It’s probably the most popular meal we make at Community Kitchen here at Pearson.
Maybe it’s because a good breakfast is hard to deliver in the way that food normally arrives from the institutional food service provider — trucked from the kitchen on a hospital-style tray. Maybe it’s because fresh-off-the-griddle pancakes and fresh scrambled eggs are a distant memory to many of the people who’ve lived here for decades.
Maybe it’s just because a full fledged breakfast is awesome.
The menu included:
- Fruit smoothie made simply with apples and assorted frozen fruit and enough water to blend. This includes raspberries that we froze at the height of our summer harvest from the residents’ gardens here at Pearson (Garden Club, a Farmers on 57th program)
- Hash browns — grated the last of 2015’s potatoes harvested from the
- Pearson gardens
- Scrambled eggs
- Bacon and sausages
- Pancakes (flour plus eggs plus milk plus butter)
- Berry compote (also frozen berries from the summer)
- Real maple syrup. Know what’s in table ‘syrup’? Mostly Corn Syrup. Plus gum, colouring, flavouring and preservatives.
- Fresh-baked cinnamon buns and plain rolls, prepared in advance by our incredible volunteer Chris.
One of the best parts about Community Kitchen is the socializing that naturally occurs over a meal. Volunteers grab some food and sit down when they have time. We talk about what we could make at the next dinner, even though it is a month away.
As well, residents get the rare opportunity to have seconds (and thirds) of something they really like. Something we try to encourage is for residents to choose what they want.
We were so busy cooking and sharing food that I forgot to take any photos. I leave it up to your imagination…