Tonight's meal was very well received; I adapted a recipe for one of my favorite dishes: chinese claypot rice with mushrooms and bok choy.
Recipes vary: some call for the rice to be cooked and ingredients added later. I decided to go with combining all the ingredients allowing the flavors to meld and infuse the rice. I also deviated a bit with the inclusion of miso; I saw it included in a recipe from the now defunct luckypeach website.
The ingredients are as follows: (NOTE: i eyeball everything, proportions are relative.)
8 cup rice
4 lbs boneless dark chicken meat (but you can use regular chicken thighs)
(optional) 4-6 chinese sausages, sliced diagonally into bite sized pieces
4 oz dried slivered shiitake mushrooms (available at most asian supermarkets - you can whole dried mushrooms, but this saves prep time, and pre-cut mushrooms are much more affordable. You can substitute any other type of mushroom, but shiitakes have a unique taste and texture. Some places sell fresh shiitakes, but shiitakes are unique in how well they retain their flavor when dried.)
oyster sauce - sorry but this is essential it comes in bottles that are the same shape as glass ketchup bottles, available at any chinese supermarket.
miso (i typically have brown miso in the fridge, along with another container with half miso, half butter that i sometimes use in place of butter. it's really good.)
rice wine- you can substitute cooking sherry, i suppose.
garlic -about 4 cloves minced, to taste
a large white onion, diced
bok choy, about 2 lbs. that seems like a lot, but it's not.
corn starch - about 1/4 cup
sesame oil
Some of what I do is optional, but I believe each of these steps contributes to the flavor.
- If you have dried mushrooms, soak them in warm water for about a half hour. Drain the mushrooms, but retain all the soaking liquid - there's flavor there that should not be wasted.
- Put about half the dry rice in the rice pot, enough to cover the bottom. This allows a crust to form on the bottom as the rice cooks. Purists will object to my not washing the rice. I can live with that.
- Sear the chicken. Usually the fat on the chicken is sufficient, but add oil as needed. The browning adds flavor, but more importantly, it works like the technique of japanese tataki in that searing the outside firms it up and makes it easier to cut into bite size pieces compared to cutting raw boneless chicken. If you elect to use whole chicken thighs, you can leave them whole (one thigh per serving) or use kitchen shears to cut off bite size pieces, and place the chicken and bones to the rice pot. If you just put raw sliced chicken in the pot, it will still be good, just not completely fantastic.
Add oyster sauce & miso (about 1/4 cup each) a splash of rice wine and 4 minced garlic cloves, salt & sugar to taste. Some folks like to add sesame oil here, I find that the fragrance cooks off and prefer to add it later.
- (optional) - if there's a fair amount of fat left in the pan, add the remaining (dry) rice to it and stir over medium heat. The rice should change color slightly reflecting the absorbing of the fat as well as a little bit of browning of the rice. A small detail, but I think you can taste the difference. Either way, add the remaining rice to the pot. This should effectively bury the other ingredients
- (optional) - sauteing the diced onion in the pan used to sear the chicken - especially if you haven't browned the rice, this effectively deglazes the pan, loosening the browned bits which you then add to the pot. Otherwise, simply add the onion to the pot.
-Wash/clean the bok choy and cut into 2" lengths, stalks and leaves. Place on top of the other ingredients.
- I normally use a ratio of 3:2 liquid to rice. For this recipe I account for the amount of moisture in the bok choy and add 8 cups of water to the pot. If you have the soaking liquid from the shiitakes, include this. You may need to adjust this depending on your ingredients and your cooking pot.
- Use the "white rice setting" (if there is one), and start the rice cooker.
- If you haven't done anything with the pot since you seared the chicken, here's your last chance to take advantage of this flavor source (and also if you forgot to use the soaking liquid from the mushrooms) - place about 4 cups cool water/soaking liquid into the pan, along with 1/4 cup of cornstarch and a tablespoon of soy sauce (mainly for color). Dissolve the corn starch thoroughly (no lumps), then bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring and loosening anything left stuck to the pan. Add the gravy (& sesame oil to taste) to the rice pot after the rice has finished cooking, stir thoroughly, Let sit for a few minutes, then enjoy.
Tuesday, January 14, 2020
Sunday, July 7, 2019
Handicaps
We provide meals as a means of coming alongside people who need and want help. We sit and talk and hopefully we get an idea of what kinds of hopes and goals they have and encourage them and give suggestions on how to pursue some of those goals.
