Monk Soup

I love soup, and one of my favorites is monk soup. These is a Lebanese dish, and is made during Lent. It's a bean soup with barley and little dumplings with caramelized onions in the center. It is also flavored with lemon. I suppose it's called monk soup because this is what the monks would at instead of meat.

Though Lent is over, I was able to get a bowl of monk soup yesterday. After I ate it, I immediately went to confession. I already have a tonsure, which some ignorant people call a bald spot.

Susquehanna Bank To Donate 147,000 Meals to Food Banks

We usually think of the Bank as the Bad Guy. But Susquehanna Bank has pledged to donate 147,000 meals to food banks in Pennsylvania, Maryland, New Jersey and West Virginia as part of its #30DaysofThanks campaign.

The Lancaster County-based bank is donating 30 meals for each personal checking account opened in November, along with five meals for each like, share, retweet and comment on its 'Today I'm Thankful for' posts on Facebook and Twitter last month. During Thanksgiving week, Susquehanna doubled its donations to 60 and 10 meals, respectively.

Susquehanna has been involved in online campaigns to feed the hungry since 2010. It has donated more than 1.3 million meals to food banks through Tweet2Feed, MillionMeal Mission and #30DaysofThanks.

Food banks partnering with Susquehanna this year include: The Central PA Food Bank, Greater Berks (County) Food Bank, Philabundance, Second Harvest Food Bank of Lehigh Valley and NEPA, The Weinberg Food Bank, Maryland Food Bank, Mountaineer Food Bank (West Virginia), Community Food Bank of New Jersey - Southern Branch, and Food Bank of South Jersey.

Bethlehem Food Co-op Hosts a Picnic

To celebrate passing the 150-member threshold, Bethlehem's Food Co-Op had a picnic at South Mountain Park on a hot July Saturday. Burgers with all the fixins', including veggie burgers were the specialty du jour. In addition, Matty Sarro out on a canning demonstration to preserve a three-berry jam.

This food coop was born after downtown Bethlehem resident Jaime Karpovich spent forty minutes in search of a red pepper, and complained a "real" grocery store was needed in the heart of the City. The co-op is now incorporated as a non-profit, and hopes to open its doors next summer at a still-to-be-dertermined location.

Matty Sarro and Kathy Fox start the canning by boiling jars in hot water.

The next step is filling the jar twith three-berry jam.

The filled jars are then boiled about 20 minutes, leaving a jam with a shelf life of two years.

Matt's wife and a friend await the finished product.

Morning Call Reports Suburban Gardener's Plight

Earlier this month, I told you about Karl Hirsch, the interesting Lehigh Township gardener who grows much of his own food in his front yard. Cited by Lehigh Township officials for being in violation of a weed ordinance, he was convicted at a summary trial before District Judge Robert Hawke. Hirsch's story has now been reported in The Morning Call.

When I published my story, Lehigh Township officials ignored me. Hirsch's next door neighbor, Jennifer Ryan, would only meet with me if I agreed to certain conditions, including a joint meeting with the Hirsch family. I refused to bargain with her.

Upon reading about Hirsch's plight, prominent Easton attorney Gary Asteak volunteered to represent Hirsch pro bono. Gary's daughter is involved in urban gardening projects in New York City.

Hirsch's story has also been covered by The Northampton Press, a weekly.

Lehigh Township Calls Suburban Farm a Nuisance

He never promised them a rose garden. But starting 13 years ago, Karl Hirsch did make a commitment to feed his wife and four children the most nutritious food he could find. And he's found much of it it in his own front yard on Church Road in Lehigh Township, where a nice southern exposure enables him to grow just about anything. "There are things you can grow here you won't find in any grocery store," he boasts. But to Lehigh Township officials, it's just weeds. They've taken this front yard gardener to court, dismissing his organically grown produce as a nuisance.

From a superficial view, Hirsch's front yard does look neglected. But that's because he's cultivated every square inch. "I defy them to walk through this yard and find one six inch weed," Hirsch stated, as he worked on his garden. He acknowledged his front yard is no typical manicured lawn, which he derided as a "green desert."

