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ysabetwordsmithThis poem is spillover from the May 4, 2021 Poetry Fishbowl. It was inspired by prompts from chanter1944, technoshaman, and Anonymous. It also fills the "meaningful choices" square in my 5-1-21 card for the Leaky Pipeline Bingo fest. This poem has been sponsored by a pool with ng_moonmoth and fuzzyred. It belongs to the Rutledge thread of the Polychrome Heroics series. It is the third in a set, after "Escape a Thousand Memories" and "Who Can Create the Future," before "Layering Flavors, Tastes, and Textures," "A Vibrant Symbol of the American Dream," and "The People Who Give You Their Food."
Warning: This poem and its notes list a lot of delicious Syrian food. It may make you hungry for things you can't get easily, unless you make them yourself. But there are recipes!
"Good Food Choices Are Good Investments"
[June 2015]
Kardal completed his classes on
Entrepreneurship and managed
to save a good amount of money,
since he did not have to pay
rent at Family Business Rest.
He got a big grant from
Refugee Assistance and
a small loan from the bank,
because he was starting
his own business and they
wanted to encourage that.
He managed to purchase
a food truck, used but still
in pretty good condition.
It already had refrigerators
and a deep-fat fryer, so
the only appliance that he
needed to buy was a spit
for the shawarma meat.
He couldn't afford a full wrap
but did invest in a custom banner.
That left nothing for a fancy menu,
so he bought a simple chalkboard
and a box of colored chalk. Besides,
this way he could erase things as
they sold out during the day, or
announce specials if he had any.
When Kardal was ready to open
for business, he sent a quiet note to
the City Hall for their next meeting.
He slipped into the crowded room
and sat in the back, not really
knowing what to expect.
There was the usual run of
local issues for discussion.
At the end, people read
some tidbits of news that
would affect the town.
"I'm proud to announce
our first Syrian food truck,"
Mayor Castle said with a smile.
"Kardal Abdullah is moving on
from Mandy's Diner to launch
Syrian Foods, so watch for him.
The whole menu will be halal."
The room burst into applause,
startling Kardal, who wasn't
used to that much attention.
Gideon Wheeler raised a hand
and the mayor called on him.
"I invite you to use the parking lot
of Family Business Rest as much
as you want, no charge," said Gideon.
"Not everyone can get out to restaurants."
"I can work up a schedule for parking
and traveling, so --" Kardal began.
Several other hands were already waving.
Katie McCormic invited him to park at
the Fair Valley Interfaith Center.
Yann Quevillon suggested checking
with staff at Green Mountain Mall.
A man that Kardal didn't even
know encouraged him to ask about
visiting the Viridian Business Park,
and another woman suggested that
he try the Rutledge Farmer's Market.
Kardal took notes as fast as he could.
That schedule was getting crowded.
It was a promising sign, though.
Kardal spent the first few weeks
working out a schedule, which he
hung on a big board with pictures,
Arabic text, and English text
at Family Business Rest.
He parked there for part
of the day, most of the week,
and certain days he parked at
the mall, the business park,
or various other places.
When he went to prayers
at the Interfaith Center, he
left out a few of the items
that were fiddly to make
and hired a Christian boy
to handle the serving.
It was still very popular.
One stormy day when
Kardal was parked at
the Farmer's Market,
a woman approached.
"Do you have time to talk?"
she said, cheerfully waving
her red umbrella at the clouds.
Kardal had done decent business
for almost a couple of hours before
the downpour had driven away
a majority of his customers.
"Go ahead," he said.
"I'm Penina Trueblood,"
she said. "I work for
Eat Wisely Rutledge
and other programs
about healthy food."
Kardal winced. "Am I
in trouble? Paperwork?"
"No, no, I'm here to offer
opportunities if you want them,"
she said. "It's all voluntary."
"Opportunities for what?"
Kardal said, curious.
"Food trucks that sell
enough healthy foods can
qualify for perks, like parking
in better places at events,"
said Penina. "I can tell you
if you qualify, and if not,
how you could improve."
"How hard is it?" he said.
"I just got started. I don't
have much money yet."
"Healthy food doesn't have
to be expensive," she said.
"Standards are easier for
food trucks than restaurants
because of the limited menu.
From what I have heard about
Syrian Foods, you probably fit."
Kardal leaned out to look at
the remains of his chalk menu,
which was now mostly abstract art.
"I have paper," he said, but those
were damp and starting to shred.
He reached under the cabinet for
a fresh menu. "I have dry paper."
Those only listed the things that
he always had, and the categories
that changed, but it was something.
"Thank you," said Penina. "You
get extra points for being prepared!
