This past weekend, I did something I’ve never done before.  I made breakfast for over 100 people!

I’ve been volunteering at SELMA – a sort of neighborhood association/community breakfast salon/local food organization – since we moved here.  On Thursday nights, a group of fun people get together to prep breakfast for the following morning, breaking for a family style dinner midway through the work.  For me, it’s been a really nice way to meet like-minded people, hone my prep skills, and make connections to our new city.  On Friday morning, the house is transformed into an informal cafe, with friends and neighbors stopping by for breakfast and conversation.  The food is prepared by volunteers and orchestrated by a guest chef, and the proceeds (a suggested donation of $10-15 per person) go to help local farmers build hoophouses.

A few weeks ago, a call went out to anyone who might be interested in chefing – after 9 months of Fridays, they’re starting to run low on talent (though not on enthusiasm) – so I volunteered!  Shane helped prep Thursday night with a terrifically efficient crew, and Friday, while exhausting, was a lot of fun.  I was very, very, very nervous leading up to it, but once 6am rolled around, it was on.  We had apple-onion-leek quiche with Pioneer Woman dinner rolls and herbed butter, pumpkin pancakes with apple compote and maple whipped cream, an abundance of bacon, and the standard waffles or bread pudding.  So much good food, and so many nice people!  I credit my Galaxy Hut playlist and a good amount of Roos Roast for the dance parties, and my super fantastic helpers for making it an excellent breakfast!

1. Special #2, 2. Special #1, 3. Serene Bacon Man, 4. Breakfast dance party, 5. Mama and Papa SELMA, 6. Susie and Mary

(Thanks to Shane for taking pictures so that I could focus on making good food!)