Mission: Team Cook

(served 27!)

Sometimes it is a dangerous thing that your friends know you can put a few ingredients together and produce a decent feed. Apparently it’s even more dangerous if you are dating someone like this! Paul and I got asked to cook for 25 people at a 9-day beach mission in Singleton, staying in a public school with nothing but a microwave and a fridge – challenge accepted!

‘Singleton Alive’ is a free one-week program that a team of Christians run once a year to teach children from K-12 about Jesus, who He was and what the Bible has to say about what He did and why. Children from the community and from the local church, Singleton Evangelical Church are invited along, the turnout has been increasing every year, with a head count of almost 100 kids on Day 1 this year!

Our mission was to help to re-energize these lovely workers before and after their 3hr stint every morning with the beautiful and energetic kids! We were there for 5 days and it was pretty non-stop planning, prepping, cooking, baking ~ heaps of fun, tiny bit of stress and just a lot of food!! 

The Menu:

Saturday

Lunch: Pasta salad with radish, capsicum, leek, parsley and lemon vinaigrette

Dinner: Stir-fry of beef, broccoli, capsicum and mushrooms with rice

 Sunday

Big Breakfast: Bacon (1.5kg), eggs (3 dozen), garlic and herb mushrooms

Sunday roast dinner: 

Roast chicken with tarragon and thyme

5 chickens stuffed with breadcrumbs and mixed herbs ~ dilemma when i didn't know how to make this (bottom right)! Luckily Paul knew what he was doing (top right)

Dill and shallot mash and dripping-roasted sweet potatoes 

Serving up with Paul's famous gravy!

Monday

Breakfast with some friendly competition: Omelettes 2 styles - Tina's rustic scrumptiously-filled (left) and Paul's classy fancy-schmancy French-style (right).
Served with a side of bacon and banana bread!

Healthy lunch:

Poached chicken salad

Dill and mustard potato salad

Tuesday

Breakfast: Pancakes with blueberries and maple syrup

Dinner:

Fresh herbs for the ratatouille

Fresh oregano olive oil bread (from scratch!), penne with ratatouille

Dessert: Apple crumble with ice-cream

Paul's lemon 'frisbee' cake, usually double the height but something strange happened with the unpredictable oven temps ~ still delicious though!

Wednesday

Breakfast: Boiled eggs and baked beans

Lunch: Vermicelli salad with live BBQ beef show!

Last dinner: Epic Hainan chicken rice made from the delicious chicken fat from poaching 8 chickens and fresh lemongrass... whole hall smelt delicious!
Served with 5kg of poached chicken and green vegetable curry.

Dessert: Farewell white choc chunk brownie with ice-cream

It was definitely an honour and a blessing to serve such wonderful people who were generously sacrificing their time and living out their faith by loving others. Thanks for the opportunity to serve and give back to God’s kingdom in our small way!

Mark 10:45 “For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”