Hello fam!
A quick note on March … we set yeat another new record!! We delivered 462 childhood meals and 100 bag lunches for grand total of 562 meals! Well done everyone! Honestly we are so blessed to have friends and family like you. And now, without further ado, let’s move on to April
AROUND THE WORLD CUISINE !!
We are trying something new this month. We usually just pick one ethnic cuisine or food category each month but we want to branch out. There are so many delicious foods in the world, why shouldn’t we expand our horizons! So this month it’s dealers choice. Pick a meal from around the world and make it for our friends in need. For some of you that means a time honored family traditional meal, for others it may spark a memory of a great semester abroad, and for others it just might be food you love from a local take out joint.
I chose two memories to focus on this month. The first one is a little weird so bear with me. It’s about a girl. (don’t all of the best stories start that way!) Back in the day I was your quintessential 1980’s college kid. Think Judd Nelson in The Breakfast Club. I had a long tattered trench coat, a bad haircut, and a ridiculous cross earring dangling from my ear. I thought I was so cool. During those halcyon days I briefly dated a very unique girl. As edgy as edgy could be. Over the years you forget a lot about the people in your past as the details slowly fade away. However, one thing I will never forget is that she used Chinese takeout cartons as her purse! She used to go to this dodgy restaurant and they gave them to her in bulk. Truthfully I think they believed she was homeless. She’d put her ID, lipstick and whatever else in this white cardboard carton, and carry it by the little metal handles. Honestly, I had not eaten much asian food at that point in my life but I remember thinking that her little purse was really cool. I haven’t seen that girl in 35 years but I do think that’s where my affinity for Chinese take out began!
The second memory I have is of the vacation Amy and I took to Vienna last year. I have always wanted to go to a traditional Christmas market and you never have to twist Amy’s arm to go to Europe for a few days. We had an incredible time! We hit close to a dozen markets in Vienna, took the train to Salzburg for the day, and ate and drank like Austrians. I don’t speak any German but Amy took it in school and after a couple of days (and a couple of beers) she was conversing nicely with the locals. I pretty much stood there like an idiot. One thing I will say is that I was surprised at how much I loved the food. I had pork and chicken schnitzel, warm gooey spatzel, spicy goulash, strong Austrian coffee and delicious chocolate. So much chocolate!! But the thing I enjoyed the most were the sausages. Bratwurst, Currywurst, Kielbasa, you name it. Sausages with crunchy casing, with cheese inside, with hot peppers, with sweet mustard. I tried them all.
With that in mind, this month’s menu at Chez Rotonda will be:
- Chinese stir fried vegetables w/sesame garlic sauce
- White long grain rice
- Bratwurst w/German mustard
- Traditional Kugel
- PB&J bag lunches
Ok, that’s the what and the why, let’s talk about the who. The who is YOU!! We need your support to make this happen.
The good news is that there are several ways you can help:
- You can donate by pushing the blue button below (venmo, paypal, etc).
- You can click here on our Amazon wish list https://a.co/3dHp8Jg and purchase some of the items we need.
- You can make a homemade meal and schedule a pickup or drop off with us for Friday 4/12 or Saturday 4/13
- It may not seem like much but every time you LIKE, FOLLOW, and SHARE our posts on FB and IG, you help spread the word.
- Or you can come to our house on Saturday 4/13 and Amy and I will feed you while you help feed others! If you haven’t been to our place for one of these you really should. Friends, laughter, music, food, beer, wine and lots and lots of pugs!!
As always we greatly appreciate your love and support. this is a 100% volunteer driven organization so it’s you great people who really keep this going!
Vince Rotonda
Executive Director
Many Hands Project Inc.
At Many Hands we like to say “Work is love made visible”.