manifesto

THINGS THAT TASTE LIKE FISH STICKS THAT SHOULDN'T

Support the troops? Put your kitchen where your mouth is.


There are scores of soldiers and Marines recuperating from grievous injuries suffered in Iraq and Afghanistan at Walter Reed Army hospital in Northwest DC. More arrive every week.

As they mend, some move from the hospital proper to Mologne House, a military hotel cum outpatient facility where they get their own rooms, a computer, a microwave and a dorm fridge and begin the long process of physical and occupational therapy.

Without other options, they eat most of their meals in a cafeteria which is heavy on the institutional food: lots of fried, little fresh, extremely monotonous. My friend, a journalist who had a rather dramatic encounter with an IED outside of Kabul last year, lives at Mologne for now. She says everything tastes like fish sticks.

Luckily she has friends who look after her gastronomical needs. But there are men and women throughout Mologne piecing their lives back together who don't have similar local support and get almost nothing but fish sticks (and things that taste like fish sticks that shouldn't).

I brought my friend homemade goat cheese and wild mushroom enchiladas and black beans and rice on July 5, and we cooked up (heh) a plan. Next week, I'll make enough of something delicious for dinner for 5 other Mologne House residents and drop it by their rooms when I bring her dinner.

She'll tell me what rooms to go to.

A couple of my friends have expressed interest in also providing meals -- some regularly, others when they can. All are welcome.

So here are the guidelines:

1) It must be GOOD.

2) It must be HOMEMADE.

3) It must be FRESH. Nothing fuzzy from your freezer.

4) It must REHEAT well in the microwave. (Grilled Steak? Not so much)

5) It should be packaged as a generous single serving, unless advised otherwise. Think: leftovers.

6) It should be in a microwaveable, covered dish which will be collected the following week and hopefully returned to you to be refilled. No promises you'll get the same one back. Glass is best but plastic works too. It should be on the small flat side. Think: Dorm fridge.

7) It should be frozen and dropped off at Pam's house on Sunday night (with some flexibility Monday) for delivery the following Tuesday or Wednesday.

8) It should have a note from you saying what it is, recommended heating time if you know it, perhaps a list of ingredients, and maybe your email address so your recipients can thank you (they are as a group very polite. It's that military training).

9) You can send Pam the recipe and a picture of the dish if you have it for posting below...especially useful if someone asks for a repeat delivery.

10) You can include extra treats -- wrapped homemade desserts, magazines, taclum powder, shaving supplies. You might want to ask your Hungry Hero to email what extras or she would like to receive in future deliveries.

So that's it. Cook, deliver, eat, repeat.

and here's an 11 .. .because it has to go to 11

11) Email Pam at pamrhess@gmail.com before you shop, cook or drop things off! There's a lot of interest in this and I have to work out some logistics.. so you might not be cooking every week. We're going to start small and see where it takes us.


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Tuesday, July 13, 2010

First delivery!

Howdy!

OK, on the menu tonight. Last I heard I am bringing dinners for 11...

From Meg King, of Lynchburg, Va. – now of Dupont Circle – something called Upside Down Beef Pizza, a recipe that is a favorite of her mother. It involves lots of cheese and sour cream so should be delicious. She made 5 servings so there will be high level negotiations to figure out who gets what.

From Pam Hess of Capitol Hill – and she (I, really) made a lot of it so eat up! – coconut and ginger wild salmon, with jasmine rice and spinach. I think I overcooked it a little, and it almost certainly needs salt. But it tastes good! I got the recipe from the wife of the press attache at the Indian embassy. She made it much spicier. This is what it would look like if I plated it fancy.

We have sliced watermelon from Jug Bay Market Farm, grown about 20 miles from DC and picked yesterday.

And for dessert: from Dana Sandman of Arlington, Va., triple chocolate cookies with toffee. Dana says “thank you for your service and sacrifice and this is the very least I can do.” If you like the cookies – and how could you not -- leave a flattering comment and she’ll make more.

Adriana Sahliyeh (also of Dupont Circle) made a trio of treats – brownies (with nuts), sugar cookies and what appear to be snickerdoodles.

We're figuring this out as we go, so let us know what works, what doesn't and we'll see you next week!
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