3 hours ago, Maison Rustique said:You are doing an amazing job of this and your list is already extensive! I've got to guess that no one would complain at your repeating any/all of those regularly!
Due to health issues (mine and my husband's when he was still here) and other issues, I've had a lot of food gifted to me and meals delivered by my insurance provider while I was recovering from surgeries. Your food looks delicious and that's half the battle of doing this.
Here is a short list of the things that made me not eat what I was given, if you're interested in knowing things like this:
Food that might have been tasty, but was slopped into a container in such a way that it flat-out looked disgusting.
Food that needed to be put into another container for heating/baking. When you are barely able to stand up, trying to do much in the kitchen is not feasible.
Food that can't be frozen and cooked/used later. I often got so much at once and had little appetite so would end up tossing food because I couldn't use it before it went bad.
Food that was either so bland that it didn't taste like anything OR food that was so highly spiced that one bite would have steam coming out my ears. There is a happy medium there--though a good solution might be to write a spiciness level on the lid of the container so the person knows what to expect. Or little packets of s/p to tape on top of the container for seasoning.
That's all my caffeine-deprived brain can think of at the moment. Can't recall who said it above, but I, too, have an abundance of Rancho Gordo beans that I wish I could send you. I've already packed them for moving, so not happening right now.
Thank you for what you are doing and for caring what you are giving to people!
I am most certainly interested in knowing things like that! It is very valuable feedback.
I really try to make the food and plates visually appealing, and I may have conveniently not posted pics of the less attractive dishes, like the turkey chili that I just didn’t get thick enough. I felt like I still needed to serve it, and did. I have no idea how it was received, and I didn’t ask! Also, shredded cheese went in the empty spot in those containers. (With apologies to all who love ground turkey, when someone asked how I made ground turkey taste good, I had to say by adding ground pork.) 😉
With regard to food that needs to be put in another container to heat … that is a quandary. Adding coleslaw or other salad to a plate puts a cold item with food that should be hot. I don’t know what else to do that wouldn’t add more packaging and more expense. Some of the recipients of the food are homeless, but many are not, so some have access to eat the food differently, while others have to take it as it comes.
I season my food! This is Cajun country, and while all people are certainly not Cajun, the people who live here expect well seasoned food. Also, the food culture here sets expectations of what things go together, which might be unexpected to people from other places.
Thank you!
