From Farm to Plate

With all the heat & humidity lately, you may have been wilting, but the Moveable Feast Garden Program has been thriving. We've been harvesting numerous vegetables for use in our clients meals!

Check out the pictures below of the fresh veggies from our garden and from a volunteer's garden - made into healthy, nutritious salads for our clients.

Green beans, tomatoes, and yellow squash being prepared for use in salads.

Delicious salads, ready to be frozen and delivered to our clients.

By the way, if you're interested in volunteering in one of our gardens, we welcome newcomers! Simply contact Sara at SMcClean@mfeast.org to set up a time to volunteer - we usually go on Friday mornings. Learn more about our Garden Program here.

Delicious Culinary Luncheon

Last Friday, Moveable Feast staff and volunteers were treated to a delicious culinary lunch!

As part of our culinary skills training program, run by Chef Damon and Instructor Aaron, the culinary students must prepare, present, and serve a series of lunches. Everyone who partakes of the lunch fills out a quick survey and gives feedback about the food, helping the students improve their skills.

Here are some pictures from last Friday!

Some of the available food choices: minestrone soup, green beans, pasta, and sausage in homemade tomato marinade.

Serving up dessert!

Students give an explanation of the meal, in particular, how it was cooked, presented, and served.

Students serving food!

Delicious mozzarella and tomato salad.

Pot of homemade soup. Yummy!

Moveable Feast Receives $75K from KomenMD

We just received these pictures and wanted to share! In case you didn't hear about it, in the beginning of April, the Komen Maryland Affiliate granted us $75,000 to continue our services to breast cancer patients.

Here are some pictures of Ted accepting the check.

Grow your Starter Plants Now!

It may be nice and warm outside, but it's still not too late to get your starter plants growing! In fact, right now is the perfect time to do so.
We've already begun transplanting some of our bigger starter plants to our gardens. Here's what they looked like in the office (before the move)!

Herbs growing on the windowsill overlooking Milton Ave.

Yellow of Parma Onion!

Winningstadt Cabbage, soon to feed our clients.

Check out our website for more information on how to cultivate starter plants at home! Click here.

Mt. Washington Tavern's Grilled Cheese Cook-Off Raises $1K

Aged gouda cheese. Portobello mushrooms. Buttery italian bread. Sauteed onions. Look at any pictures from the Mt. Washington Tavern's 1st Annual Grilled Cheese Cook-Off, and you'll know - if you weren't there, you missed out on the best grilled cheese sandwich of your life.

Sunday's sold-out event raised over a thousand dollars for Moveable Feast services. Professional chefs and home cooks reinvented the idea of the typical grilled cheese sandwich by using gourmet ingredients in unique ways. Likewise, Moveable Feast continues to reinvent charitable food service ideals by constantly improving our meals to make them tastier, more nutritious, more personalized, easier to heat up, and more client-friendly. What better way to raise money for our mission to FEED people, FIGHT disease, and FOSTER hope?

The winners were:

• Of the Professional Chef challenge: Kevin Miller of Widespread Concierge Services, who served up a tasty creation using 3 different aged cheeses on a brioche.
• Of the Home Cook challenge: Michelle Howell, who made a delicious vegetarian grilled cheese masterpiece.

Thanks to everyone who contributed to the success of this event, and special thanks to Mt. Washington Tavern for choosing us as their charity beneficiary.

Photos credit: Jason A. Knauer, Jason Knauer Photography, www.jasonknauer.com

Starter Plants Growing Quickly

Here at the offices of Moveable Feast, we're growing starter plants. When they are big enough, they will be transplanted to our gardens. The plants will yield fruits and vegetables to feed our clients in our nutritious meals. 

Starter plants overlooking the view from Moveable Feast offices.

Starter herbs - one day to flavor chef Damon's meals for our clients!

Aji Crystal Pepper and Tequila Sunrise Pepper, both growing quickly.

Starter plant set-up in the office.

There are many ways to get involved with the Moveable Feast Garden Program. If you'd like to grow a starter plant in your home for Moveable Feast, please contact Sara at smcclean@mfeast.org. It's easy, cheap, and a fun way to help us!

Starter Plant Update!

How are our starter plants doing? In the office, we are currently growing:

• Prizetaker Leek
• Yellow of Parma Onion
• Long Red Florence Onion
• Beams Yellow Pear Tomato
• Winningstadt Cabbage
• Tequila Sunrise Pepper
• Hot Pepper
• Aji Crystal Pepper

Starter plants in the beginning - mid-February 2011.

