Join us for our twist on a Thanksgiving meal!

As you can tell from the pictures above, October's meal was a delicious success! Our guest chef, Arathi Ravichandran, whipped up some traditional Indian grub (chickpeas in stewed tomatoes and cabbage with mustard seeds). It was tasty!

Join us this month on November 12th at 6:30pm for a delicious fall meal. We will be serving slow-cooked, apple stuffed pork from Austin Farms in Western Massachusetts with a cider gravy and mashed potatoes. Yum! And expect a delicious fall-themed dessert as well.

Hope to see you all next Friday to celebrate the harvest!

Peace,

Emily and Rebecca

August Meal a Success!

August 13th 2010: Turkey & Tofu Salad w/ Couscous & Green Salad

Delicious Turkey Salad made with Greek Yogurt.

Turkey courtesy of New Beginnings Farm.

Emily & Ilan serving a fresh & local green salad.

Kali & Richard making the special dessert!

Thank you to everyone who supported and joined us at August's hearty meal!

The menu was turkey salad made with greek yogurt, a fresh and local green salad, steamed corn on the cob, couscous with slivered almonds and currants, and a tofu salad. Dessert was homemade chocolate chip and peanut butter cookies with a special fruit and chocolate pudding truffle made by Richard!

Good company, good food, and good weather made for a successful meal. A special thanks to New Beginnings Farm for supplying the turkey and to When Pigs Fly bakery for all of the bread for sandwiches!

See below for the recipe for the tofu salad. We hope to see you next month on September 10th at 6:30pm!

Emily and Rebecca

Tofu Mock Chicken Salad:
1 block extra-firm tofu, drained and cubed
2-3 stalks celery, diced
1/2 large red onion, diced
1/4-1/2 cup crushed walnuts
a couple of handfuls of red graped, halved
1/4-1/2 cup golden raisins or craisins or both
Veganaise to taste (around 1/2 cup- add by the spoonful and mix in to prevent drowning it)
Paprika to taste
Onion Salt to taste
Pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients and chill for at least 1/2 hour-1 hour for best results. Can be eaten alone, on a sandwich, atop a salad, or any other way you choose!

Celebrate our 1 Year Anniversary with Us! Friday, June 11th

One-Year Anniversary BBQ with Hearty Meals for All!

Where: Somerville Community Baptist Church, 31 College Ave in Davis Square

When: Friday, June 11th, 2010 at 6:00pm

Who: All are invited and encouraged to attend! Community members, volunteers, donors, sponsors, and supporters...

Join us for a BBQ featuring burgers and lamb sausages from New Beginnings Farm and pork sausage from Dave's Fresh Pasta, complete with veggie sides and ice cream sundaes.

We hope to see you there!

Picture above from our visit to New Beginnings Farm this past weekend :)

Emily, Rebecca, & Yvette

Next Meal: THIS Friday, April 9th, 2010

Join us on Friday April 9th at 6:30pm for a delicious meal of slow-roasted lamb, veal marsala, and tofu marsala!

We are holding a special, FREE CPR training at 3pm at the Church as the workshop for this month's meal. Juanita Allen from the Natick VNA will be facilitating. This is a great opportunity to get trained in CPR! Space is limited, so if you would to join us, please email us at heartymealsforall@gmail.com ASAP!

Our March meal was a success with over 40 guests enjoying a delicious meatloaf, a lentil and barley vegetarian loaf, mashed potatoes and sauteed greens. For dessert all enjoyed homemade ricotta cookies and a hot chocolate bar!!

Hope to see you all on Friday!

HMFA has made the news!

Hello,

Just a quick note to encourage you to check out the Somerville Journal's article about Hearty Meals for All.

Also, our friends at the Somerville Scout wrote a nice blog post about us!

Our February meal was a success- the Vegetarian Bean Chili was delicious! Check out Yvette's yummy recipe below.

Come join us on March 12th at 6:30pm for Grass-fed Meatloaf and Lentil Loaf with Mashed Potatoes.

Vegetarian Bean Chili

2 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup Tomato paste
3 T Soy sauce (preferably Tamari low sodium)
2 T Agave syrup or brown sugar
Chipotle in Adobo (can)
yellow onion, chopped
red bell pepper, cored, seeded, and chopped
green bell pepper, cored, seeded, and chopped
1 medium sweet potatoes, shredded (using a cheese grater)
4 garlic cloves, minced
3-4 cups fresh tomatoes, diced (or 1 28oz can whole peeled tomatoes)
2 cups Imagine vegetable broth
1 (15oz) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 (15oz) can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
1 (15oz) can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 (15oz) can pinto beans, rinsed and drained
salt
black pepper
dried basil
dried oregano/marjoram
Cumin
Chili Powder
Smoked Paprika
1 bay leaf
Lime juice (2 limes)

Garnishes: chopped fresh cilantro, green onion slices, shredded cheddar cheese, hot sauce, chopped jalapeno

Roast bell peppers in the oven at 400, steam in foil and peel skins and chop. (you can skip this step and add them raw)

Make chili base – Mix the tomato paste, soy sauce, agave or brown sugar and the chipotle in adobo together in a bowl. NOTE: start with 1 tablespoon of the adobo sauce and then increase to taste and desired hottness. You may want to chop some of the chipotle chilis and add them too. The tomato paste will cut the heat somewhat.

