From Captain Alex Kent:
John Lasiter prepared a meal for 18 people, with 1 meal to go. The diners were treated to pita chips with hummus, barbecued chicken, roasted potatoes, cole slaw, challah and spread, topped off by a dessert of homemade brownies and vanilla ice cream.
From Captain Alex Kent:
It was a wild and crazy MESH night this past Tuesday when, unbeknownst to the volunteer crew, the MESH guests were slated to dine in the Sukkah.
Everyone rose to the occasion, even though at times it was a bit of a Chinese fire drill with plates of food being ferried up and down the stairs and in the elevator. The MESH staff assured us the guests wanted to eat in the Sukkah, despite the 60 degree weather.
From Captain Alex Kent:
The Carol Starr MESH Cafe at Shomrei hosted an Asian cuisine night on Tuesday, giving a new life to some delicious Chinese food repurposed from the Beatles Shabbat last Friday night. The food had been graciously donated by Aimee and David Brooks. Chef Lynne Kurzweil whipped up her own carrot and ginger soup, topped with Chinese noodles and parsley, followed by crowd favorites beef with broccoli, sesame chicken, lo-mein, vegetables in brown sauce, and rice. The meal was completed with fruit salad, and black and white cookies.
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Report from Captain Alex Kent:
Shomrei did another stellar job of hosting the MESH Cafe this week. 24 guests were served and we prepared 5 take out containers.
Chef Aileen Grossberg prepared a sumptuous meal, re-purposing a number of items. The first course was a medley of southwestern corn salad, falafel sliders, and roasted veggie pasta. This was followed by a green salad, and a main course of salmon with a hummus topping, couscous with veggies,and green beans, served with a side of bread. Dessert was cookies from the Art Mazel pre-school fundraiser (the source of the sliders as well), and fruit. Continue reading
Report from Captain Alex Kent:
Shomrei’s Carol Starr MESH Cafe served a full house on Tuesday night, and also packaged up 7 additional meals for those left out in the cold.
Aileen Grossberg and Sarah Steindel stepped into the void as there was no cook signed up for Tuesday night. Sarah prepared food the day before, and Aileen had everything prepped and ready to go with detailed instructions for Captain Alex Kent to assemble and cook. Luckily there were 5 High School helpers on hand. Thank you teens! Alex and Jaden from the Montclair High Key Club, and Louis, Max, and Kendall from West Orange High School assembled salads, made fruit salad, buttered bread, served, and did dishes.
Report from Captain Alex Kent:
The Carol Starr MESH Cafe hosted a full house, and then some, on Tuesday. Luckily the offerings were bountiful thanks to the previous Syrian lunch, and the Simchat Torah celebration, which constituted much of the meal.
24 guests were served dinner and 7, for whom we had no room, were given takeout dinners. We had a good complement of helpers including newcomers Ira and Wendy Pollack. Ira is a whiz at the dish sink! Aileen Grossberg and Lynne Kurzweil were the chefs, ably assisted by Shomrei teens Noah, Pacey, and Amalia, and adult helper Rachel Kanter. Bonny and Joe ran the show for MESH. Continue reading
Report from Captain Alex Kent:
On a lovely evening, the Carol Starr MESH Cafe hosted a full house of 24 guests. There was the least number of volunteers ever, and yet everything went off with out a hitch! Susan Rosenblatt enjoyed herself washing dishes, including a bowl that was bigger than she is, as well as pitching in with many other tasks. Chefs Aileen Grossberg and Lynne Kurzweil magically pulled together a meal, using existing foods, and spending only $12 on a few items. If only they could package that! Continue reading
From Captain Alex Kent:
On the gorgeous first day of May, Shomrei’s MESH cafe fed a full house of 24 guests. Shomrei member and Pre-School parent Melissa Elbaum was the chef, and she was ably assisted by a skeleton crew, who nonetheless pulled off the meal with no snafus. Thanks to Melissa’s preparation and organization, the meal was good to go with apple chopping and other help from our regular MESH teens Amalia and Sarah. Other than that, helpers included Chief dishwasher Captain Alex Kent, and the MESH staff of Adrienne, Mr. Tyson, and security guard Mary. Continue reading
From Captain Alex Kent:
The MESH Cafe served 24 guests Tuesday night, including 3 children. Chef Lynne Kurzweil stepped up once again to prepare a healthy, tasty dinner for the group, with Aileen Grossberg acting as sous chef. The crowd was served a green salad to start, accompanied by challah bread and spread. That was followed by a nourishing meatloaf, with peas and roasted carrots, and roasted, smashed potatoes, which were seasoned to perfection. Dessert was chocolate cake with fruit salad. Teen helpers included regulars Sarah and Amalia, along with Jack who wielded a mean potato masher. Montclair State interns Siobhan and Rebecca were on hand, along with two other MSU students: Jenna and Christina. MESH staffers Adrienne, Joseph and Maria ran the show in their usual competent manner.
Tonight’s meal was graciously sponsored in memory of Muriel Kurzweil Kanow by Linda and Todd Wieseneck, Felice and Don Levine, Joan and Don Zief, Maria and Jerry W. Czin, Judy and Neal Yudkoff and Risa and Seth Levine
From Captain Alex Kent:
The Shomrei MESH Cafe hosted 23 guests, including 3 children, the night before Winter Storm Toby. They got in a warm, delicious meal before the onslaught, prepared by Jennifer Moses at her home, and delivered to Shomrei.
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