Do you want to try the checklist?"
"Maybe," Kardal said. "I don't
know whether I can afford any of it."
"Your diet is a bank account," she said.
"Good food choices are good investments."
Kardal chuckled. "All right, I'll listen."
"The idea is to offer customers
meaningful choices so they can
find the foods they need," she said.
"Let's see, do you buy ingredients
that were grown in Vermont?"
"As often as I can," said Kardal.
"Less shipping is less expensive."
"See, you're off to a good start!"
Penina said. "Organic, pastured,
or other naturally produced things?"
He frowned, thinking. "Eggs, chickens,
lamb," he said. "Sometimes produce."
"What cooking methods do you use?"
Penina said, peering into the truck.
"Not much is cooked here, just
the fried falafel, grilled kebabs, and
shawarma meat on a spit," he said.
"Breads and some desserts are
baked in the kitchen, not here."
"That's fine," said Penina.
"I can see fresh produce,
probiotics, and whole grain
on your menu. Do you have
some sort of Healthy Plate?"
"What?" Kardal said blankly.
She showed him examples, but
he didn't have anything like that.
"It would be very easy to add one
if you want to," Penina said. "Some
of your combos are pretty close.
We have guidelines to help."
Kardal thought about that,
then nodded. "I can look
at those later," he agreed.
"I see healthy, prosocial food
for sharing," Penina said.
"Hummus is great for that."
"The Hummus Sampler Platter
and Desert Platter are meant
to share," Kardal said, nodding.
"Oh! I'm working up a new thing
for the dips because customers
love them and they want more."
He dragged out his tatty notebook
and showed her the page with
the Friendship Dip Platter ideas.
"This looks excellent," Penina said.
"What kinds of dips do you have?
Are they always the same?"
"I usually make one yogurt and
two vegetable dips each day, but I
have lots of flavors," said Kardal. "You
can get hummus in the dip combos,
but not dip in the hummus ones.
I usually offer three kinds of
hummus, sometimes with
an extra for a new flavor."
"Very good," said Penina.
"So you have enough to fill
the four dips for six people."
"I want to do a Party Size platter
with every dip that day, but I'm
not sure what else to add to it,
Kardal said. "I'm still thinking."
"What about something fermented?"
Penina said. "You list olives and ...
some sort of pickled vegetable?"
"Kabiss," said Kardal. "That's
easy to make. I just pickle
whatever vegetables are
cheap and good at the time."
Penina laughed. "My mother
calls those Anything Pickles."
"I lost my parents trying to flee
Damascus," Kardal whispered.
"Oh, I'm so sorry!" Penina said.
"I'm a Quaker. We believe
that all war is wrong."
"Nice to think," he said.
"So, your checklist?"
"Allergy-friendly items and
sugar-free, caffeine-free drink,
check," said Penina. "Of course,
your whole truck is halal, and --"
"That's a thing?" Kardal said.
"You give points for halal?"
"There's a category for catering
to special diets," Penina said.
"We want to make sure that
everyone can eat at events."
"No wonder so many people
ask me to do events," he said.
"Sometimes it gets very busy,
even though I'm still new."
"The only other food truck in
the area that serves halal food is
Hungry Hungry Hippies," she said.
"Yes, we talked before I set up, so we
don't compete too much," said Kardal.
"I don't serve Buddha bowls, sprouts,
pork, or sandwiches and they don't
serve kebabs, shawarma, or baklava.
We do mostly different drinks too."
"That's very thoughtful of you all,"
said Penina. "Another diet you can
advertise is the Mediterranean Diet,
because Syria is on the sea. That's
the healthiest eating style around."
"You mean, put a sign?" Kardal said,
looking at his menu board again.
"You could just write it in, but we
have stickers and posters -- it's easier
for people to find things if they all
look the same," said Penina.
"Yes, please," Kardal said. "I'm
still building a customer base."
"Then definitely join our program,
because we have an app that helps
people find the foods they want,"
Penina said. "You post your menu
and schedule, then the app will
suggest Syrian Foods if someone
searches 'Mediterranean Diet' or
'Falafel' or anything else that fits."
Kardal wasn't a fan of much in
the way of organizations, but he
was starting to like this one. "Yes.
Give me the paperwork," he said.
"We'll get to that at the end,"
Penina promised. "First, let's
finish this list. You already have
healthy things at affordable prices.
How is that working for you?"
"Chickpeas are cheap. I buy them
in 50-pound bags. I buy olive oil in
big drums. Eggs, chicken, bread,
and yogurt I buy from Syrian friends,
so those cost less than at stores,"
said Kardal. "The other meats
and fresh produce cost more."
