Let's Cultivate Food decided to donate a charity dinner to a great place and cause...
"Gift of Life House" located right here in Philadelphia- 401 Callowhill Street to be exact.
Gift of Life House is a donation run foundation where 5 area hospitals connect with for
patient care. Patients and their families stay here during and after their surgeries from being an
organ transplant donor or recipient. Let's Cultivate Food came in to cook a dinner for these awesome
heroes that stay at Gift of Life House.
I started the early afternoon off by checking my ingredient list and getting some
orange infused green tea ready. I will say.... this green tea is the best sweetened green tea EVER!
I infused fresh oranges for this dinner but another favorite is infusing basil and strawberry but
that's usually more of a favorite during the warmer months.
The salad was "Soba Noodle Salad" which consisted of Soba noodles, romaine lettuce,
grape tomatoes and green and red seedless grapes all cut in half.
Here is a closer look at the healthy freshness.
Of course we had to make some dumplings. Can't have a dinner without some form of dumplings!
The 2 dipping sauces were soy and apricot sauce. (both home-made of course)
We also had "World Peace Noodles" I gave this dish the name world peace simply because
it is a mixture of many different types of noodles... getting along together happily and peacefully
all in one big bowl/tray. The veggies this time around consisted of red, yellow and orange bell peppers,
baby portabella mushrooms, oyster mushrooms, carrots, celery and onions.
We also had buffalo chicken mac and cheese as a last entree.
We had some cupcakes... not just any cupcakes but psychedelic cupcakes...
And the giddy jello wedges... always a crowd favorite!
One of my awesome helpers was.... not only a pharmacy resident at a local hospital
but one of the best and kind-hearted people in the medical field that you will ever encounter!
yes, I wasn't just throwing the word hero in there for no reason!
her adorable 3 year old son who helped out as well.... (he had the cutest apron on too)
Master marketing genius and one of Philadelphia area's best high school coaches
joined Let's Cultivate Food with decorating the cupcakes along with so much more.
This is me and top curriculum supervisor of Philadelphia charter schools
(we go waaaay back to making our first dumplings as 9 year olds in 4th grade.)
Coaches are always focused not just during games but in whatever they do... to get it done right!
Here is our group for Let's Cultivate Food's first small charity dinner after we quickly made food
for about an hour and a half before serving the food. (some are more excited than others to be done!)
To tie in a slight winter theme from the drinks of melted snowmen... I wanted to have little felt scarves
around the napkins and forks.
Sometimes having good soap helps with the cleaning... but in Let's Cultivate Food's case...
it was truly the awesome people who helped volunteer their time and energy on a Saturday night!
Thanks again guys!!! You know who you are!
Zestfully, Let's Cultivate Food