Jerusalem artichokes, a native species thought to help people with diabetes

His passion for growing his own food started when one of his children suffered a traumatic brain injury, while yet another developed cerebral palsy.

He cultivates the purple cone flower, believed by many to stimulate the immune system. He also grows the Jerusalem artichoke, a species of sunflower native to North America. Its tubers lack the starch that exists in potatoes. It contains inulin, which may help people suffering from diabetes.

Hirsch even has a pawpaw tree, whose fruit was George Washington's favorite dessert.

Not the typical manicured lawn

But he grows plenty of the more traditional forms of produce, including 150 lbs. of potatoes last year. Strawberries, garlic, chard, carrots, beets, green beans, wax beans, snow peas and radishes. He claims to have saved thousands and thousands of dollars.

But according to Lehigh Township Zoning Officer Laura Harrier, Hirsch is a nuisance in violation of Lehigh Township's weed ordinance. That local law prohibits any growth of grass or weeds over six inches high. Interestingly, the Township ordinance defines weeds as inedible plants.

After a hearing before District Judge Robert Hawke, Hirsch was found to be in violation of the weed ordinance.

Hirsch plans to appeal. "My yard might be unorthodox, but I'm not trying to flout the law," he explained..

It also appears to include healthy edible plants that existed before Lehigh Township or its weed ordinance existed.

Can You Eat on $4.50 a Day?

LV Congressman Matt Cartwright will find out if he can do that today. It's called the SNAP Challenge, based on the average daily benefit for a food stamps recipient. It comes at a time when Congress is considering reducing this benefit by $20 billion over the next decade.

"As a practicing Catholic, my faith informs this issue," claims Cartwright. "I am guided by a moral vision of how we must treat the most vulnerable members of our society."

A Brief History of "Food Stamps"

From LV History: "[I]n 2009, there was a 40% increase in use of food stamps by the residents of Northampton County and a 23% increase in Lehigh County. In 2010 12% of the population in Lehigh County received food stamps and 9.2% in Northampton County. This is a direct result of more people suffering from unemployment. In Northampton County unemployment rose 63% affecting 9.0% of the residents and in Lehigh County it rose 57% leaving 9.2% out of work in 2010. Second Harvest formed a partnership with Bethlehem food banks such as New Bethany Ministries, Holy Bethlel Pentecostal, Concordia Lutheran, Trinity Episcopal, Moravian Food Bank and many others to feed thousands of our neighbors each day. The Animal Food Bank Services in Hellertown takes care of the pets during hard times for their owners."

The Morganelli

One of the nicest features at Northampton County's Courthouse is its bright and cheerful cafeteria, managed by Susan's Catering. Head chef Richard McInerney, always festooned in surgical white, always has creative entrees and sandwiches.

Today, aside from the beef stoganoff entree, there was a sandwich special - The Morganelli. Here's his recipe.

1) Rich tells me any hard roll will do, but he likes a toasted olive ciabatta roll.

2) Rich slices red onions and sliced tomatoes into a marinade of olive oil, garlic powder and oregano.

3) Rich loads the roll with cappy ham , hard salami and provolone.

4) The final touch? Roasted red peppers.

Nazareth Area Food Bank Gets $20k From Northampton County Council

Northampton County Council last night unanimously decided to give the Nazareth Area Food Bank $20,000 from its slush fund, politely called its "contingency account." It will go to building renovations at the recently purchased Lackawanna Freight Station Building, located at 529 S. Main Street in downtown Nazareth.

This building, valued at $300k, was sold to the food bank by Essroc for half that price. St. John's Lutheran Church and Old Castle Corporation kicked in $80k to help with the purchase. It feeds 160 families.

Last night marks the first time this food bank ever obtained any sort of public funding. But before the vote, there were lots of hard questions. Amazingly, they came from the very same council that tripped all over itself to promise $50k for Shiloh Baptist Church for a halfway house, which has an abysmal track record with public money.

Council member Charles Dertinger asked why Nazareth is not yet affiliated with Second Harvest, which ensures fairness in its food distribution. And Ron Angle, the Northampton County Bulldog, wondered whether council is opening the door to all sorts of requests from other food banks. "I don't want people who need food to go hungry, but what happens when other food banks come and ask?"