"Hummus and bread are cheap
and healthy, that's plenty for
our requirements," said Penina.
"Basically we want to show where
it's easy to find a healthy meal.
You offer different sizes, too."
"Of course," Kardal said.
"Hummus can be a snack
or a whole meal. People
eat alone or together."
"Right, we covered that
in the prosocial point,"
said Penina. "I like that
you have snack or meal
options for several things.
What about calorie counts?"
"I don't know how," Kardal said.
"That's an American thing."
In Aleppo, customers just
ate whatever he served.
"Well, some things are
widely known, like hummus,
so we could estimate those,"
said Penina. "If you have
special recipes, we could
test those in our food lab."
"I can't afford that," he said.
"Science things are expensive.
Besides, I cook what I can get,
it's not always the same."
"Joining Eat Wisely Rutledge
gives you some free lab services,"
Penina said. "We could test
the more consistent recipes,
if you have any of those."
Kardal thought, then nodded.
"The Maple Za'atar ones don't
change much," he said. "It's
the vegetable dips that vary
the most based on what I find."
"That's a good start," she said.
"I see you don't have any labels
for healthier choices, despite
having lots of healthy foods.
I could help you figure out
which things would qualify."
"Labels?" Kardal said.
"Like on cans of stuff?"
"Sort of, but these are
little pictures or phrases
that help people find or
avoid things," said Penina.
She showed him a page of
pictures that described what
the different labels meant.
"Maybe if you help," he said.
"My English is good enough,
but not my first language."
"I'll be happy to help,"
Penina said. "We can
make an appointment, or
you can drop by my office
on a less-busy day for you."
"Okay," said Kardal. "If it's
raining, I don't get much traffic."
"So that brings us to the last point,
consulting with a nutritionist or
dietitian on your menu," she said.
"No, I just make things that
my people like," Kardal said.
"Okay, but after we meet later,
that'll fill this item," Penina said.
"I can give you more ideas for
delicious and healthy choices,
and you can figure out how
they fit into your cuisine."
"I like some American things,"
Kardal said. "I love maple."
"Everyone loves maple,"
Penina said, laughing.
"I started doing that
back when I worked at
Mandy's Diner," he said. "I
made Maple Za'atar Chicken,
and here I do it as kebabs.
Mandy has other Syrians in
the kitchen now, and they'll
think of new things too."
"I notice that you have
no plain meat," Penina said.
Kardal stared at her. "Who
wants plain meat?" he said.
"You're planning platters with
multiple dips," she said, pointing.
"Someone might want to try
the meat in each dip, which is
easier if the meat is unseasoned."
"Good point," Kardal said, then
shook his head. "No, I'd have to add
a separate container, and I don't have
room. Every meat has its own tub."
"Well, I can't argue with that," she said.
"Space is always tight in food trucks."
"I know!" Kardal groaned. "I keep
running out of things, then I have
to go back to restock them."
"Did you know that people make
refrigerated trailers?" Penina said.
"If your truck has a hitch, you could
add extra storage space that way."
"It has a hitch, but I can't afford
to buy a trailer," Kardal said. "I wish
I could, though -- that would be great."
Maybe someday he could manage it.
The added storage would help a lot.
"It's good to have growing room,"
Penina said. "Here's the form
to join Eat Wisely Rutledge.
Tell me if you get stuck."
It wasn't too complicated,
it didn't cost money, and
Kardal only needed to ask
for her help a couple of times.
"Here's another program I represent,"
said Penina. "Farmacy allows doctors
to prescribe fresh produce. People can
use that to get some at certain stores
or the Farmer's Market. They also get
tokens for food at healthy eateries.
I'm sure Syrian Foods would qualify."
"More paperwork?" Kardal said,
eyeing her armload of pages.
"I can fill it out for you, based on
your menu, and just ask questions
as needed," Penina offered. "It
would get you more customers."
"Okay, if you do the papers,"
Kardal said. "I can read, but it's
hard to know what they want."
He could always quit later if it
turned out to be too much trouble.
"Designing effective paperwork
is a skill, and hiring experts is
not cheap," Penina said. "So
some people do it themselves,
and it's not always very clear.
We have an expert on staff
to write or help with forms."
Kardal suddenly liked
her program even more.
Penina filled out the forms,
which mostly seemed to involve
listing dishes and their ingredients.
Syrian Foods had a lot of things
that amounted to "pile of vegetables,"
"some vegetable with tahini," or
"some vegetable with chickpeas."
Apparently just being Mediterranean
was a very good thing, and so was
having a lot of vegetarian options.