Mid-February 2011.

Mid-March 2011. Look how much they've grown!

We are still in need of volunteers to grow starter plants in their homes for our Garden Program. Click here for more information and put your green thumb to good use!

Start with a Starter Plant: Calling All Green Thumb Do-Gooders!

City life doesn’t mean that you can’t spy a bit of green here and there. Amid the concrete, brick, and asphalt, Baltimore City has gardens all around – you just have to know where to look.

And if you’re having trouble, consider growing some green in your own home.

Moveable Feast began its Garden Program last year, with a two-fold purpose: to grow fresh produce for use in our nutritious meals and grocery bags, and to engage people in their local community gardens. With Year 2 of the Garden Program now swinging into full gear, we’ve obtained even more acreage, and it’s an ideal time to get involved.

Duncan Street Miracle Garden, where Moveable Feast has a plot.

An easy way is by growing a starter plant. Choose from our extensive list of produce options, plant some seeds, and tend to the seedling as it grows and matures. If you need help along the way, you can always contact any of our three dietitians for advice. In May, when the last frost has passed, you can transplant your seedling into our gardens. Summer rains and heat will help your plant to grow and yield produce for our clients!

We kick-off the spring planting season at the end of March, after which you can volunteer in our gardens anytime. Right now, we’re looking for volunteers to help set up the garden. In particular, this involves rehabilitating the garden by weeding and adding soil and compost.

Pepper and tomato starter plants - easy to grow at home.

For more information about growing a starter plant and volunteering in our garden, please visit our website.

Debbie's Garden

Moveable Feast receives fresh produce from a Baltimore City community garden tended by longtime volunteers at Moveable Feast. This is the story of the Lake Garden, written by one of our volunteers.

It was a very sad day on our block when it filtered out that our neighbor, Debbie had succumbed to her cancer. Debbie had just had her first child, a beautiful girl named Anjolie, a year earlier.

Months later we watched as Debbie's cherished garden grew wild, choked with weeds and fell apart.

Paul, her husband – an emergency room doctor attempting to raise their child – had no time for such trivial matters.

I approached him and asked if perhaps I could help out and clean the garden. Not being a gardener, I asked another neighbor to assist so that I would not pull out the wrong plants. She suggested that we give the garden purpose and plant some vegetables.

With Paul's permission, we proceeded.

The Lake Garden in 2010.

As we worked, other neighbors gravitated to the garden, making suggestions or digging right in to help. People that had previously done little more than wave in passing…became fast friends.

When our crops began to flourish one of the gardeners suggested donating some of our food to Moveable Feast, and it was well received by your chef.

That was our first year.

This year we are donating the majority of our crop to Moveable Feast . Of course, a few tomatoes or lettuce may end up in a neighbor's salad bowl, but the bulk will go to your worthy cause. Paul was quite gracious about this.

Last year we made a plaque for the garden: "In Memory of Debbie.” We watched proudly from our window as Paul showed off the plaque and garden to his friends.

This year the garden will have a dual purpose. To sustain the memory of a wonderful lady and to support your exceptional cause.

The Lake Garden in its current state, getting ready to be planted in the springtime!

Written by Sue and collaborated by Jeanne, neighbors to Debbie and Paul and current tenders to the Lake Garden in Baltimore City.
 

Moveable Feast at the Komen Appreciation Reception

On Thursday, March 3rd, Moveable Feast development staff attended the annual appreciation reception for the Maryland Affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure. The event was held at the Marriott in Hunt Valley, MD. It was great to see all the supporters and representatives of partner organizations all gathered in one location. We enjoyed the evening very much.

Green Thumb Memories

The Moveable Feast Garden Program is now in its second year, and we're actively looking for volunteers! An easy way to get started at home is by growing a starter plant. Once your plant is big enough, it will be transplanted into our gardens to help feed our clients!

Dietitian Sara transplanting basil into pots. (April 2010)

There are many different fruits and vegetables that you could grow. A full list can be found here.



Italian basil plant, to be used by Chef Damon in cooking meals! (April 2010)

Our team of dietitians will help you with any questions you have about getting supplies, planting seeds, tending to your plant, and more.



Baby strawberry fruit, still growing! (April 2010)

 Check out the Garden Volunteer section on our website if you're interested!

Reader Photo: Waterstone Bar and Grille

There are just a few days left to participate in our "Let's Dish! & Dine Out" Giftcard Giveaway. Remember, submit a photo of your meal from a Dining Out For Life restaurant, or your favorite recipe, to esze@mfeast.org!

