What’s cooking this week at St. Anthony Dining Room!

Monday September 6th – Hot Dogs
Served with potato salad and coleslaw

Tuesday September 7th – Pork Sausage Cassoulet
St. Anthony’s Dining Room turns Iron Chef as we churn out dishes made from seasonal ingredients

Wednesday, September 8th – Pork Sausage Cassoulet
Cooked in a light cream and cheese sauce

Thursday, September 9th – Pad Indian Chicken Curry
Lightly spiced chicken in a tomato and yogurt sauce

Friday, September 10th – Pad Indian Chicken Curry
Served with summer vegetables and parmesan cheese and herbs

Saturday, September 11th – Orange & Chinese Black Bean Chicken
With a rice and vegetable salad

Sunday, September 12th – Pad Indian Chicken Curry
St. Anthony’s Dining Room turns Iron Chef as we churn out dishes made from seasonal ingredients

Check back for weekly installments of On The Menu!

I work in a cubicle.  Instead of walls, I am separated from my co-workers by partitions covered with thumbtack-able fabric.  Each of my co-workers has a different strategy for making their cubicle look less sterile and more like “home”.  My favorite corner of my cubicle is this poster, which gives me a daily reminder of one of my favorite Martin Luther King Jr. quotes, “True peace is not merely the absence of tension, it is the presence of justice.”

Tomorrow, August 28, 2010, is the 47th anniversary of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.  There will be a variety of groups in Washington DC tomorrow who are using the anniversary of the march and of the famous “I Have A Dream” speech to promote their own agendas.  Instead of getting sucked in to the controversy surrounding this year’s anniversary, I’ve decided to reflect on the words of Dr. King and to think about how his words inspire me in my work here at St. Anthony Foundation.

Dr. King spoke about service, and the following quote reminds me of our wonderful and generous volunteers and interns:

“Everybody can be great because anybody can serve. You don’t have to have college degree to serve. You don’t have to make your subject and verb agree to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love.”

It was exactly the type of audacity that Dr. King describes below that led to the founding of our free Dining Room almost 60 years ago.

“I have the audacity to believe that people everywhere can have three meals a day for their bodies, education and culture for their minds, and dignity, equality and freedom for their spirits.”

As St. Anthony Foundation’s Advocacy Coordinator, I am especially inspired by Dr. King’s words about taking difficult stands on important issues:

“Many people fear nothing more terribly than to take a position which stands out sharply and clearly from the prevailing opinion. The tendency of most is to adopt a view that is so ambiguous that it will include everything and so popular that it will include everybody. Not a few men who cherish lofty and noble ideals hide them under a bushel for fear of being called different.”

I’ll end this post with a call to action!  Dr. King said that, “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.”  I hope that the 47th anniversary of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom will inspire people to stop being silent and to speak out about what matters to them.  Whether you “speak out” by volunteering your time to help someone in need, making a donation to a cause you believe in, contacting an elected official about an issue that matters to you, or talking to your children about poverty and justice, I hope that you’ll take a moment this weekend to interrupt the silence with your powerful voice!

What’s cooking this week at St. Anthony Dining Room!

Monday August 23th – Pork Sausage Cassoulet
Served with pistou and white beans

Tuesday August 24th – Chef’s Choice
St. Anthony’s Dining Room turns Iron Chef as we churn out dishes made from seasonal ingredients

Wednesday August 25th Turkey & Vegetable Casserole
Cooked in a light cream and cheese sauce

Thursday August 26th Pad Indian Chicken Curry
Lightly spiced chicken in a tomato and yogurt sauce

Friday August 27th Chicken Sausage Pasta
Served with summer vegetables and parmesan cheese and herbs

Sunday August 28th Orange & Chinese Black Bean Chicken
With a rice and vegetable salad

Tuesday August 29th – Chef’s Choice
St. Anthony’s Dining Room turns Iron Chef as we churn out dishes made from seasonal ingredients

Check back for weekly installments of On The Menu!

What’s cooking this week at St. Anthony Dining Room!

Monday, August 23: Pork Sausage Cassoulet
Tuesday, August 24: Chefs Choice
Wednesday, August 25: Turkey & Vegetable Casserole
Thursday, August 26: Indian Chicken Curry
Friday, August 27: Chicken Sausage Pasta
Saturday, August 28: Orange & Chinese Black Bean Chicken
Sunday, August 29: Chefs Choice

Check back for weekly installments of On The Menu!

What’s cooking this week at St. Anthony Dining Room!

