The November 2017 Jennie day was difficult. That morning we were looking at photos and videos we had taken. It was great to see and hear Jen again, as she was, but was at the same time a reminder of what we lost. Time hasn’t worked it’s magic just yet.
The meal, however, was a hit as always. The mini cheesecake pictured here was actually not part of the meal – but there’s a story behind it (more on that in a bit). You can check out photos of the November meal over on our Meal Sponsorship page at https://a.jenniefoundation.org/gallery-november-2017/
Many thanks to Michael and Patty Vitacco and family for their generous sponsorship of the November meal. This month featured Baked Ziti, with breaded and deep fried chicken cutlets and nuggets on the side, salad, and cheese pie with cherry topping for dessert.
About the cheesecake…last month, our meal was Italian Sausage with tortellini, with sour cream pound cake for dessert. One of the RMcD residents was cooking pasta for her husband and young son. She asked about our meal, but could not partake as her family did not eat meat. It never even occurred to us that this could be a problem (I mean, who doesn’t like Italian Sausage?), but fortunately we had enough cheese tortellini to make a separate bowl with marinara sauce and grated Italian cheese. She was very grateful.
Fast-forward to this month’s meal. This same family was still at the RMcD house, and she was cooking pasta again for her family. Our meal this month, however, had the chicken and ziti separate. She remembered us from October and told us how much she enjoyed the previous month’s pound cake and asked for the recipe. That cake was Jen’s grandmother’s recipe, and was one of Jen’s favorites, and ours too. Mom then went back to the pantry refrigerators and pulled out the small cheesecake you see above. She had made some of these small treats for her family, but wanted to give one to us to show her appreciation. We felt guilty accepting it, but she really wanted us to have it. We cut it tonight for our own dessert, and it was outstanding! It was a struggle to leave enough in the pan for the photo.
These families are truly grateful for the help your donations provide. Sometimes the thanks are expressed in person, or in cards or messages. Or sometimes in cheesecake! Thank you once again for enabling our work to help these families.