Shopping Frenzy! How 'Bout Eating Frenzy?

Hello from Hillsdale NY!
After Black Friday mayhem Sarah H. decided to give the shopping a BREAK- as in a BBA dinner party. Isn't the holiday season about giving not TAKING! The day after watching people beat one another up over televisions we gathered around the kitchen island for a fantastic salad, great bread, pasta and chicken dish. Over a few bottles of wine, a lot of laughs, we all felt truly in the spirit of the holidays- and we raised over $200 for a local food pantry. Instead of food donations they will be able to buy what people would like for the holiday- a ham, a roast beef, or a turkey.

Paul Roberts, CHEF Paul, made an epic salad and promised to measure out the exact proportions since he just does it by sight. One part balsamic vinegar, one part water, one to two parts EVOL (you decide), pepper, pinch of salt, and four diced juicy tomatoes go into a bowl. Stir. The hardest part is the croutons. They have to be homemade! He brushed slices of Italian bread with oil and garlic, diced them up and toasted them in the oven. They go into the bowl with all the other ingredients, followed by shredded Romano cheese and Romaine lettuce. The croutons soaked up the tomato juicy dressing and all I could say was "Incredible."

Our next dinner will be in two week. Our theme, thanks to Chef Paul is "make your secret dish."

" . . .The truth is, no meal tastes as great as it does in the company of others, and the company of others makes the simplest meal great."  Julia Child

"In the history of man, more good has been accomplished around a meal than on a battlefield or a conference table."  Pierre Roget

            It was a few days before Hurricane Irene was predicted to hit and we were discussing our need for provisions—at a dinner party; rice with pine nuts, sea scallops in sherry, homemade bread, and cranberry walnut  Gorgonzola salad. As we went around the table debating whether or not the storm would be as bad as they said, whether or not we’d need a case of batteries, or whether or not we’d need to fill the tub with water, my friend Mark said, “The food pantry put a sign outside asking for pre-hurricane donations."  

            We looked at one another.  

            “I have an idea,” my mouth sputtered. “What’s this meal worth?  In a hour the center of the table held close to two hundred dollars and Breaking Bread was born. Once a month we’d put together a meal; places, people, and menus might change but the idea didn’t.  It began to grow. A website, blog, Facebook and then a not-for-profit charity. 

            Truth is, I was a bit selfish. We had just moved there, David and I were both a bit shy and looking to meet people. What I found was the truth in giving-it changes us. 

In 1916, Lily Hardy Hammond wrote, "You don't pay love back; you pay it forward."

What better way than around the dinner table. Paying a nominal amount for good meal, companionship, camaraderie changed our lives. In the next few months Breaking Bread was funding the animal shelter and the food pantry. And it caught the attention of some others . . . .

           Breaking Bread America knows there is magic in a meal. In our hurried lives we've put them on the back burner, forced ourselves to pencil in dates for dinners! For some of us eating "together" comes only on holidays. But what if you knew that a night of fun can fund a worthy cause? 

           Grassroots giving, BBA encourages our groups to choose what charities they wish to support, whether local or national. What’s your cause? Food or hunger issues? Breast Cancer? Children’s hospital funding? School funding? Animal rights? Make it personal.    

            With your help, by breaking bread across America we’re working—one meal at a time—to enrich lives in every community.

Breaking Bread is now working on our national goal: We’ve dubbed December 5, 2014, as “Food Friday.” Sandwiched between Thanksgiving and the Holiday Season, BBA hopes to link hands across tables throughout America to fund local initiatives for the holidays. We are asking you to join our effort. 

Here's to all of you! Please send us your pics, event info and ideas!