Kitchen Angels is honored by the extraordinary support our community showed for Angels Dine Out. We won't have the final totals until next month, but so far it's looking like we've picked up right where we left off in 2019. The ambassadors alone brought in approximately $50k through donation envelopes!

All 31 restaurants that participated seemed to be busier than normal for a Thursday in April. Our ambassadors reported that they enjoyed themselves and received many compliments about the event. They all said they would be to participate again next year. Some are even claiming their restaurant for 2023!

The winner of the $500 Visa gift card was Julia R. Emslie who ate at Mariscos Costa Azul. She said the money will definitely come in handy at this time. Congratulations Julia!

We couldn't be happier that our flagship event was a success - thanks to the generosity of our volunteers, diners, and of course, the participating restaurants. Many thanks to all who contributed.

Enterprise Bank & Trust is challenging our community to match their $30,000 gift in honor of Kitchen Angels 30^th Anniversary. If you, or someone you know, might be interested in contributing toward this goal, please contact Dwayne Trujillo at 505-471-7780 x 204 or dtrujillo@kitchenangels.org.

Attendees had a wonderful time at Kitchen Angels' 30-year anniversary quarterly cooking class featuring Johnny Vee. The class learned how to prepare “Stress-Less Party Foods” and then they feasted. Our next (sold out) cooking class is in May with Anita Hausafus cooking East Indian cuisine. This is such a fun way to celebrate 30 years of Kitchen Angels "cooking up care" in our community. Thanks to the chefs for participating!

The time is NOW to cast your final ballot in 2022's Best of Santa Fe contest! Voting will occur during the month of May. This is the first year that our organization has been nominated in three categories. CLICK HERE to vote:

Kitchen Angels has placed in the top three in the nonprofit category since the contest started. We're so excited that Kitchenality has gained such popularity and is now recognized in two categories! Let's also show our love for those restaurants who participated in Angels Dine Out. They each deserve an award for being such great supporters of our community.

When we think of frozen fish, most of us probably remember childhood dinners filled with soggy fish sticks and mayo-cover filet-o-fish sandwiches. But there are better ways to add fish to your diet this summer and the best way to get it is, surprisingly, frozen. According to Livestrong.com, most people can’t tell the difference between fresh and previously frozen fish once it has been prepared. Plus, most fish people find at their local grocery stores was frozen as soon as it was caught (a technique copied from Inuit fishing practices). Frozen fish contains all the same nutritious omega-3 fatty acids as fresh fish. The majority of fish on the market, even the fancy sushi you might find in coastal cities, was probably previously frozen.

So, the question becomes, where to get the best frozen fish? Some of us may have had the experience of defrosting shrimp or salmon and finding it mushy or tasteless once cooked. Eater.com has compiled a list of specialty seafood companies that will deliver high quality frozen seafood directly to your door. Companies like Fish Fixe will customize boxes of frozen seafood like crab cakes, shrimp, and salmon and ship it to your door. For those interested in New England seafood True Fin sells sashimi-quality fish caught in the Gulf of Maine.

What’s the best way to cook previously frozen fish? If you're cooking from frozen, first rinse the fish off and then pat it dry. Cooking from frozen actually makes it more difficult to overcook your fish. Use one of these fifty recipes from Bon Appetit to create an easy weeknight meal. (If you’re not a fish eater, most of these recipes can also work with meats, tofu, and vegetables.) Maybe the poached cod with tomato curry sounds good to you, especially if you can use fresh summer tomatoes. Or maybe a simple roast salmon is more your style. No matter the recipe, it's nice to know you can access high quality seafood even in the middle of the desert.

If you live anywhere in New Mexico, chances are that over the past few weeks your community has been inundated with smoke from the various wildfires spreading across the state. As of May 2, the Hermit's Peak/Calf Canyon fire has burned over 120,653 acres, more than 160 square miles, and forced at least 6,000 people to flee their homes. Caused by extremely high winds and terrible drought conditions, another fire in the Jemez Mountains has burned 22,314 acres and is only 10 percent contained. Both fires have destroyed homes, but no fatalities have been reported.

Here's information regarding the Hermit’s Peak fire. A Facebook page about the Cerro Pelado fire seems like the best place to get updates about that fire. As always, New Mexico Fire Information has the most up-to-date information regarding active wildfires, fire restrictions, and red flag warnings. They also have a page on FaceBook. Additionally, the National Center for Environmental Health has advice for dealing with wildfire smoke.

 

There are multiple ways to help victims of the New Mexico wildfires. Governor Lujan Grisham announced that the All Together NM Fund was collecting monetary donations for New Mexicans impacted by the wildfires. Funds will be distributed directly to affected New Mexico communities in coordination with local organizations that provide emergency shelters, food and water distribution, and medical care. New Mexico Highlands University also has an entire webpage dedicated to ways people can help victims of the fires. There you can find links to donate to the Red Cross; local Salvation Army contacts for those of you who want to donate clothing, food, hygiene products, or pet supplies; and a donation drive at Highlands University. Items needed for the drive can also be found on the website and include items such as pet food, toiletries, diapers, etc.

Please drop off items at AllPrint Graphics, 2002 Cerrillos Road, Suite C, (across St. Michaels Drive from the Toyota dealership) between the hours of 9:00 am and Noon and 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm. Thank you for your generosity.

Kitchen Angels is proud to partner with Reunity Resources. Reunity Resources is a 501c3 nonprofit that operates a regenerative two acre urban farm and soil+compost yard off Agua Fria on San Ysidro Crossing.

They are selling high-quality seedlings on Saturdays in May from 9:00 am - 1:00 pm, then June-October on Thursdays & Fridays 3:00 pm - 9:00 pm, Saturdays & Sundays 9:00 am - 1:00 pm.

They will have a new food truck this year: What the Truck: Farm Fresh, which we can't wait to try.

If you haven't heard, Reunity also has music events during the summer months when the weather is fine. We hope to partner up and have another volunteer event at the farm in the near future.

We're so proud of our good neighbors who are "working toward a future where everyone in our community is part of resilient, nourishing food systems."

A huge round of applause and gratitude to the 76 volunteers who showed up in 31 restaurants on April 21st to act as Kitchen Angels ambassadors to the Santa Fe community. Our Angels Dine Out event was a great success after the two-year pandemic hiatus. Ambassadors acted with enthusiasm and grace, welcoming diners to their restaurant and telling them all about Kitchen Angels. The final numbers aren't in quite yet, but it looks like ambassadors collected over $50,000 in donation envelopes! It will take another few weeks for the restaurants to report their portion, but we are VERY pleased with the initial results!

For those of you who love the competition and were aiming to be the volunteers who brought in the most donations - here are the top five restaurants/ambassadors:

Again, many thanks for making this such a successful and fun event!