We had a terrific team preparing, packing and delivering a very hearty and nutritious meal to our MESH guests. Joan Zief and Lynne Kurzweil organized the meal around sumptuous vegan leftovers from Saturday’s kiddish, graciously donated by the Lucey family. Kitchen helpers were Alex Kent and teens Hailey and Jaden.
Continue reading
The MESH Cafe has evolved considerably in the past three years. Prior to March of 2020, every Tuesday evening from September through June, The Carol Starr MESH Cafe at Shomrei served dinner upstairs in the Gallery to 25-30 food insecure members of the Montclair community. When Covid prohibited in house dining, we provided Grab N Go complete meals which were distributed by MESH staff in a central outdoor location. Starting in 2023 MESH has an indoor location, the site of the former The Office restaurant at 619 Bloomfield Ave., provided through the generosity of the landlord. The doors open at 4:30 pm, meals are served at 5:15 pm and guests can stay and relax until 6:30 pm. The MESH Board has also set up a “MESH Store” where guests can “shop” for clothing and other essentials. The Store is only accepting donations of new items.
Continue reading
Chef Fern worked her magic once again preparing a Mediterranean feast for 30 MESH guests in her home kitchen. She brought the meal in trays to Shomrei early Tuesday afternoon , all ready to be portioned and packed by Lynne Kurzweil and frequent teen helper, Jaden. The meal included Baked Salmon with lemon garnish and Yogurt Dill Sauce, Israeli Couscous Salad with cucumbers, tomatoes and olives, Coleslaw, and Biscuits baked by Collin. Each guest was also given a tangerine, a cupcake, a water bottle and a breakfast bar. Continue reading
It was crunch time in the Shomrei kitchen on Tuesday night as Chef Aileen Grossberg ably assisted by Susan Rosenblatt, Alex Kent and teen Jaden prepared a meal that crunched.
It may have been dreary outside but in the Shomrei kitchen the atmosphere was warm and cheery. Chef Aileen Grossberg planned a hearty, comforting meal of chopped vegetable salad( tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, carrots celery, and olives with a light dressing of vinegar and oil), glazed meatloaf, and rice with corn and peas. Each dinner included an Italian roll a container of applesauce, a trio of sweets, a breakfast bar and water.
The dynamic cooking duo of Lynne Kurzweil and Joan Zief whipped up a feast of a comfort meal for 30 grateful MESH guests. With the able assistance of Susan Rosenblatt, all around amazing sous chef, helper, packer and dishwasher, the meal consisted of BBQ Rub Chicken, Roasted Vegetable Herb Rice, Roasted Peas and Carrots, Potato Latkes with Apple Sauce, sliced Italian bread, two clementines, Milano cookies, 3 Lindt chocolate truffles and a water bottle.
Gourmet Chef Fern Heinig prepared her famous Mediterranean Feast including Baked Salmon with Tzatziki Sauce, Green Bean and Potato Salad, Butternut Squash and Mixed Greens Salad with Pomegranate Seeds and Dijon Balsamic Vinaigrette (so pretty!), a hearty roll, tangerines and a breakfast bar.
(L-R Hailey, Colin and Aimee, packing meals for Mesh)
MESH CoChairs Aileen Grossberg and Lynne Kurzweil worked their magic with leftovers from the Selichot dinner. The tuna and egg salad filling was supplemented with more tuna, celery and onion and transformed into a hearty tuna/egg salad placed on fresh buns and pita with lettuce and tomato. Turkey sandwiches were also prepared to bring us to 30 servings which is our current weekly number of meals provided.