How to Host a Food Swap
What is a Food Swap and How do You Start One? Well, Let Me Explain…
Every month, B R E A T H E + C A L M's founder, Wendy Johnston hosts a Community Mason Jar Meal Swap for those who want to eat healthy and have a great time doing it! So, What the heck is A Mason Jar Meal Swap, you ask? And why the heck are we hosting it? Well, let me explain…
WHAT IS A MEAL SWAP:
A meal swap is when you gather with friends and bring a collection of already-made, meals to trade with one another.
Each participant brings the required number of individual, pint-sized portions of the same dish and takes home the same number of meals (made by the other people).
You make one recipe…and spend one afternoon cooking instead of the entire week.
WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF PARTICIPATING IN A MEAL SWAP?
💗Save time & money by cooking in bulk
💗 Enjoy a dinner with your male, female or non-binary Foodies friends!
💗 Stock your freezer, fridge and cupboard with new recipes
💗 Eat healthier!
HOW TO FIND PARTICIPANTS: Work colleagues, friends, family, clubs or groups you belong to, gym buddies, workout buddies…you never know who might like to cook, be healthy and enjoy a nice evening out with friends…just ask. Just FYI, I started this one with my online Meet-up groups that I organize.
FOOD EXAMPLES:
pasta, ravioli, eggplant parmasean, pasta salad and regular salad, hummus
Asian Veggie dumplings, noodle dishes
soups, stews, porridges, overnight oats
Frozen or fresh, its your choice
WHERE TO MEET:
You could take turns hosting at each other’s homes, meet at a restaurant, a coffee shop, at the park…be creative!
HOW DOES THE SWAP WORK:
Decide upon a mutually agreed upon method of communication, where people can sign up and send the host their dietary restrictions.
Mutually agree upon the container to hold the contents of your meal. I have found that everyone using exactly the same container works best.
B R E A T H E + C A L M uses these:
12 Wide Mouth Pint Jars with Lids..about $15.00
https://www.target.com/p/ball-16oz-12pk-glass-wide-mouth-mason-jar-with-lid-and-band/-/A-50624128?sidd=2307S&afid=google&ref=tgt_adv_xsf&CPNG=Kitchen&adgroup=70-5-If Using Mason Jars-
VERY IMPORTANT!!! WIDE MOUTH JARS MUST HAVE STRAIGHT SIDES.
3 days before the event, the host will send a message to each participant, with how many servings to make and dietary restrictions. 10 participant max.
Create one recipe
(I usually double or triple the portions to meet required number of participants)Place 1 Serving Per Pint Mason Jar...Freeze or Don't...Your Choice
Label the Jar
Decide where to post the recipe, so that way if someone loves your dish, they can make it, themselves.
Take Jars to the Restaurant (a small portable cooler bag works great)
Swap Jars and Recipe (usually at the end of the meal)
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TIPS FOR FILLING AND FREEZING FOOD IN MASON JARS:
#1- Freeze food in jars with straight sides. Shoulder jars break in freezer.
#2- Fill jar up to 1 inch from top
#3- Cool hot liquids and food before freezing.
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Mason Jar Meal Swap Happenings:
Monday, November 4th, 2024 our Mason Jar Meal Swap will be taking place at:
The Formosa Cafe in Hollywood
ABOUT THE RESTAURANT:
It's Almost Halloween Time! And our community is having dinner and swapping ghost stories at the infamous Formosa Cafe!
Stepping inside The Formosa Cafe is like stepping back in time, with its old Hollywood stories and charm. Not only is this legendary 94-year-old West Hollywood hangout's construction unique, but the ghosts who are said to inhabit it are too!Chef David Kuo of Little Fatty, has reinterpreted the restaurant’s age-old Chinese-American menu, hitting it with just the right amount of modern Taiwanese flavors. The cocktails offer throwback appeal, as local historians were sought to get drink recipes and ingredients to fit with the era of the place.
Back in the day, this cafe was not only a popular hangout for the likes of Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Clark Gable, Humphrey Bogart, Ronald Reagan, Elvis Presley, Marilyn Monroe, Lana Turner and John Wayne, but also for mobsters.
In the 1930s, Gangster 'Bugsy' Siegel, allegedly ran his business from the office there. There were five phone lines that he would use and his personal locked safe is still there.
In 1947, he was shot dead, in his home. The case was never solved, but he allegedly still hangs out at this place where he did so much business.
And while there are rumors that you'll encounter Siegel's ghost, other ghost sightings have been reported, as well. Another most famous ghost is suspected to be that of the old owner Lem Quon, who reprimands employees in much the same way he did when he was alive.
They have reported him sitting in his favorite booth, number 8. Supposedly, he pinches employees who are slacking off, which he did in real life...he is said to have only been seen through the reflection in the bar's large mirror.
Noises and shadow people have also been reported, and according to one of the bartenders, someone plays Sinatra's "New York, New York" on repeat, late at night!