HOT TIMES

       Girlfriend, I'd bend your ear to heck and back with details of today's kitchen… if you'd let me!
       Joey and I made plans last week to make a real soup this week, and to serve a Caesar salad with it. He was ordering the bags of salad, and I was bringing the dressing, sliced red onion, and cans of black olives. Joey was also going to have chicken or ground beef ready for the soup—I wanted it to be hearty. It was one of those best-laid plans.
       I stopped at the grocery for Trix yogurts, gummy bears, and bubble gum for our children. I was high on life when I stepped into the kitchen and put my loot on the prep table.
       "Oh, Miss Joy," Joey began, "we don't have any salad."
       I don't remember if he failed to place the order from the supply pantry, or what, but there was no salad, and Joey had not remembered to thaw the five-pound tube of ground beef. The only frozen chicken he had was in a 5-pound frozen square. We put it in the microwave on "thaw," but I didn't have much faith in it. Besides, it was WAY too much chicken! (Before any damage was done, we stopped the microwave and put the chicken back in the freezer.)
       Joey had prepared a large sack of canned goods that he thought would make a good soup. His choices were excellent: corn, tomato-basil soup, lots of chicken/noodle/rice soups, tomato sauce, and diced tomatoes. We added my red onion, a can of refried beans, two cups of diced frozen potatoes, and a half pound of green beans. It looked like we might succeed, but the "hearty" wasn't there—until I found a CASE of tiny cans of chicken in the pantry! That was the final touch.
       Honey, I enthusiastically opened a dozen or more cans, saying, "Look! We have a can opener! Somebody take our picture!" Did you know??? Our new can opener will open a TINY can of chicken OR a half-gallon can of fruit. It will! What a marvel is our new can opener—did I mention we have a new can opener?
       "I use it all the time," Joey said. "And you know? Sometimes I even forget we have another can opener!"
       That's because they don't have another can opener… but I'm just gonna wallow in self satisfaction.
       So we served fruit with our hearty soup, and we served fresh, buttery-tasting croissants that were donated just this morning. Some of them even had ham inside and cheese crusts. It was so much fun serving up a lunch that I was proud of.
       Far into the homeless folks' lunch hour, Joey remarked, "It's so quiet in the dining room today!" And I thought he was saying that our folks were unusually down and out, or some other pall had fallen over the crowd, but he went on to say, "They love the soup. They're eating!"
       I had to remind myself that I only witness one meal a week, while he is there for many. We were so pleased with "the quiet." Too, a lot of folks came to the counter for extra soup and croissants, and there were many compliments. I ate a bowl too—dunking my croissant in the soup. Joey observed, "This is the first time I ever saw you eat here, Miss Joy." Well, duh; it was good.
       The cute little community-service girl (40-something, but still a "girl" to me) came again today. She made sack lunches and PBJs, and did other chores as Joey assigned them. I know, I know, we're not there to have a good time, but we just had the best time!
       Angry child was polite today, asking if we had yogurt. I was pleased to give all of the children yogurt, gummy bears, and bubble gum. They're all boys this month, ranging from 7 to 11. It must be so hard to be in school with classmates who live "at home."
       Well… we are planning to serve up the "good soup" most Sundays, now that cooler weather is here. I hope they never bring in that pre-fab frozen stuff again. Who wants a bowl of soup that already smells like bell peppers?
       I know I'll think of other highlights, but I have work to do, and art to make, and you'll just have to deal with it. Thanks a million for coming by! Wish you could go with :)