Baking for Street Bean
We're leaving for Ross Lake tomorrow (yeah!) and won't be back until the end of next week. I will miss being here.
Until then, I have a little proposition for you. If you're in the Seattle area, have some free time next week (I'm excluding people by the second, I know) AND want to turn on your oven and bake something (anybody still with me?) for an amazing cause, listen up.
As I've mentioned before, Yancey and I worked for years with street kids in downtown Seattle. We grew up at New Horizons Ministries (NHM)--learned about intense suffering (and intense joy), learned how privileged we were, and set the course for the things we'll care about for the rest of our lives. One of the dreams we had while we were there was for kids to have more pathways out of street life. Without getting on a GIANT soapbox here, it's not enough to tell these kids, "Get a job!" They are set up to fail in this world. It's pretty hard to go get a job when you don't have a place to shower in the morning (or an alarm clock, a shred of confidence, or a mother who makes you breakfast) and when your life is riddled with addiction, depression, mental illness, or just plain old sadness from being unloved and abandoned.
In the next couple months, NHM is opening Street Bean Espresso on 3rd and Cedar in Belltown. It will teach kids adaptive and technical skills, they'll be making great coffee, and they'll be loved and mentored along the way. Our friends Sam and Angie are having a fundraiser for this venture at their house on Queen Anne on Saturday, August 8th. Angie called me wondering if I could recruit some bakers. They're going to set up a coffeehouse in their yard--espresso and homemade pastries in return for a donation to help this program get off the ground in time. I'm making a batch of scones and some kind of coffeecake. Anybody know a good website where I can get some recipes? (wink wink).
If you would like to bake something, you can contact Angie at angie [underscore] sam [at] hotmail [dot] com or through her hilarious and insightful blog. If you're contributing, she'd like to know by the afternoon of Thursday, August 6th. If you're within Seattle city limits, she can come pick it up on Friday the 7th. I'm going to the event on Saturday morning at 9:00, so you can also drop something by my house anytime next Friday the 7th or early morning the 8th.
Whoo! There's the details. I did not hesitate one second in telling Angie I'd like to help with this. I believe in it and love those kids. No matter how hot it is next week or how late I have to stay up to do it, I'll be baking with joy. I hope some of you will join me.
P.S. The galettes featured here have nothing to do with this post except: 1) I made them today 2) I didn't want to do a posting without a photo 3) They represent my love of cooking for others--one is for a friend, and the other for the fire station.
P.S.S. Oh--you want to know what's in them?! Saute two cloves of minced garlic in a bit of olive oil for a couple minutes. Add about 6 cups fresh greens--I used half spinach and half copped Swiss chard. Cook down until totally wilted, about 10 minutes. Cool, squeeze dry, and coarsely chop the whole mixture. To that, add 1 c. whole milk ricotta, 1/4 c. crumbled feta, and 1 Tb. chopped, oil-packed sundried tomatoes. Salt and pepper to taste. Stir gently. Roll out crust made from this dough. Put spinach mixture in the middle, leaving about 1 1/2" on the outside. Fold dough around mixture, pleating as you go. Don't worry if it doesn't look pretty. Brush dough with an egg wash made from one egg + 1 ts. water. Top with slivered Kalamata olives and a handful of finely grated parmesan. Bake at 400 for about 30 minutes, until crust is nicely browned and filling is puffing up a bit. Cool before slicing.
August 1, 2009
Reader Comments (10)
Thank you Sarah for your post. Even though Sam and I are hosting this event, it is easy to forget in the wake of our children's needs (not to mention, our own) exactly why it is that Street Bean is so important. It will be a tremendous vehicle for growth for many, many youth and I am so glad to offer a small gesture of support. Have a great vacation, thanks again and see you Saturday!
BTW, if any readers are interested in making this event your morning coffee next Saturday, email me at the above address (in Sarah's post) and I will send you an invite. This is a kid-friendly, outdoor event!
Delicious! I'll e-mail Angie, especially because she's willing to pick stuff up.
Been cooking and baking today. Forgot that baking in 80 degree weather is still really gross, even if it's better than 100 degree weather.
I've been thinking a lot again about how you've helped us here.
Lesson of the week: Jasmine made some pasta with zucchini and cheddar. We wanted more for later, so she made two boxes of pasta. Big mistake. We were eating pasta all week. BUT, had we sauteed the veggies and left them separately, we could have added them to lots of stuff all week long, never feeling that it was truly "leftovers".
With that in mind, I did some caramelized onions for a savory bread pudding. Instead of making just enough for the pan, I made a few more. Now I've got them for the week, and I'm brainstorming ways to use them. (First off is in a crostada with blue cheese.)
Love the way your mind works! I've been learning so much.
brilliant, brilliant idea angie. so thankful you + sam are involved with street bean/nhm and have been for so many years.
I so wish i was in the area for things like this!! I would so do some baking!!!!!!! hope it's a success.
I'm back from one vacation, and in less than 12 hrs packing up and leaving for another.I have zero time to do anything but wash my clothes and check my favorite blog. It's the only thing I HAD to do before I left, and the only thing I missed while being away. I have to say I'm disappointed those galettes aren't going with Sarah to Ross lake, but I know no matter where we are we will be eating darn good, and we will have some of the tastiest food on the lake.
Way to go Sarah,for putting in a plug to help the down and out children and caring enough to do something about it. No wonder I love this blog.....see ya real soon
I just wanted to let you know that I made 4 galettes this week. My favorite has been this yummy peach, blueberry, plum mixture w/ cinnamon and vanilla. Thank you for making us all better and braver!
i would love to bake a tart and possibly some muffins. i was introduced to your blog through kelsey jones casey. i'm a new reader of your blog and have enjoyed it. i can drop off the goods at your place on saturday early morning - i live close to the edmunds light rail station. it was good to read about the coffee bean venture!
waiting, waiting, waiting for the next post. I'll bring some baked treat down for the cafe when we come for the party. What time do you need it?
Four?!! Good job! I'm sure you're popular in your house right now.
What a neat program! It drives me absolutely bonkers when I hear people assume that everyone can just "get a job." My husband works with kids who are in poverty, so our "how was your day" conversations in the evening sometimes end in tears. The kid who doesn't have electricity in his house so he runs an extension cord from his neighbor's just to plug in a fridge ... the girl whose mom decided to stop feeding her so she scrapes together $1 a day from friends to eat off the McDonald's value meal (or gets in trouble for stealing the money when the fear of hunger is too great) ... the kids with no place to stay at all ... and then there's the abuse.
I wish I lived in Seattle to help with this, but I'll just have to find some way to do my part here in Spokane.