Archive for the ‘cooking’ Category

Day 10: Operation “Feed the Children”

Posted: October 21, 2013 in Children, cooking, Deed 30, dessert, food, school, South Africa, travel, volunteer
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Happy Children enjoying lunch

A few days ago while working, I had the idea that I wanted to do something more for the kids at the building site.  I approached Deen with a few ideas: get  kids a ball, crayons and paper..something to help them socialize and stimulate their mind.  Deen looked at me and said “If you really want to help them and make them happy, you must get them food”.  I trusted Deen’s word and decided to buy food for all the children

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Food Supplies

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Lots of Sandwiches!

Fast forward to today, I woke up early and headed to the grocery store with Deen.  I bought makings for about 50 sandwiches, a pack of 50 crackers, and  pack of 50  cookies.  We drove back to the job site and worked all morning: mixing cement and laying more of the foundation.   Mid morning, a few volunteers and I started made all the sandwiches. We brought them over to the kids along with a pack of crackers and pack of cookies for each.  After giving them the food, I have never seen them so quiet and content.   As always, Deen was right and the kids were happy!  The leftovers were given to the men and women who work at the daycare center to eat and distribute to others in the area.  Operation “Feed the Children” was a success!

Deed 23: Culinary Explorers with the Association to Benefit Children

Posted: July 7, 2013 in Children, cooking, food, volunteer
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boystirringCulinary Explorers is an after school program for middle school children where they are taught basics of food preparation, focusing on fostering healthy eating habits.  The program runs from January-June, every Tuesday.  Throughout the year the students learn to cook and eat a wide variety of foods.  During the class I attended, the children prepped and cooked sesame chicken and roasted broccoli.  The students took turns mixing the sauce, cutting the broccoli, and glazing the chicken before placing the food in the oven.  Once the food was cooked, I was able to eat a piece of chicken and some broccoli.   It was quite tasty!

Most people that know me might be surprised that I helped with a cooking class.  I had little to no cooking knowledge until college.  After entering college, my cooking skills consisted of making “Easy Mac” and “Chef boyardee” in the microwave.  Since that time, my skills have evolved to cooking bland meats and vegetables.  Needless to say, I was very impressed with the children and the program in general.  Not only did they learn to cook, but they learned that  if prepared correctly, vegetables can be delicious(something I also didn’t learn until a few years ago 🙂 )!  It is a great program, one that I wish I participated in during middle school!