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Kitchen Angels |
1222 Siler Road Santa Fe, NM 87507 |
505.471.7780
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Thank you for your on-going dedication and support of Kitchen Angels and the community of Santa Fe.
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VOLUNTEER MILESTONE ANNIVERSARIES
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1 Year
Barbara Brown-Allen Glen Allen Brigid Brahe Cindy Redding Lorraine Tecza Maria Goldstein Sandra Warren
5 Years
Diane Lotti Ellen Benson Kent Calhoun Karin Lerew
10 Years
Cynde Christie
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IN MEMORIAM
Celebrating the lives of our volunteers and clients
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The breezes taste of apple peel.
The air is full of smells to feel -
Ripe fruit, old footballs, burning brush,
New books, erasers, chalk, and such.
The bee, his hive, well-honeyed hum,
And Mother cuts chrysanthemums.
Like plates washed clean with suds, the days
Are polished with a morning haze.
~ John Updike, September
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Tasty Tidbits
September 10th is
Grandparent's Day - a time to celebrate those special people who were always there for you with a hug, a treat, or a listening ear when you needed it the most. If they are no longer here for you to dote on them, you can honor
all grandparents in another way. Reach out to the grandparents you know by making time for a conversation, take them somewhere special, or cook them something delicious.
From Lauren...
One of the favorite memories I have of
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GG Kiser lived to 103 because she didn't eat this type of dessert!
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my Grandmother Kiser was the cakes she'd bake for special occasions. We kids fell into one of two categories - angel or devil. Turns out I was a devil-food cake gal, all the way. Here's her recipe for
Mississippi Mud cake, which combines a devil's food sheet cake with marshmallow and pecans. It's the sugary-best treat a seven-year-old kid could ask for. Thanks Grandma.
From Jeanette...
My Bronx-based grandmother Rita Bieniewicz didn't cook a variety of things but what she cooked, she cooked well. She often would send us to her garden to grab lettuce, tomatoes and salad stuff to go with these
potato pancakes in the summer.
My Vienna based grandmother Valerie Iskat made a traditional cucumber salad that I still love. Gurkensalat is perfect for those Persian cucumbers!
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Can't you just picture this little Teresa Mary shootin' meatballs?!
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From Teresa...
I remember my Grandma DeCataldo making meatballs that I adored. She was so precise - making sure each one was the exact same size. She'd pan fry them and then give me and my grandfather three each, which we'd savor. The rest she'd dump into her special "gravy" and cook until they plumped up to almost twice their size. Here's the
recipe as my mother Frances told it to me.
From Tony...
More than any one specific recipe, what I remember most about food occasions at my Grandparents' is the sheer quantity of wonderful dishes. My grandparents ran an enormous farm in southern Georgia, and all of my relatives had farms, so a holiday or family reunion was an occasion to show off your freshest produce and finest recipes! It was a feast for 200. Tables were set up in the back yard and laden with fried chicken, deviled eggs, potato salads, pork roasts, every vegetable imaginable, biscuits, corn bread, peach cobblers and my Grandma's famous nine layer chocolate and coconut cakes. The meals started after church and lasted well into the early evening. After the dishes were done and the food moved into the dining room for grazing, folks would break out musical instruments and we'd all sing until it was time to head home to the big city of Augusta. Aunt Alberta's stewed Okra was the only stewed Okra I ever ate and enjoyed. With their passing, so many fine recipes were lost forever. Now I wish I had access to the fresh-picked bounty that we took for granted!
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Announcements
It is with joy and sadness that we make the next bittersweet announcement. Our
Director of Food Services,
Teresa Norton, will be leaving
Kitchen Angels on
September 6th. After 16 years of running the kitchen, she has decided to retire her halo.
Teresa has cooked, danced, and sung her way into our hearts. She has been more than just the person in charge of the kitchen here. Her good humor has brightened many people's days. When she cranks up a song on the radio that she loves and dances around the kitchen - you can't help being lifted up and wanting to join in the fun.
Teresa is authentic. She never compromises her truth and is proud to let her "freak frag fly!" We wouldn't have her any other way.
Teresa has facilitated the preparation of hundreds of thousands of meals for our homebound clients. She's kept a multitude of food facts running through her head for years - this client doesn't eat mushrooms, that client avoids beets - it's enough to drive an ordinary person batty.
Teresa's attention to detail and love of good, nutritious food has kept our clients quite happy over the years.
