Mary Not Martha

This past weekend I had the privilege of feeding 65 people. Yep. 65. Originally the count was 40 and then it slowly ballooned from there. Why would I put myself through that exercise in torture? The annual retreat for the English Ministry at my church that's why... On the surface, sure it's not easy but I thrive on feeding large groups of people - I have a heart to feed people. While I was not happy with the venue (for reasons that I will not state here but for those in the know, already know - I know, vague but... I don't really want to venture down that tangent) in a way it worked out b/c I was already familiar with the area.

Last year I focused entirely too much on physically feeding everyone... This year I really tried to balance between meal prep versus sitting down & soaking in the message.

Unlike last year when I had considerably more free time on my hands (aka unemployed) this year I had only time to make 2 shopping trips. I drafted my shopping list and then re-drafted it after I had to tweak the menu to accommodate some dietary restrictions. I try to make sure each meal is well-rounded but I try to tailor the meals to my senior pastor's tastes = meat. He needs to keep up his energy levels! I had a budget that I was really trying to stick to which meant I really had to force myself to simplify the meals and not get too creative.

Breakfast: 2 mornings of cereal & milk or oatmeal along with a side of fruit. Lunch: hot dogs (bacon wrapped) and make your own sandwiches on the last day, dinner - Guiness Beef Stew.

Last year I tried the beef stew and it didn't really turn out stew-like... more like soup. I already knew what I had to do to fix it so this year, I decided to make it again (I wavered between beef stew & turkey chili). I prepped and made everything the night before with some help. (SHOUT OUT TO MY HELPERS!!!! AG & J - COULDN'T HAVE DONE EVERYTHING IN A TIMELY FASHION WITHOUT YOU GUYS!!)
I purposely made the stew a little bland - I personally don't like a lot of salt in my food so I figured people could adjust to their own tastes.

Originally I planned to make a savory bread pudding for Saturday morning's breakfast (cheesy, custardy eggs soaking in bread swimming with crumbled bacon) BUT when we got there I found out the kitchen didn't have an oven... I was familiar with the venue so I was expecting to be able to use a certain kitchen but that kitchen was under renovation. Thank goodness I only planned to make one thing in the oven. So instead I just made simple scrambled eggs & breakfast potatoes (I had 5 dozen eggs - might as well use them!)

It really pains me to have such a simplified menu... Why? Because I know the possibilities are endless and I know there's something better out there than hot dogs. *sigh* So since I also happened to have four pounds of bacon begging to be consumed I decided to wrap them around the hot dogs.

All in all I think & hope it went well. Everyone was fed each meal (even those who were on a meatless diet!) and there was enough food to go around. I came well under budget and also there were minimal leftovers. I brought my own personal jar of Nutella as a backup for me just in case. (Normally, when I'm cooking for others I tend to lose my appetite for the meal and just end up eating very little of what I made or just simple fruits/vegetables) It's a good thing I brought it because my pint-sized PT "son" ate more of it than I did! He loves the stuff and he ate it for 2 days as breakfast and lunch - he's so funny.

Why Mary and not Martha? In the Bible, there's a recount of when Jesus came over to 2 sisters' home for dinner & fellowship. The sisters were named Mary and Martha. As Jesus was speaking, Mary attentively sat at his feet & listened to his teachings. Martha on the other hand, was busy in the kitchen trying to prepare the night's meal. Martha, in exasperation exclaimed that Mary should be helping her prepare instead of just sitting there. Jesus, lovingly corrects Martha reminding her that although the meal is important, the message takes priority and the meal could be prepared in due time.

As I said, last year I worried and focused a bit too much on trying to feed everyone on time (and I also had a bit more of a complicated menu). This year I knew I had to be Mary and not Martha. (even my mom reminded me!)