SC - Soup Kitchen at Estrella (and other wars)

[L. Herr-Gelatt]

Hallo! You folks haven't heard from me in quite a long time. I finally have
a moment, what with three kids sick in bed and threatened to stay there.
This piqued my interest since I am actually FROM Tucson, Arizona (tho I
wasn't in the SCA then, I actually dated someone who was....)


Bonnie wrote:

>the soup kitchen is a day after day affair with the goal of feeding 
>many, many people something resembling lunch.  Becaue of no nearby 
>resteraunts, guests flying in from all over and perhaps a lack of food 
>merchants, many people have no other option for what may be the main 
>meal of the day. Therefore, the soup kitchen should not serve anything 
>which conflicts with major allergies, religous requirements or taste 
>demands and it must be cheap as hell. 
>
>There is not a grocery within reasonable distance, so everything must be 
>carried in. Since it is for several days rather than a single meal, 
>transportation and storage space are at a premium. There is almost no 
>cold storage. 

As a seasoned feast-monger with several "adverse conditions" feasts under
my belt, let me tackle this one.  A single trip to the grocery store should
prove sufficient. You'd need a few coolers with ice if possible, but if you
shopped appropriately this too should not prove too much of a hassle.

I don't know how many days we are talking about. I will assume 3, with a
single meal being served each day.

Ahead of time, build a bake oven on a platform (see the one at pennsic,
pictures which made the daily pennsic newspaper, made with a tunnel of
chicken wire and coated with straw and clay, on a raised bed of bricks
(note that fire brick is not essential though you must have very good
insulation if using regular bricks. I have also used fencing stones, and
dirt plus sod and round-ish stones though this was less efficient. If you
cannot use firewood use a propane heater or a propane single burner cooker
instead, as a heat source. See my web page, the oven links, for inspiration
http://members.tripod.com/~AoifeFinn/index.html  ).  There is plenty here
for everyone, vegetarian, kosher, allergic, etc.

Day 1 Menu 
Sowpes Dorrey (Almond and chicken broth Soup garnished with a slice of
grilled-in-butter bread sprinkled with toasted almonds---king's taste among
other sources). Hard-boiled eggs (you let them peel them) or else import
home-made pickled eggs. Freshly baked cheese rolls. Buy ground almonds or
pre-grind them for the soup. You can even freeze the soup part and bring it
on site to warm up. Take pity on 'em and have hot water and tea bags and
coffee bags. Fresh Lemonade (Spruce, if you like, which has fresh ginger in
it as well). Sekanjubin or other syrups as your make-up time allows
(personal fave is raspberry shrub).



Day 2 Menu
Split pea soup with vegetarian broth (I highly reccomend OXO brand imported
from England), much veggies such as onions and carrots with/without  ham
that has been chopped from a smithfield ham (no refrigeration necessary,
available from Walmart and other large grocery stores) and set aside as
optional (save the meaty hambone for tomorrow's soup---sprinkle
chopped/cubed ham on the soup of those who are carnivorous). Cheese for
sprinkling. Hard-boiled or pickled eggs. Freshly baked rolls, butter,
honey, and jam (any leftovers of this will make an excellent emergency food
or breakfast). Fresh Lemonade, sekanjubin, etc. Coffee/tea.

Day 3 Menu (not necessarily period but not glaringly OOP either)
Ham and bean soup-- try kidney beans for periodicity, tho  Personal choice
is 'lucky 10 bean soup', (pick an assortment of beans and legumes from the
grocery to make it colorfull) which gets a bit of lemon in addition to the
worchestershire, garlic, onion, salt and pepper. Use up your leftover
veggies. Supplement the ham with hamhocks if necessary. Bake spinach rolls
(parboiled spinach squeezed dry, or use frozen spinach, squeezed dry, and
add shredded sharp cheese, and italian herbs, plus enough breadscrumbs to
make it stiff. Stuff this mixture into the middle of your rolls before
final rising. Bake as normal---Spinach Calzone-sized for your vegetarians
and the extremely hungry). Fresh lemonade, sekanjubin etc., Coffee/tea

So you see, your refrigeration is limited to ice, butter, spinach, cheese,
hardboiled eggs, and leftovers. You can get away without coolers if you
forgo ice and construct a camper's cooler ( a  shelf unit that has fabric
on 4 sides and roof, and is spritzed with water frequently or has a thick,
trailing "feeder" or wick in a bucket/water jug placed below it.
Evaporative cooling is the air-conditioning of choice in Arizona anyway.

Not bad for an old broad, eh?

Toodles

Aoife


Dame Aoife Finn
Barony of the Endless Hills
Aethelmearc









>The cooking facilities are limited to camp stoves. 

>Water is a problem as it's got to be carried (after being pumped?) and 
>heated on those same camp stoves.  

>Am I too far off the mark?  

>Also, I've seen some wonderful ideas for single feasts in hard 
>conditions, but what if these were the conditions you had to work with, 
>what would you serve?  I suspect that a lot of middle eastern food would 
>fit the bill.  Disposable dishes might not be avoidable though because 
>of the washing up problem.

>Bonne

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