If You Don't Know How

I work at the local food bank.
Much of the food that we distribute is commodities - surplus foods that we get for free. We never know what we will get, or sometimes even the quantities.
Once, the person who places the order saw an item of "Beef ribs" She wisely only ordered one quantity. If this had been packages of 1 to 5 lbs each of ribs, it is something we would have ordered in quantity. However, in this instance, it was a single, 15 to 20 pound side of beef ribs. Basically, it was the entire 1/2 rib cage of a steer. For a resturant, great. For a food bank, not so great. We were lucky. That day one of the familys we were giving food out to had several teenage males. They were more than happy to take the frozen ribs. Of course, they had to be thawed and cut into at least two sections before they would fit in a home oven or on a home grill. But we never ordered those ribs again.
Today we received a lot of boxes of ground beef. Good, you say? Think about it. What youd YOU do with five pounds of hamburger. FROZEN SOLID. Yes, we gave a lot of it out. But I have to wonder --can you thaw frozen hamburger, re-package it and re-freeze it and still have it be safe?
I've started trying to find easy, simple recipies we can give out with some of the food. So far, I've done three different chicken ones. I try to stick with no more than five ingredients, meat, onions, potatoes, and hopefully anythng else is eighter on hand in most households or costs next to nothing.
My friends know that I love to cook. But finding simple recipies, ones that don't use fancy cheese, exotic spice, heavy cream-- that is more of a challenge.
Think about the simplest thing you might prepare -- let's take a grilled cheese sandwich -- What goes into it? OK, on the most basic level, bread, cheese and butter or margarine. Sometimes at the food bank we have both bread and cheese. Butter or margarine are another and far rarer matter. And here in New Mexico, a grilled cheese sandwich is NOT complete without green chile. That's four ingredients so far. Some people like a bit of mayo on the bread next to the cheese. I like to grill a slice of ham and throw it in too. (of course, that's a grilled hame-and-cheese) But even a simple dish may easily take ingredients that may not be found in the household of someone who is getting food at a food bank.
Trying to simplify recipies and make them fit in the likely household resources is a challenge.
Will I meet the challenge? I don't know. Last week was chicken and rice. I found two or three recipies that might serve. I copied them and we gave them out with the chicken.
Next Monday, I need to figure out what to do with five pounds of frozen ground beef.
I welcome your ideas.

PAY ATTENTION TO ME!!!

I WANT YOUR ATTENTION!! I WANT YOU TO SEE ME, SEE WHAT I AM DOING AND TALK ABOUT ME!!

What am I doing? Nothing. Why should you watch? No reason. What should you talk about? Nothing.

And that is one of the things that lead to the tragedy on Saturday.

A possibly mentally unstable individual decided that they were not getting enough attention from the world around them and determined that shooting up someone of importance was the remedy for their insignificance.

With 500+ TV channels, Facebook, Myspace, Youtube, etc, it is easy to believe that each and every one of us either has or deserves an audience. Why do you suppose I write this blog? I could keep my own, confidential journal if I didn't feel the need for validation from others.

But when you combine the urge for an audience with an unstable personality, sometimes the results are tragic.

And the results are tragic for EVERYONE involved.

Is there an answer? I certainly do not espouse periodic mental health screenings for all. I also do not support making everyone famous for 15 minutes. Yes, Andy Warhol was correct, the media now exists for such fleeting fame.

Perhaps we need to somehow shift the qualities we most publicize and admire. Perhaps we should attempt to make famous the people who run soup kitchens, the people who help the homeless, the teachers who run after-school programs for kids at risk.

How wonderful it would be if coverage of a famous boxer focused as much on his work with inner-city kids as on his triumphs in the ring. Wouldn't it be great if the story on a multi-million dollar contract included the information that 50% of the amount received would be going to charity.

I would love to see a story on a team, one month after winning a National championship showing the members cleaning up vacant lots in their city.

I think I want to try. Instead of saying that someone plays at my golf course, I want to say that they volunteer, that they care, that they give of themselves to others.

And yes, I would like them to say the same about me.