The other night I made turkey burgers. I mixed in a little applesauce, Worcestershire sauce, thyme, rosemary, Italian seasoning, Mrs. Dash Onion and Herb seasoning (I am newly obsessed with this seasoning blend. It is a great season-all and has no salt in it. It doesn't have as much black pepper as some of the other Mrs. Dash blends, which I appreciate.) I cooked the burgers on the George Foreman Grill, when they were almost done I put a little caramelized onions on top and a few slices of Swiss cheese. On toasted buns spread with some cherry jam they were divine.

On Tuesday we tried to go to the Plymouth Concert Band's concert at Parker's Lake, but it was canceled due to the heat. On Wednesday I was excited to go to the Plymouth Farmers Market, but it too was canceled due to the heat. One thing that did go as planned was the water ski show on Wednesday evening at Parker's lake. A club of water skiers came up from Shakopee and put on an amazing show. I didn't realize there were so many kinds of water skiing: knee-boarding, barefooting, using trick skis, etc. Water skiing is really a team effort and it was cool to see families and friends in the club work together to make the stunts happen.

Last night my summer parents took me to a play called She Loves Me (which is based on Shop Around the Corner(which You've Got Mail was also based on)) at Bethel University. So the story was familiar. Two people fall in love corresponding through anonymous letters while they actually work together and despising each other. It was a great show: a lot of fun and interesting musical numbers.

This morning I worked at a food pantry in South Minneapolis. The church I'm going to this summer, St. Phillip the Deacon, sends volunteers there so when I saw it listed in the bulletin I jumped at the opportunity to help there. Another volunteer from SDP was willing to pick me up at the church so I didn't have to navigate there ( I know, I know....I am a whimp). It was quite the experience. The food pantry is hosted by a church there and they convert their worship space into a food pantry twice a month. Breakfast is served at 9 and the food pantry opens at 10. One of the volunteers just stood in a corner playing his guitar and singing worship songs. It created a more peaceful and community atmosphere.

I got to serve breakfast. We had pancakes, Pillsbury breakfast croissants (eggs sausage, cheese, and phyllo dough), and tater tots. The breakfasts they serve there are completely composed of donations. I think they are bulk donations from a bigger food bank. I served the breakfast croissants and was a runner to the kitchen when things got low. There were some Muslim families so we had to check the ingredients in the breakfast croissants and they had pork sausage in them so those families couldn't eat them. The woman who was serving the pancakes is a Spanish teacher so she was able to communicate clearly with the hispanic families, that was really neat to see. One woman came through the line twice, when questioned why one plate of food wasn't enough she said that she had not eaten for two days. Uff da. That just broke my heart. Of course we gave her some more pancakes.

I'm so glad that this ministry is in place to provide food for these people in need, but the breakfast kinda bummed me out. The food filled their bellies, but it was by no means a balanced meal. It was pretty much simple carbs+more simple carbs+fat+sodium+some protien. I wish we could have served some fruit and veggies, but there is no budget for fruits and veggies, even ones from a can.

I got the chance to talk with Rich, one of the people who organizes the food pantry. He told me about one women who was a regular at the food pantry. She was homeless and survived on donations from the food pantry, Rich talked to her and found out that she loved to cook. Rich needed a new cook for the food pantry's breakfasts and offered her the position. Two years later she is still doing it and now runs the cafe located in the church where the food pantry now happens. She is fulfilling her calling to cook, has a purpose, and is no longer homeless. Rich told me a few other stories of hope and healing. All in all it was a good and eye opening experience.