This certainly is a worthy project, as evidenced by council's unanimous vote. Council Prez Ann McHale actually said it best. "Our job here is to help the needy." But it's also true that no financials were submitted, at least not during the public meeting. No provisions were made to ensure that the money would actually be used for the stated purpose. All too often, the "needy" happens to be someone who knows someone.

Instead of just handing out money every time some voting block comes forward, shouldn't Northampton County Council establish a procedure to evaluate finances and need? Shouldn't there be some oversight? After all, it's not their money; it's yours.

Lehigh County Has a Few Unsung Heros, Too!

When we think of a government worker, the first image that usually comes to mind is slacker. Images of red tape and bureaucratic mumbo jumbo come to mind. When a public emplyee screws up, it's plastered everywhere. But if truth be told, most of them are dedicated to their jobn and really care about people.

Not long ago, I told you about Lori G. Sywensky, Norco's Community Development Grants Administrator. Thanks in large part to her efforts, Northampton County's homeless shelters will be getting $154,338 this year. Most of it will be for items badly needed, like windows and electrical work. Without people like Lori, who is really committed to her job, those shelters would be getting no help at all.

Lori's achievement got no news ink. Stories like hers put us to sleep. But for many people, she's a life saver.

Lehigh County has its share of unsung heros, too. The rising cost of food and fuel is hurting people everywhere. It especially hurts the poor, who have to decide whether to pay the electric bill or eat. Unfortunately, people right here in the Lehigh Valley are hungry. Lynn Kovich, who heads Human Services, heard about the pressure on local food banks from county officials, and scrounged around until she found $24,000 in her budget. This is in addition to the $24,000 from Allentown Rescue Mission.

Like Lori, you won't see Lynn's name in the paper unless something goes wrong. But lots of low-income families will have a few more decent meals because of her.

Butter is Good For You?

According to health expert Jonny Bowden, who claims we should be eating beets and sardines, butter is actually good for you. "Healthy organic butter from grass fed cows is a perfectly healthy food and actually contains CLA, a cancer fighting fat."

Now you know.

LV Food Banks: Help Before the Cupboards are Bare

According to Gary Millspaugh, exec director of Allentown Rescue Mission, a lot of pressure will be placed on LV food banks once school lets out. A large percentage of kids in Allentown (and elsewhere in the Lehigh Valley) take advantage of free breakfast and lunch while at school. Obviously, this option will not be available over the summer when the schools are closed. Rising food and gas prices place a huge strain on lower income families, who will turn to local food banks for help. But our food banks already have a low inventory.

This is a problem that needs to be addressed sooner rather than later.

Allentown Rescue Mission has already decided to allocate $24,000 for six local food banks, which comes down to $1,000 per week for the first month of the summer. The idea was to give them gift cards from local grocers (such as Giant and Wegmans) so the food bank could purchase the items they needed rather than rely on donated items that might not be the best fit. Millspaugh will attempt to get these stores to supply $500 cards for $450 or even $400. Our Executive Director (ED) planned to handle the negotiations to see if that could be done.

In addition to the good work being done by the rescue mission, reader Karenemt has informed me that a new food bank will be opening on June 7 at Salem United Methodist Church, 1401 W Linden St, Allentown, PA 18102 Phone (610) 432-2577. It will be open the first and third Saturdays of each month, running from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. Saturday hours make it possible to to reach the "working poor," who may have needs but are unable to access a food pantry during the typical daytime hours. This will be a "choose your own" food from what is available food bank versus the "prebagged" food type.

Below you will find a listing of all local food banks and soup kitchens (sp) that I can find. If you know of any that aren't listed here, please let me know so I can add it. My goal is to create a permanent link to area food banks on my left sidebar.

Agape food bank
5229 Route 873
Schnecksville, Pa 18078
610-767-2482

Allentown Ecumenical Food Bank
421 W. Chew St or 534 W. Chew(admin)
Allentown, Pa 18102
Linda Gentile
610-821-1332
610-439-8039
lccc@lcconfchurch.org
610-433-6421(lccc)

Allentown Rescue Mission
355 W. Hamilton St, Allentown, PA
(You can drop off food and supplies at the Mission any week day, from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., or call Bill Dickinson at 610-740-5500, ext. 14, for other times or arrangements.)

