On Christmas Eve this year, we volunteered to help make Christmas dinner for several homeless service providers with a fantastic group in San Diego called Just Call Us Volunteers. It was a rewarding experience, and one we won’t soon forget.
Prepping meals for the homeless and a little nervous about playing with knives
Whenever we can, Triton and I try to make sure our girls have a proper perspective on our fortunate lives. We have a roof over our heads, beds to sleep in and plenty of food to eat whenever we want it. So many people in the world cannot count on these things that we sometimes take for granted.
When my friend Julie Darling asked if we would like to help, we said YES right away! Little did we know we would be assisting in the kitchen with some of our area’s greatest chefs, including Hanis Cavin who is famous for his wildly successful Carnitas Snack Shack restaurants around town. All in all, there were seven professional chefs in the kitchen on Christmas Eve, so we just shut up and followed their lead. Who knows? Maybe we learned a few kitchen tricks in the process!
We seasoned turkey and popped it into the oven. (It was hilarious to see the girls handle raw poultry – their grimaces told a thousand stories).
Chef Hannis gives instruction on the proper seasoning of turkey
We peeled and cut sweet potatoes that would soon be layered with brown sugar and marshmellows. (We dads looked on nervously as the girls handled the sharpest kitchen knives).
We even prepped the marshmellows.
Every wonder how many marshmellows are needed to feed 300 people? A lot.
But the best part was knowing we helped make some delicious meals for people currently at organizations like San Diego Center for Children, Rachel’s Womens Center and Alpha Square.
It felt good, and we’re already planning to go back and help again soon.
The kitchen ran a smooth and professional operation
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