These photos were sent in by Cinthea Thurman, who dined at Waterstone Bar and Grille. She enjoyed the lamb chops and veal shank. Cinthea's photos have been entered in the drawing to win a $25 giftcard to Let's Dish!



Yum!





The presentation was great.

Reader Photo: Minato Sushi

Thinking of eating out this weekend? If you dine out at a 2010 Dining Out For Life restaurant, snap a picture of your food to be entered in our giftcard giveaway! 

This photo comes from one of our dietitians, Jinee, while eating out at Minato Sushi Bar. Jinee has been entered to win a $25 Let's Dish! giftcard.

Looks tasty!

The 2010 DOFL restaurants included: 13.5% Wine Bar, A Bolton Hill Bistro - 'b', B & O American Brasserie, The Brewer's Art, Alexander's Tavern, Alonso's/Loco Hombre, Ambassador Dining Room, Blue Agave, Bonjour Bakery/Cafe, Cafe Gia, Cafe Hon, Chameleon Cafe, City Cafe, Clementine, The Dizz, The Dizz Grandview, Gertrude's at the BMA, The Greene Turtle (Fells Point), Iggie's, Indigma, Jack's Bistro, Joe Squared, Koco's Pub, Laurrapin Grille, Linwoods, Luna Blu, Marie Louise Bistro, Mia Carolina, Miguel's Cocina and Cantina, Minato Sushi Bar, Mt. Vernon Stable & Saloon, Mt. Washington Tavern, One World Cafe, Pazza Luna, Petit Louis, Regi's American Bistro, The Rumor Mill Fusion Bar and Restaurant, Rustico Restaurant and Wine Bar, Sascha's 527 Cafe, Singer's, Sotto Sopra, Teavolve Cafe and Lounge, Todd Conner's, Village Square Cafe, Waterstone Bar and Grille, Woodberry Kitchen, Yellow Dog Tavern

Good Fellas at Moveable Feast

Good Fellas of Baltimore is a FOX45-Baltimore new reality TV show, airing in Spring 2011. The show features seven Baltimore entrepreneurs and philanthropists who are working to help the less fortunate, engage the community, and transform our city. They are...the Good Fellas. 

Each week, the Good Fellas will visit a different Baltimore nonprofit to work closely on their initiatives, bringing a spotlight on the great projects that improve Baltimore each and every day.

We're happy to announce that the Good Fellas will feature Moveable Feast in their Spring 2011 season. Yesterday, on Martin Luther King Jr. National Day of Volunteerism, the Good Fellas came to Moveable Feast to help work in the kitchen. 

photo courtesy of A. J. Ali

We're looking forward to working with the Good Fellas in the upcoming weeks to prepare for the show! To learn more about the Good Fellas of Baltimore, visit www.GoodFellasOfBaltimore.com.


And, check out the official trailer for the show below! 

Official Flickr Slideshow: Martin O'Malley's Visit to Moveable Feast

Straight from the horse's mouth...Governor O'Malley's photographers posted the pictures from his visit on November 1st. Check them out below! 

Some of Moveable Feast's staff with Gov. O'Malley: 

P.S. Don't forget about this Thursday's IIDA Feast for the Holidays event, where Rodney Henry of Dangerously Delicious Pies will be teaching all participants his little baking tricks. Anyone can attend, but RSVPs are required. All the pies baked will be given to our clients for the holidays :)

Flickr Slideshow: "Oldies"

Moveable Feast has a long history. Now in our twentieth year, it's not surprising that we've moved around a lot. Back in the 90s, we changed locations several times. From Waverly Presbyterian to the old Haussner's Restaurant to St. Benedict's Church, this organization's moved around town quite a bit. We finally came to our present (and permanent!) facility in 2008. 

Take a look at these photos from back in the day - they're certainly "oldies but goodies!" See if you can identify any of the locations!

Guest Blog by Minxeat's Kathy Patterson: A Restaurant Review of Clementine

One of the Baltimore region's most popular food/restaurant reviewers is guest blogging today. Kathy, who is the author of the minxeats blog, reviews her Dining Out For Life experience at Clementine. 

Minxeats features original recipes, thoughts on area restaurants, and other food-related topics. Check it out! 

I had heard from several sources that Clementine was "awesome," so I was happy to see that the restaurant was not only participating in Dining Out for Life, but it was also one of the handful that were offering 50% of the night's proceeds to Moveable Feast.

Couldn't be a more perfect reason to check it out.