We've got a regular who is so unique using a pseudonym would be pointless; you'll recognize him the first time you see him. He's got palsy and is confined to a motorized wheelchair. We allow him to sit next to the serving table and he usually gets served first. The palsy also causes a speech impediment that makes him difficult to understand. We're about the same age so I was stunned when he approached me a few years back and told me that he'd started going to church and had been given a Bible. The thing was, he didn't know how to read. Apparently his family assumed that his speech impediment was associated with being mentally handicapped so he was never properly schooled. I looked into getting him into a volunteer reading problem. The results of that effort will be the subject of a long rant some day. I've tried to help with other things over the years.
There have been nights when he's waited for everyone else to leave so he can ask me questions. . One that stuck up in my mind was how to find a way to volunteer at his church as a greeter or some other way. That led to a discussion that helped me understand how a lot (not necessarily all) about how disabled/handicapped people perceive a fine line between helping and... babying, for want of a better way of putting it. There's no malice in it, but I began to see how annoying it can be over time. I hope I'm explaining this well.
The bottom line is that while i still accommodate some of his physical limitations I sometimes include a bit of tough love. If he asks for seconds, I might just look at him and tell him that he's got a perfectly good motorized wheelchair that works, and he can get them himself. You should the looks on the faces of people who overhear that and can't believe it. Then they see us both laughing - and he's laughing harder than I am.
I guess that the overall point is this: people with disabilities do need to have the disabilities accommodated to some degree, but they still want to be seen as people just like anyone else. How that looks is going to vary from person to person though.
We've got a regular who is so unique using a pseudonym would be pointless; you'll recognize him the first time you see him. He's got palsy and is confined to a motorized wheelchair. We allow him to sit next to the serving table and he usually gets served first. The palsy also causes a speech impediment that makes him difficult to understand. We're about the same age so I was stunned when he approached me a few years back and told me that he'd started going to church and had been given a Bible. The thing was, he didn't know how to read. Apparently his family assumed that his speech impediment was associated with being mentally handicapped so he was never properly schooled. I looked into getting him into a volunteer reading problem. The results of that effort will be the subject of a long rant some day. I've tried to help with other things over the years.
There have been nights when he's waited for everyone else to leave so he can ask me questions. . One that stuck up in my mind was how to find a way to volunteer at his church as a greeter or some other way. That led to a discussion that helped me understand how a lot (not necessarily all) about how disabled/handicapped people perceive a fine line between helping and... babying, for want of a better way of putting it. There's no malice in it, but I began to see how annoying it can be over time. I hope I'm explaining this well.
The bottom line is that while i still accommodate some of his physical limitations I sometimes include a bit of tough love. If he asks for seconds, I might just look at him and tell him that he's got a perfectly good motorized wheelchair that works, and he can get them himself. You should the looks on the faces of people who overhear that and can't believe it. Then they see us both laughing - and he's laughing harder than I am.
I guess that the overall point is this: people with disabilities do need to have the disabilities accommodated to some degree, but they still want to be seen as people just like anyone else. How that looks is going to vary from person to person though.
Thursday, May 23, 2019
Strider
i'm hesitant to share this story because I want to respect this person's privacy, If I provide sufficient detail, you'll understand why. Anyway, the subject of this story has been coming to dinner for a number of months now. After a series of talks, he confided his real name and through Google I've confirmed who he is (by photographs) and that he was once, among other things, national press secretary for a member of the Cabinet (in the White House).
We've met to help me continue to develop a vision/mission state that I can implement into fund proposals and frankly, seeing him listen to me voicing thoughts off the top of my head and turn them into phrases such as:
creating an."environment in which people feel comfortable/safe to explore options without ridicule and within the parameter of mutual respect among its members (among a wide range of world/cultural viewpoints)"
"The organization will not act as an enabling body. Participants must demonstrate a strong willingness to effect positive change. The organization's output is a function of the participants' input. An underlying vision of the organization is to help participants realize their value and self-worth through a model of rewards and "exponential returns" to match and surpass participants efforts. Throughout the "process" it is the hope and goal of the organization to teach about the symbiotic benefits of host and organism (community?). Ultimately, through this organic process, new levels and achievements will be reached and realized with while teaching the inextricable-intertwined nature and virtues of "getting more" from "giving more."
