Re: cooking, meals (was please help us....) | <– Date –> <– Thread –> |
From: Lynn Nadeau (welcomeolympus.net) | |
Date: Wed, 1 Dec 2004 13:13:41 -0800 (PST) |
[An initial note - it helps if the title of your post helps those who will later search for content!] RoseWind Cohousing, Port Townsend WA, has a pretty loose meal system compared to some listed here, but it works. I'd also note that when we first had our common house and were not yet sure how to get group meals going, we copied another group and had Mondays be "bring your supper" night. People would come to the CH plate in hand and we enjoyed each other's company. Some people would voluntarily bring a dessert or something else to share. It set up the habit of having supper at the CH on Mondays. Now we have potlucks Thursdays, potluck brunch one Sunday a month, TGIF Friday snacks & beverages, and Mondays we have meals cooked by volunteer teams, which range from 1-4 people. Our CH Operations committee keeps the kitchen pantry stocked with condiments, flours, quality spices, canned tomatoes, butter in the freezer, oils, and such. Pantry and many meal ingredients are mostly local or organic. We use a variety of recipes, but the Moosewood Cooks for a Crowd book has been a treasure chest of useful recipes that have worked well. Sign up sheets are pre-printed, with space for Date, Cooks, Menu, and a list of all the usual diners. Circle your name if you plan to come, cross it out if you know you won't be there. That way if cooks want to rustle up more diners (more budget to spend!) they can phone those who haven't marked their name one way or another. Write-ins are done for additional diners not on the printed list. ("Pat + 2 guests"). If you decide you want to come to a Monday meal in the day or two before it, it's polite to call a cook and check if it's OK still to add on. Usually it's OK. Menu may ask people to note if they want chicken or vegetarian, or such. We have an ALLERGY notebook in the kitchen with info on each person's food needs and preferences, but most important there is a first page in the notebook grouped by food: NUTS: Eli cannot have ANY peanuts or peanut oil-serious allergy, Sue no walnuts. WHEAT: Tom none, Marge not much, etc. And so on for grains, fruits, vegetables, etc. That makes it very easy for a cook to see if they need to provide appropriate food to anyone signed up. Cost: $4 per adult, $1 per kid, $5 per guest (someone not in the cooking rotation). Cooks eat that meal free, and have $3.50 per diner to spend on groceries. At the beginning of the meal, one fellow has the money notebook. He's got it on his computer so for each meal there is a page with a record of how much each person has credit for in prepaid meals, and what they paid for at that meal. Most people pay $20-40 at a time, and just get docked each time they eat another meal. Others pay cash, one meal at a time. At the end of the meal, the cooks tell the accounting person what they spent, and get reimbursed up to the amount brought in (minus 50 cents per meal for buying pantry staples). We've gotten pretty good at either coming in on budget, or knowing if we are voluntarily going over (at our own expense). I hope to start a $2 meal on Tuesdays, with something like soup and bread and fruit, as well as leftovers from Monday. Currently we just take leftovers home. A drawer by the serving counter has yogurt tubs etc for taking home leftovers. If a meal is over budget, you can pay something for your leftover carryouts, honor system. Cooks sometimes only sign up a week ahead of time. Thursday potluck is when most people sign up to eat the Monday meal. There is an advance sign up sheet for Monday dates and cooks, with a list of those who usually cook. Crossing off your name helps to see if you've already cooked in that rotation (about 6 weeks). There are typically about 25-30 adults, plus half a dozen children, at a Monday meal. Clean up is ultimately the responsibility of the cooks, but many people pitch in to clean up, pretty regularly. The guys especially seem to like the big steamy dishwasher! Lynn Nadeau, RoseWind Cohousing Port Townsend Washington (Victorian seaport, music, art, nature) http://www.rosewind.org http://www.ptguide.com http://www.ptforpeace.info (very active peace movement here- see our photo)
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