Whether or not they had voted in the New Jersey presidential primary (and, to judge by the dinner conversation, quite a few had), 24 guests joined us for Shomrei’s MESH Cafe. Celebrity chefs Aileen Grossberg and Lynne Kurzweil, using a resourceful combination of leftovers and fresh ingredients, whipped up a hearty meal of salsa and chips, green salad, whole grain bread, shepherd’s pie, roasted vegetables (cauliflower, brussels sprouts, peppers, and carrots), and cinnamon crisps served with pareve ice cream and fruit. The chefs seemed to be having so much fun cooking and schmoozing that they hardly wanted to go home! Shomrei super teens Amalia, Gus, Isaac, Matt, Sam, and Roy handled the setup, serving, and cleanup, with help from MESH staffers Adrienne, Bonny, Andi and Dev.  Your captain, who’s been away for a while, was impressed by how smoothly everything ran. Indeed, there was relatively little for him to do. If only the presidential primaries could be so pleasant!