"Organization strives to make funding and investment decisions that have immediate impacts while also paving the road to self-sustained living (participants not dependent upon a "hand-out" or organization's monetary distributions."
has got me feeling pretty excited. In particular, I'm hoping to see these goals realized in how we work together. As he continues to help me find my voice, perhaps this will galvanize him to re-find himself.
He currently fixes bicycles and calls himself 'rider'. But I've told him that I'm going to start calling him Strider, a reference from Tolkien: "All who wander are not lost."
We've met to help me continue to develop a vision/mission state that I can implement into fund proposals and frankly, seeing him listen to me voicing thoughts off the top of my head and turn them into phrases such as:
creating an."environment in which people feel comfortable/safe to explore options without ridicule and within the parameter of mutual respect among its members (among a wide range of world/cultural viewpoints)"
"The organization will not act as an enabling body. Participants must demonstrate a strong willingness to effect positive change. The organization's output is a function of the participants' input. An underlying vision of the organization is to help participants realize their value and self-worth through a model of rewards and "exponential returns" to match and surpass participants efforts. Throughout the "process" it is the hope and goal of the organization to teach about the symbiotic benefits of host and organism (community?). Ultimately, through this organic process, new levels and achievements will be reached and realized with while teaching the inextricable-intertwined nature and virtues of "getting more" from "giving more."
"Organization strives to make funding and investment decisions that have immediate impacts while also paving the road to self-sustained living (participants not dependent upon a "hand-out" or organization's monetary distributions."
has got me feeling pretty excited. In particular, I'm hoping to see these goals realized in how we work together. As he continues to help me find my voice, perhaps this will galvanize him to re-find himself.
He currently fixes bicycles and calls himself 'rider'. But I've told him that I'm going to start calling him Strider, a reference from Tolkien: "All who wander are not lost."
Friday, January 4, 2019
Kale Salad
Given that B/K (i've got to find a less self aggrandizing name) is largely self-funded, it's a challenge to prepare inexpensive, healthy things that appeal to the folks who show up. Over time, I've come up with a simple, tasty salad that everyone loves.
KALE SALAD
Two (2) bunches of kale (fortunately, I have a source where I can get 2 bunches for a dollar)
Four (4) tomatoes (any type will do)
Four (4) Persian cucumbers (the large ones are often cheaper, but the texture is not the same)
Two (2) apples (anything except Red Delicious - the crunchier, the better)
One (1) medium size red onion
Vinaigrette:
I never measure precisely, but the general rule is one (1) part acid to three (3) oil. For folks who are more comfortable measuring:
1/4 cup vinegar (I typically use red wine vinegar, but I sometimes splurge and use organic apple cider vinegar for health benefits)
3/4 cup olive oil
The spices I add vary, but typically include:
Basil (1/2 tsp)
Oregano (1/2 tsp)
Powered Garlic (A couple of shakes)
Salt (1/2 tsp)
If ham is being served, I typically add a tablespoon of mustard - I find it a better complement.
Combine ingredients in a sealed container and shake until blended.
Optional: Pour half around the edge of the salad bowl so that it coats the inside of the bowl (This is a Thomas Keller technique I learned that helps guarantee an even distribution of vinaigrette over the salad.)
--------------------------------
Wash and rinse produce as needed.
I personally hand tear/shred the kale into roughly 1-1.5"pieces. Using a knife to cut and dice would be quicker, but this way I can identify the really tough midribs and tear around them.
Place the kale in the salad bowl.
Prepare remaining produce for dicing (Peel red onion, core the apples if you have a corer, I have no proof you should, but I like to trim the ends off the cucumbers, etc.)
Dice the remaining produce (1/2-3/4" dice, cucumbers can just be sliced) and add to the bowl.
Add remaining vinaigrette to bowl and toss. The kale holds up well to the vinaigrette, so timing is not critical. Leftover salad refrigerates reasonably well.
KALE SALAD
Two (2) bunches of kale (fortunately, I have a source where I can get 2 bunches for a dollar)
Four (4) tomatoes (any type will do)
Four (4) Persian cucumbers (the large ones are often cheaper, but the texture is not the same)
Two (2) apples (anything except Red Delicious - the crunchier, the better)
One (1) medium size red onion
Vinaigrette:
I never measure precisely, but the general rule is one (1) part acid to three (3) oil. For folks who are more comfortable measuring:
1/4 cup vinegar (I typically use red wine vinegar, but I sometimes splurge and use organic apple cider vinegar for health benefits)
3/4 cup olive oil
The spices I add vary, but typically include:
Basil (1/2 tsp)
Oregano (1/2 tsp)
Powered Garlic (A couple of shakes)
Salt (1/2 tsp)
If ham is being served, I typically add a tablespoon of mustard - I find it a better complement.