Teresa has been a kind, generous and reliable co-worker. She reaches out with kindness, laughter, and sometimes a shoulder to cry on. Staff, volunteers and clients have been spoiled by the delicious treats that she creates with just a few choice ingredients. We will especially miss her Italian-inspired antipasta plates for lunch.
She taught hundreds, if not thousands, of volunteers how to properly wash their hands, sanitize surfaces, chop countless fruits and vegetables, and cook meat to the proper temperature - and she did it all with style and panache. It takes a special person to run this tight a ship, produce hundreds of meals every day, and do it all with a smile on her face and spring in her step.
We're endlessly grateful for
Teresa's influence on Kitchen Angels and for cooking good, healthy food for so many hungry Santa Feans over the years. Teresa, you are one in a million, and we will miss you dearly.
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Volunteer Opportunities
We always welcome new volunteers! Here are our current opportunities:
- Tuesday Driver, Route 12 (Pacheco St.)
- Tuesday Driver, Route 17 (S. St. Francis Dr.)
- Thursday Driver, Route 16 (Jaguar Drive)
- Friday Driver, Route 6 (Miguel Chavez)
- Friday Driver, Route 7 (Casa Rufina Apts.)
Please tell people who may be interested to call Lauren at 471-7780
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Continuing Education
It's safe to say that this building renovation project has been an education for all of us! We've learned so much - from how to raise money through a capital campaign, to the logistics of coordinating our meal program at multiple locations. It hasn't been easy, but the challenge has brought everyone greater knowledge and wisdom.
Although we're still in the middle of this project, we're also looking ahead to how our meal program will function best when we return to a new kitchen and delivery area. We might implement some of the new processes that have helped to streamline our meal packing and delivery system during the renovation.
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Ann, Magdalena & Patrick, prepping the client meal bags for delivery. |
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We've gotten good feedback on how volunteers like the "new system" and are asking for more!
What do our drivers and delivery coordinators think of the chilled meal system? Is it more or less efficient?
What do the drivers think of the new green thermal tote bags?
We value our volunteer's opinions, knowledge and expertise. Please check in with a staff member with suggestions and comments. As one of our drivers said, "necessity is the mother of invention, and maybe something new and better will come from this process." We're dedicated to the continual improvement of our organization and its methods for providing fresh meals to those in need. Thanks to each of you for your flexibility and encouragement and we grow and change.
Have you heard about the
Slow Food Movement? Slow Food, as opposed to fast food, strives to "preserve traditional and regional cuisine and encourages farming of plants, seeds, and livestock characteristic of the local ecosystem."
Slow Foods is an
organization founded in Italy in 1986, which now has chapters all over the world and thousands of members working to promote local food, traditional cooking, and sustainable food production. If you're interested in learning more about the movement here in the US,
click here. Or you can check out the
Facebook page of our local
Santa Fe chapter. Slow food is a philosophy and way of life from which we can all learn.
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Thank You, Thank You, Thank You!
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Tom will be known as "Half-Ton Tom" from now on |
A huge thanks to our volunteer
Tom Riggs, for hauling half-a- ton of food from
Natural Grocers back here to
Kitchen Angels. Tom delivers meals once a week to several of our clients who live in Tesuque. We appreciate Tom for more than just his truck! He's volunteered at
Kitchen Angels for four years now as delivery driver and for special events. Tom is always ready with a smile and warm wishes. He is good-natured, kind, funny, and an incurable optimist. We love you Tom!
Many thanks to
Natural Grocers and
Santa Fe Natural Tobacco Company for the kind donations of food and funds this past month. For their 62nd anniversary,
Natural Grocers held a food drive for
Kitchen Angels. With the help of generous food donations from people in the community, they collected a ton of food . . . literally . . .
one entire ton! We've shared the wealth by giving some to
Feeding Santa Fe and
Adelante for their food pantry services. Our cup runneth over!
Full House Celebrates 25th Anniversary!
Pink Martini and the
Santa Fe Symphony Strings
concert at the Santa Fe Opera was a wild success! The group performed many of their best known songs to a sold out audience under a perfect late summer New Mexico sky. It was an ideal celebration of our 25 years serving Santa Fe. Many thanks to
Jamie Lenfesty
and
AMP Productions
and
Tom Morris
and
Julie Wheeler
of the
Santa Fe Opera
for all their kindness and generosity. Special thanks to
Linda Dressman
and
Karen Wolfe-Mattison
and the Events Committee who organized the evening's event.
If you missed Sunday's article in the
Santa Fe New Mexican on our 25 years' of service, click
here to read the story.
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Copyright © 2012. All Rights Reserved.
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