Bethel Bible Fellowship Church
418 Elm St.
Emmaus, Pa 18049
610-965-2682

Catasauqua/Community Partnership Food Bank
122 Union St.
Catasauqua, Pa 18032
610-264-8366

Central Food Bank
829 Turner St.
Allentown, Pa 18102
610-165-4815

Grace Episcopal Church
5th & Linden
Allentown, Pa 18102
Patricia McNamara, Director
610-435-7245
Gracefoodbank@aol.com

Jefferson place food pantry
750 St. John St.
Allentown, Pa
484-165-4429

Jewish family services food bank
2004 Allen St.
Allentown, PA
484-165-4429

Jordan Lutheran Church
5103 Snowdrift Rd.
Orefield, Pa
610-395-5912
610-395-2423
jordanlutheran@verizon.net

Meals on Wheels - Lehigh County
4234 Dorney Park Rd.
Allentown, Pa 18104
Pamela Bechtel, Executive Director
610-398-2563
610-398-7088

Meals on Wheels - Northampton County/Bethlehem area
4240 Fritch Drive
Bethlehem, Pa 18020
Jim Waters, Development
610-691-1030
610-691-1775
jimw@meanlsonwheelspa.org

Mosser Village Family Center
614 S. Carlisle St.
Allentown, Pa 18109
610-820-5504

Nazareth Area Food Bank,
St. John’s Lutheran Church,
200 S. Broad Street,
Nazareth, PA 18064.
Contact Elizabeth Huth, director (610-759-0821) or Jim Byrnes, president of the board of directors (610-923-0821).

New Bethany EC Everlasting Life Ministries
224 N. 6th St.
Allentown, Pa 18102
610-434-1477

New Bethany Ministries
337 Wyandotte St.
Bethlehem, Pa 18015
Reverend Bill Kuntze, Exec Dir.
610-691-5602
610-866-3427
newbethany@newbethanyministries.org

Northampton Area Food Bank
1601 Canal Street
Northampton, Pa 18067
Pamela Kametz
610-262-8030

Northern Lehigh Food Bank
7884 Center St.
Slatington/Emerald, Pa 18080
Dale Breyfogle
610-767-9525

Salem United Methodist Church,
1401 W Linden St, Allentown, PA 18102
Phone (610) 432-2577

Salvation Army
144 N. Eighth St.
Allentown, Pa 18101
Capt Thomas Dressler
610-432-0129
610-432-8149
EPA_AllentownCitadel@use.salvationarmy.org

Second Harvest Food Bank of LV & NE Pa
2045 Harvest Way
Allentown, Pa 18104
Ann McManus, Director
610-434-0875
610-435-9540
amcmanus@caclv.org

Sk - Ecumenical kitchen
179 Chew St.
Allentown, Pa 18102
Mrs. Mildred Scrak
610-866-8660

Sk - Mollard Hospitality Center -New Bethany Ministries
337 Wyandotte St.
Bethlehem, Pa 18015
610-691-5602
610-866-3427

Sk - Salvation Army
521 Pembroke Road
Bethlehem, Pa 18018
James Labbe
610-867-4681

Sk - St Paul Evangelical Lutheran Chruch
36 S. 8th St.
Allentown, Pa 18101
Charles Brannon LC Conf of Churches, SK Coord
610-435-9065
cbrannon@lcconfchurch.org
484-664-2994

South Bethlehem Neighborhood Center
700 Evans St.
Bethlehem, Pa 18105
Angela Baez
610-865-1791
610-865-4605

St Stephan's Episcopal Church/Whitehall Food Bank
3900 Mechanicsville Rd.
Whitehall, Pa 18052
Donna Scott
610-435-3901
610-262-6686 DS

Sk - Trinity Episcopal Soup Kitchen
44 East Market St.
Bethlehem, Pa 18018
Reverand Elizabeth Miller, Deacon and Soup Kitchen Coordinator
610-867-4741
610-867-5206
liz@trinitybeth.org

West Bethlehem Food Bank
514 3rd St.
Bethlehem, Pa 18018
Suzanne Beam
610-865-8216

Best Pizza in the Lehigh Valley

Where's the best pizza in the Lehigh Valley?