Combine ingredients in a sealed container and shake until blended.
Optional: Pour half around the edge of the salad bowl so that it coats the inside of the bowl (This is a Thomas Keller technique I learned that helps guarantee an even distribution of vinaigrette over the salad.)
--------------------------------
Wash and rinse produce as needed.
I personally hand tear/shred the kale into roughly 1-1.5"pieces. Using a knife to cut and dice would be quicker, but this way I can identify the really tough midribs and tear around them.
Place the kale in the salad bowl.
Prepare remaining produce for dicing (Peel red onion, core the apples if you have a corer, I have no proof you should, but I like to trim the ends off the cucumbers, etc.)
Dice the remaining produce (1/2-3/4" dice, cucumbers can just be sliced) and add to the bowl.
Add remaining vinaigrette to bowl and toss. The kale holds up well to the vinaigrette, so timing is not critical. Leftover salad refrigerates reasonably well.
Sunday, December 17, 2017
Leo
Leo is a pseudonym for one of the regulars who comes for dinner. I had the chance to engage him in conversation this week. It's taken years to get to this point; Leo's coping mechanisms include affecting various accents and a jabber/patter when he greets and interacts with people. Eventually I was told by another homeless person that the way to engage Leo in conversation was to ask about his mother. It seems that Leo's mother has been unable to fend for herself resulting in the two of them being homeless since Leo was in his teens. Leo will not say anything bad about his mother, but I've gotten the impression that she's an addict of some sort. Even though Leo was forced to abandon his mother to get away from what Leo has described as "controlling" behavior, her welfare is paramount in his thoughts while he usually has no idea of where she is exactly. He believes that it's his responsibility to find a way to get housing for himself and his mother. He has foregone the normal route of looking for menial work and he claims to be pursuing his creative bent in art and dance hoping to achieve success there. For a while now, his mother has been 'living in another city and being taken care of'' which I interpret to be committed to institutionalized care if not incarceration. Now that he doesn't have to be able to afford a place that can house both him and his mother, I've been suggesting that he can consider lowering the bar and maybe also pursuing getting a regular job.
I have some evidence of what Leo might be like under other circumstances;he's seen me in the library and headed off to the grocery store to purchase dried beans and rice to donate towards dinners on Tuesday nights. He can be quite thoughtful in his responses. In our last conversation I mentioned that it was difficult to gauge whether we were making a difference doing what we were doing. He pointed out a number of thing he would have never experienced if he hadn't come to dinner. He understands that we want to provide healthy options for meals and his take was that even if less people take advantage of that, it was a good thing to be providing that option. It caught me off guard when he suggested that the devil had sent someone to try and kill me because I was doing a good thing and I hadn't let that keep me from continuing to do this and that meant something too.
I have some evidence of what Leo might be like under other circumstances;he's seen me in the library and headed off to the grocery store to purchase dried beans and rice to donate towards dinners on Tuesday nights. He can be quite thoughtful in his responses. In our last conversation I mentioned that it was difficult to gauge whether we were making a difference doing what we were doing. He pointed out a number of thing he would have never experienced if he hadn't come to dinner. He understands that we want to provide healthy options for meals and his take was that even if less people take advantage of that, it was a good thing to be providing that option. It caught me off guard when he suggested that the devil had sent someone to try and kill me because I was doing a good thing and I hadn't let that keep me from continuing to do this and that meant something too.
Thursday, November 23, 2017
Holidays
Happy Thanksgiving. Today is a holiday and it's one of the annual holidays where we try to do a special meal to commemorate the holiday being celebrated that week. For Thanksgiving I usually roast a turkey as part of a traditional meal, but this week, I decided to serve ham instead, only to discover that a significant percentage who showed up for dinner expecting turkey do not eat pork and I ended up having leftover ham. Live and learn.
I don't care to cook holiday meals twice the same week, so since I started doing this I've either accepted invitations to celebrate with various friends & family, or on a few occasions I've elected to observe the holiday quietly on my own.