Sunday August 8th Pasta Carbonara
With bacon, peas, & egg

Monday August 9th Beef Lasagna
A beef ragu layered with noodles & cheese

Tuesday August 10th Turkey Tacos
Served with red mole, cheese, cilantro, rice and beans

Wednesday August 11th Vegetable Pot Pie
Seasonal vegetables in a rich and thick broth topped with a crisp pastry crust

Thursday August 12th Lobster Croquettes
Served over dirty rice with remoulade

Saturday August 13th Pad Sae Ew
Thai style noodle dish with sliced pork, egg, and broccoli with a sweet soy sauce

Sunday August 14th Macaroni & Cheese
Elbow macaroni in a rich and creamy cheese sauce

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What’s cooking this week at St. Anthony Dining Room!

Sunday August 1st Chicken & Black Bean Tostadas
With pickled onions and cheese

Monday August 2nd Shepherds Pie
Ground beef in a rich sauce covered with mashed potatoes

Tuesday August 3rd Moroccan Chicken Stew
North African spiced chicken with a cous-cous salad

Wednesday August 4th Chefs Choice

Friday August 5th Turkey, Mushroom, & Potato Hash
With sour cream and bacon bits

Saturday August 6th Roasted Pork Loin
Served with basil aioli

Sunday August 7th BBQ Chicken Sandwich
With shredded cabbage & macaroni salad

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What’s cooking this week at St. Anthony Dining Room!

Monday, July 19 –Farfalle Beef Ragu
Beef stewed in a tomato and white wine sauce over pasta

Tuesday, July 20 – Turkey Green Chili
Turkey and white beans in a mildly spicy green chile stew

Wednesday, July 21 – Pork and Beans
Slowly roasted pork over smoky beans, infused with bacon

Thursday, July 22 – Lobster Etouffe
Lobster in a Cajun brown sauce with vegetables

Friday, July 23 – Chef’s Choice

Saturday, July 24 – Korean Juk
Rice porridge cooked with aromatics and topped with sesame scented vegetables

Sunday, July 25 – Pork Adobado
Pork shoulder in a Mexican style adobo with vinegar, garlic and chiles

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What’s cooking this week at St. Anthony Dining Room!

Monday, July 12 –Vegetable Stew with Dumplings
A rich white bean and vegetable stew with dumplings

Tuesday, July 13 – Pasta Marinara
Slowly cooked tomato sauce over penne pasta with parmesan cheese

Wednesday, July 14 – Chef’s Choice

Thursday, July 15 – Thai Chicken Curry
Classic Thai green curry with chicken, coconut milk, and lime

Friday, July 16 – Penne Pasta with Turkey
Peas and onions in a basil cream

Saturday, July 17 – Chicken and Mushroom Risotto
Classic Italian rice dish with mushrooms, chicken, and parmesan cheese

Sunday, July 18 –White bean Cassoulet with Pistou
A hardy bean stew topped with an herb salsa

Check back for weekly installments of On The Menu!

As a member of the JEVA (Justice Education, Volunteers, and Advocacy) work unit, I host groups of volunteers on a weekly basis. Yesterday, as I was waiting in our Dining Room for the group to finish its shift, I was treated to an impromptu concert by one of our guests.

This guest, an older gentleman with an easy smile, sat down at the piano in the dining room lobby and started playing one of my favorite songs: Lucille by Little Richard.

I wasn’t the only person enjoying the concert. Another Dining Room guest heard the music and came over, smiling and dancing, and said, “There’s so much talent in the Tenderloin“. Other dining room guests who were still in line for food were smiling, dancing, clapping, and snapping their fingers.

After a few minutes, the piano player’s friend came over and said, “Hey man, I didn’t know you played the piano.” The piano player said, “I just needed something to do while I was waiting for you.”

All we have to do is open our eyes and our minds, and we can find all sorts of talent in the Tenderloin. I’m proud that the St. Anthony Foundation Dining Room is a part of what brings out the best in the Tenderloin: the talent, the generosity, the friendship, the community, and the love.

What’s cooking this week at St. Anthony Dining Room!

Monday, July 5 – Beef Taquitos
Served with salsa fresca

Tuesday, July 6 – Louisiana Gumbo
Chicken, sausage, and shrimp in a gumbo file sauce with rice

Wednesday, July 7 – Portuguese Braised Pork
Pork cooked in vinegar and garlic with rice

Thursday, July 8 – Chicken Tacos
Roasted chicken in a Mexican style sauce with queso fresco and pickled onions

Friday, July 9 – Spaghetti and Meatballs
A classic pasta in a rich tomato sauce with spicy meatballs

Saturday, July 10 – Kolachi
Sausage and cheese wrapped in pastry and baked

Sunday, July 11 – Chicken in Pippian Verde
Chicken cooked in a traditional pumpkin seed sauce

Check back for weekly installments of On The Menu!