I like Sal’s Old World Italian Restaurant, a tiny place on Bethlehem’s South Side. I think it's the brick oven. And it's cheap, too.

Know a better place? Clue us in.

A Little Bit of Brazil in Nazareth

My entire life, I've approached food like a vacuum cleaner. Gourmands like Beyond Scrapple, Cooking With Ann and Not Cooking Tonight are really appreciated, but I'm no culinary institute grad. I'm more like a human garbage disposal unit who actually likes (and still buys) army food.

Despite a complete lack of qualifications, I can't wait for the experts to tell you about the latest restaurant here in the boonies of Northampton County. It's called Rio's Brazilian Steak House, located here in Nazareth at 127 S. Broad Street. Its phone number, which you can't get in the book or by dialing 411, is 610-614-1018.

So far as I know, it's the only Brazilian-style steakhouse in the Lehigh Valley. Imagine that! No KOZ classification, no public funding and no special liquor license, either. Just terrific food, moderately priced, served by a friendly staff.

My grandson and I have already been there twice, so let me explain how it works. It's rodizio de churrasco, an all you can eat you can eat BBQ. Fresh cuts of different kinds of meat are skewered and slowly grilled over an open wood charcoal flame while you load up on different Brazilian side dishes at the buffet, including staples like rice and other dishes I've never seen in my life.

While you work on your side dishes, gregarious gauchos (chefs) will visit you with skewer after skewer of different cuts of steak, chicken, lamb, turkey, pork, sausage and seafood. My first time, sirloin wrapped in bacon was my favorite. But that changed last night, when the BBQ maestro brought out a ribeye stuffed with sausage, garlic and cheese. Wow! That became my favorite, but was quickly replaced a few minutes later by a small slice of Picanha, which tastes better than any filet mignon I was ever served.

I kept asking until I learned this is basically cow ass. Hey, at least it's not scrapple!

My grandson is a bit more consistent. He loved chicken drumsticks on both visits.

It's a small place, and it's probably a good idea to call ahead. But even if you have to wait, it's worth it. On our second visit, the staff actually remembered us. Claiming my grandson didn't eat enough (three chicken drumsticks, two slices of ribeye steak, mounds of shrimp on rice from the buffet), they would only charge him for his ice cream and drinks. Ordinarily, kids are half price, anyway, but that was very nice.

If you really want to piss someone off, invite a vegan.

Selections vary all the time, so I am going to visit this place a few more times to learn as much as I can. After all, it's important to conduct extensive research before blogging. This isn't as easy as it looks.

Vegan Scrapple: It's What's for Dinner!

I once had breakfast with Morning Call comments editor Glenn Kranzley.

Really!

What I remember most about that encounter is that he was disappointed as hell that Perkins serves no scrapple, "the Pennsylvania treat." For the uninitiated, it's a greyish square combination of pork skin, heart, liver, brains and other delicious innards - fried in lard.

Mmm Mmm Good!

I once served a slice to my dog, who died later that day. Right before he went to doggie heaven, he sadly looked at me, and said, "Outen the light."

According to Valley Dragon, you can get vegan scrapple if you feel like driving to Ardmore.

Yeah, I'll be right there.

Pickles on a Stick Lose an Election!

Scott Petri (R) was in the battle of his life with Carl Cherkin (D). Cherkin was a FOX-29 sportscaster and had great name ID.

Everybody loves Fox! Especially Dems.

At a parade in early September, Cherkin was on a float with Rendell, who was running for Gov the first time. The Petri camp was doomed.

But then, inexplicably, the Cherkin folks began passing out pickles on a stick. They were wearing signs and chanting “Gherkins for Cherkin”. Petri won 55-45.

Pickles on a stick have not been used in politics since that fateful day.

How about petri dishes?

A Pickle on a Stick?

On Sunday, Bangor's pee wee football players hosted Allentown's east side youth center. At their refreshment stand, Bangor offers a very unusual snack - their famous pickle on a stick. Allentown's east enders gobbled them down. I even ate the stick!

Do you notice any other unusual snacks offered at local sporting events?