Heat oil in a heavy large saucepan or Dutch oven over medium-high heat; add onion and garlic. Reduce heat to medium, and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender.

Add paste and begin to caramelize over medium heat (3-4 min), then add peppers and half the shredded sweet potato. Continue to caramelize and cook until the vegetables have softened and the flavors have come together. Stir occasionally for about 5 minutes.

Add chili powder, smoked paprika and other spices and herbs; stir and cook 1 minute. Add tomatoes and broth. Simmer, uncovered, about 20 minutes until tomatoes break down and chili begins to thicken. Stir in beans, and simmer another 15-20 minutes.. Remove bay leaf, and stir in lime juice.

Garnish with cheddar cheese, chopped fresh jalapeno, scallions, and lots of fresh cilantro. Served over steamed rice. Add grilled or left-over chicken.

Valentine's Day Meal, tomorrow!

Hi All,

Our next meal is tomorrow night, Friday February 12th, at the Somerville Community Baptist Church at 6:30pm. Come early at 5:30pm to volunteer and/or to hear a mini-presentation on the Magic of Beans :)

We will be serving Vegetarian Chili, Cornbread, Squash, and Chocolate Chip Cookies (generously donated by Dave's Fresh Pasta). We will also have a little Valentine surprise! Hope to see you all there!

Check out our friends at the Somerville Scout's blog post about us!

Peace,

Emily

Hearty Meals Fundraiser was a great success!

On Friday, January 8th, after a delicious meal of donated When Pigs Fly bread and Beefalo (its an actual cross-breed!), Venison, and Vegetarian Meatballs with pasta donated by Dave's Fresh Pasta, a fresh green-and-orange salad, and chewy oatmeal bars, we headed over to Asiana Fusion in Watertown for a rockin' good time for a good cause!

Thanks to all of our wonderful supporters, we were able to raise $1,000 for HMFA! Special thanks to the Sam Otis Hill Band, Anger Management, and Asiana Fusion for your groovy beats and a fantastic space. Thanks also to Wild Mountain Farm in West Brookfield, MA for donating the delicious Beefalo for the meal, and to Matt for his venison.

Check out the pictures of the fun times. And, if you couldn't make it, don't worry! Stay tuned for a fun, mystery event in June, and you are always welcome to donate to HMFA at any time ;) Ask us how...

Next meal, February 12th at 6:30pm: When Pigs Fly Bread, Tortilla Chips and Salsa, Bean and Barley Chili, Homemade Cornbread, Greens, and Valentine's Brownies. We hope to see you there.

Thanks again!

~Emily and Rebecca

First Community Meal of the New Year!

Come join us for our first meal of 2010 on January 8th at 6:30pm at the Somerville Community Baptist Church on College Ave in Davis Square.

We will be serving Dave's Fresh Pasta with Venison, Beef, and Vegetarian Meatballs with a Fresh Garden Salad, When Pigs Fly Bread, and Oatmeal Bars.

Come early for a 'Re-Evaluating Sugar' workshop.

Don't forget- after the meal, we are having a fundraiser at Asiana Fusion in Watertown. Come join us for a good time! Featuring the bands The Sam Otis Hill Band and Anger Management.

We have started asking our suppliers and donors a few critical questions about the food that we are serving. We asked our venison provider, Matt, these questions:

1. Where does this product come from? How did you get it? The deer meat was hunted in Western Massachusetts.

2. What was the product fed? The deer ate whatever it foraged in the forest- probably mostly leaves, twigs, fruits, buds, acorns, etc.

3. How did this product get to you? How far did it have to travel? The deer was hunted in the woods in Western Massachusetts, where Matt lives. The meat will have to travel to Somerville, about 2 hours by car. The meat is travelling with someone who regularly makes the trip to Somerville anyways.

4. How confident are you in the quality of the product? Matt has been eating venison hunted in W. Mass for a while, and seems very confident in its quality and taste.

We hope to bring you more information about where our products are coming from. Stay tuned!

Lastly, a friend of ours is hosting a great event at the Somerville Public Library on Monday, January 11th from 6pm-7pm. The event is a CSA Fair, an opportunity for various local farmers to gather and advertise their CSA opportunities. If you are interested in joining a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program, this is a great chance to learn what the local farms have to offer. After the fair, there will be a showing of the film The Power of Community from 7pm-8pm. Hope to see you there!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!