I'm currently relaxing with a cup of coffee at a local fast food place - and it's seemingly just another day gauging by the number of customers here stuffing themselves with burgers and fries. Maybe I'll ponder that on another day, but today, for many homeless, it's not just another day, and that distinction is even more obvious on a day where the temperature is currently a freakish 91 degrees. A lot of the people who come for dinner spend the day at the library; aside from the ability to recharge their phones/laptops, etc. the library also provides a respite when it's especially hot or cold outside. But the library is closed today and will also be closed tomorrow. In cases where the library is a regular haven, holidays end up being more like a penalty day.
It will get even more complicated over the course of the next five weeks or so. Beyond the normal bump to the tax base due to the holiday season, Pasadena also benefits from the tourism that's tied to the Rose Bowl. In an effort the maximize that benefit, the city employs a few protocols to minimize the visibility and overall presence of the homeless in Pasadena. For example, park sprinklers that routinely go off in the early morning hours to maximize absorption will go off for 15 minutes at 8pm during the holiday season; the wet grass becomes a deterrent to those who might otherwise try to sleep in the park at night. I can't blame the city for taking steps to protect their tourist season, but the result is that we now routinely go on hiatus the last two weeks of the year. In past years, we've been at the park the weeks of Christmas and New Year only to have fewer than five people show up for dinner, and I couldn't in good conscience ask volunteers to sacrifice their time during the holiday season to try and prepare a holiday meal. This year, we'll probably do an informal poll among the people who come for dinner and decide based on the response.
I don't care to cook holiday meals twice the same week, so since I started doing this I've either accepted invitations to celebrate with various friends & family, or on a few occasions I've elected to observe the holiday quietly on my own.
I'm currently relaxing with a cup of coffee at a local fast food place - and it's seemingly just another day gauging by the number of customers here stuffing themselves with burgers and fries. Maybe I'll ponder that on another day, but today, for many homeless, it's not just another day, and that distinction is even more obvious on a day where the temperature is currently a freakish 91 degrees. A lot of the people who come for dinner spend the day at the library; aside from the ability to recharge their phones/laptops, etc. the library also provides a respite when it's especially hot or cold outside. But the library is closed today and will also be closed tomorrow. In cases where the library is a regular haven, holidays end up being more like a penalty day.
It will get even more complicated over the course of the next five weeks or so. Beyond the normal bump to the tax base due to the holiday season, Pasadena also benefits from the tourism that's tied to the Rose Bowl. In an effort the maximize that benefit, the city employs a few protocols to minimize the visibility and overall presence of the homeless in Pasadena. For example, park sprinklers that routinely go off in the early morning hours to maximize absorption will go off for 15 minutes at 8pm during the holiday season; the wet grass becomes a deterrent to those who might otherwise try to sleep in the park at night. I can't blame the city for taking steps to protect their tourist season, but the result is that we now routinely go on hiatus the last two weeks of the year. In past years, we've been at the park the weeks of Christmas and New Year only to have fewer than five people show up for dinner, and I couldn't in good conscience ask volunteers to sacrifice their time during the holiday season to try and prepare a holiday meal. This year, we'll probably do an informal poll among the people who come for dinner and decide based on the response.
Friday, August 25, 2017
Chris
Chris was a former regular a number of years ago. He stopped participating because he didn't like coming to the park. We also disagreed on the way certain things were being done. Even so, that didn't stop him from encouraging people he knew to begin to volunteer helping out with me at the park. Over time during conversations we had at the library, we'd become better friends.
Earlier this year, a mutual acquaintance had made the observation that Chris appeared to have given and had let himself go. He'd put on some serious weight, but claimed to be doing OK. I took him at his word.
I was stunned to hear that Chris passed away earlier this week. Apparently he'd required surgery for a hernia, but complications set in and the extended time under anesthesia sent Chris into a coma for almost two weeks. During that time he suffered two heart attacks and the doctors were able to revive him. However, he suffered a third heart attack this past Monday which proved fatal.
Chris wasn't the first and I expect that he won't be the last person I've encountered on the street to pass on, but this one feels different for reasons I have yet to identify.
Earlier this year, a mutual acquaintance had made the observation that Chris appeared to have given and had let himself go. He'd put on some serious weight, but claimed to be doing OK. I took him at his word.
I was stunned to hear that Chris passed away earlier this week. Apparently he'd required surgery for a hernia, but complications set in and the extended time under anesthesia sent Chris into a coma for almost two weeks. During that time he suffered two heart attacks and the doctors were able to revive him. However, he suffered a third heart attack this past Monday which proved fatal.
Chris wasn't the first and I expect that he won't be the last person I've encountered on the street to pass on, but this one feels different for reasons I have yet to identify.
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