in large hotel pans and steamed. He asked the residents to shred the interior of the squash after being cooked, making long spaghetti looking strands from the insides. This was a first for them as they did not know about spaghetti squash. We prepared salad mix using assorted lettuces and salad toppings. Everyone was in good spirits and enjoyed the opportunity to be of service to the community. Chef Bob was pleased with our work and asked us to please return. Our reward, a box of donuts, and. of course, the experience of giving back!
B2B residents continue to be visible and and active in their recovery.
— Kathy DuPrez, Director of Culinary Program and Menu Planning and contributing blog writer