Clementine, located on Harford Road in Hamilton, is an entirely charming restaurant. The decor is rustic, with sturdy wooden tables and chairs, window lamps made from colanders, and a hodgepodge of art-for-sale decorating the walls in the original dining room. The music playing that evening was country with a Texas twang. And our waitress was an absolute doll.

The eclectic beer and cocktail menu took longer to peruse than the food menu. Eventually I settled on a Tokyo Iced Tea - a mild-tasting but potentially lethal concoction containing mint tea and sake, among other things. Mr Minx had a draft Chimay, which honestly was pretty dull for a Belgian beer that cost nearly $8.

As for food, we knew we wanted to try both charcuterie plates - meat and seafood.

The meat version held a slab of Danish fontina, a chubby sausage of Duroc pork seasoned with black mustard seed, fennel, and pear liqueur, a blob of chicken liver paté with thyme, rye whiskey, and honey, and a pile of house-made bread & butter pickles.

The paté didn't look like much, but boy howdy was it good! (And they sell it by the pound!) The whiskey and honey lent a subtle sweetness to the chicken livers, which were smooth and rich and simply wonderful. The juicy pork sausage was similarly edged with sweetness. The cheese was fine, but I would have preferred more meaty goodness.

The seafood plate included pickled shrimp, smoked trout salad with remoulade, and a shrimp paté, along with more pickles. I adore smoked trout, which is what sold the dish. Trout isn't as oily as its cousin salmon, and I find that smoking it provides a more gentle flavor. This salad was lemony perfection. I expected the shrimp to be more, well, pickle-y, but was instead pleasantly surprised by an intense citrus flavor. And while I wasn't crazy about the runny texture of the shrimp paté, the nuggets of crustacean had a nice iodine quality.

The bread & butter pickles were a nice tangy counterpoint to the rich items of the meat plate, but were unnecessary on the seafood version. But really, the only thing I would change is the bread. Charcuterie this good needs something with a bit more character and better crust. And maybe cut into less-dainty slices.

(Yes, I know, I've become a breadist like my father. Don't remind me.)

 On to our entrées.

Mr Minx, feeling somewhat meat-and-potatoes deprived recently, found the description of meatloaf with smoked gouda mashed potatoes and a red eye mushroom gravy enticing. Apparently not only to read: he devoured the whole thing, citing the herbal quality of the meat as one of its best qualities. For me, however, there was probably a bit too much thyme. Loved the super-creamy mash and the homey gravy, though.

Unlike my husband, I'm always more interested in ordering things that are more odd or interesting rather than soul-satisfying and am almost always content with eating an appetizer as my main course. Although I was tempted by the duck entrée, I instead ordered the smoked duck nachos with chihuahua cheese, cilantro sour cream, and pico de gallo appetizer. And I'm very glad I did, as these were some of the best nachos I've ever eaten - freshly fried chips, a generous quantity of tender house-smoked meat, and a gorgeous cilantro-and-lime cream. Not only gorgeous to look at, either. (My notes said the cream was "killer." God, I love cilantro.)

The portion was huge, btw, definitely share-able if ordered as an appetizer. For sure they don't skimp on portions at Clementine, as our desserts (made by the owner's mom) were oversized as well.

Mr. Minx's yellow cake with chocolate frosting and peanut butter filling was like a home-made version of one of the treats of our youth: a Tastykake Peanut Butter Kandy Kake. But ten times better, of course.

If I'm going to eat cake, 9 times out of 10 it's going to be chocolate, but a big white cake with a halo of grated coconut called to me from its very visible spot in the pastry case. It was possibly the best yellow cake I have ever eaten - moist and somewhat dense, with fluffy seven-minute frosting and the perfect amount of coconut. I ate as much of it as I could before I had to admit defeat and a full tummy.

In conclusion: we enjoyed everything immensely. I'd go back again for all of it, especially the charcuterie and cake. And that cilantro cream. I'm thinking that Clementine might just become one of our regular haunts.

Clementine
5402 Harford Rd
Baltimore, MD 21214-2215
(410) 444-1497

Thanks again to Kathy and Minxeats for guest blogging today! Dining Out For Life was held this year on September 23rd. Clementine was one of our best performing restaurants. In total we raised over $70,000 this year to feed our clients.

Flickr Slideshow: "Kitchen and Packing Room Fun"

To see the high-quality version on Flickr, click here!

Flickr Slideshow: "Faces of Moveable Feast"

Moveable Feast will be posting a new Flickr slideshow every few weeks! Here is the first one - a quick look at some of the people around our organization :) 

To see the high-quality version on Flickr.com, click here!!