Back in Aleppo, vegetarian meant
either "the meat is bad today" or
"I can't even afford to buy meat."
He could always make falafel,
though, and everyone loved
falafel with a dip or two, so
he had gotten by just fine.
Until the war turned home
into a pit of hell, but he was
trying not to think about that.
"Okay, that application is done,"
said Penina. "Read over my work
to make sure you agree with all of it,
then sign at the bottom. When you
get approved to join the Farmacy,
we can arrange to meet and I'll
explain how the tokens work."
Kardal read through, but
everything looked fine to him.
"This is good, thanks," he said.
"Great," said Penina. "We can
work on the labeling programs
another time. Some of those
are a lot more complicated."
"Another time," Kardal said.
The rain was letting up and
people were starting to drift
toward his food truck.
Then he thought
of something else.
"Have you had lunch
yet?" Kardal asked her.
"When did you last eat?"
"I had grapefruit for breakfast
and an everything bagel with
coffee on break," said Penina.
"I could definitely use lunch."
"Pick whatever you like, for free,"
said Kardal. "You've helped a lot,
and you should know the food
that you're helping me sell."
"Oh, I don't know where
to start," Penina said.
Kardal grabbed a meal tray.
He put a falafel and an egg, then
a Za'atar Maple Chicken Kebab.
"Choose two dips or spreads,"
he said, waving at the rows.
"Um ... Aleppo Pepper Hummus
and what's the Barbie-pink stuff?"
Penina asked, leaning forward.
"That's Mutabal Shawandar,
beet and tahini dip," said Kardal.
He added a few pita wedges and
fresh vegetables for dipping.
"I'll have that," said Penina.
"Choose a side salad," he said,
adding a phyllo spinach triangle.
Penina looked at today's options
and then chose the tabouli.
Kardal dished up a small scoop.
"Do you want dessert?" he asked.
"I'm not turning down baklava,"
she said. "One sweet thing
won't do me any harm!"
Kardal put a lady's bracelet
on top of the pita. "Drink?"
"Mint lemonade," Penina said.
Then she looked at the picnic table,
sparkling with raindrops in the sun.
"I have no idea how I'm going
to eat all this standing up."
"I have plastic bags for trash,"
Kardal said, and handed her one.
"Just put that under your butt."
"My hero," Penina said as she
took both the bag and her lunch.
It was a good thing Kardal had
bought the sturdy platters that
came with a cup holder.
By then, customers were
starting to line up at the window,
so he turned to serving them.
It had been a good day after all.
* * *
Notes:
This poem is long, so its character and content notes appear separately.
chanter1944, technoshaman, and Anonymous. It also fills the "meaningful choices" square in my 5-1-21 card for the Leaky Pipeline Bingo fest. This poem has been sponsored by a pool with ng_moonmoth and fuzzyred. It belongs to the Rutledge thread of the Polychrome Heroics series. It is the third in a set, after "Escape a Thousand Memories" and "Who Can Create the Future," before "Layering Flavors, Tastes, and Textures," "A Vibrant Symbol of the American Dream," and "The People Who Give You Their Food."Warning: This poem and its notes list a lot of delicious Syrian food. It may make you hungry for things you can't get easily, unless you make them yourself. But there are recipes!
"Good Food Choices Are Good Investments"
[June 2015]
Kardal completed his classes on
Entrepreneurship and managed
to save a good amount of money,
since he did not have to pay
rent at Family Business Rest.
He got a big grant from
Refugee Assistance and
a small loan from the bank,
because he was starting
his own business and they
wanted to encourage that.
He managed to purchase
a food truck, used but still
in pretty good condition.
It already had refrigerators
and a deep-fat fryer, so
the only appliance that he
needed to buy was a spit
for the shawarma meat.
He couldn't afford a full wrap
but did invest in a custom banner.
That left nothing for a fancy menu,
so he bought a simple chalkboard
and a box of colored chalk. Besides,
this way he could erase things as
they sold out during the day, or
announce specials if he had any.
When Kardal was ready to open
for business, he sent a quiet note to
the City Hall for their next meeting.
He slipped into the crowded room
and sat in the back, not really
knowing what to expect.
There was the usual run of
local issues for discussion.
At the end, people read
some tidbits of news that
would affect the town.
"I'm proud to announce
our first Syrian food truck,"
Mayor Castle said with a smile.
"Kardal Abdullah is moving on
from Mandy's Diner to launch
Syrian Foods, so watch for him.
The whole menu will be halal."
The room burst into applause,
startling Kardal, who wasn't
used to that much attention.
Gideon Wheeler raised a hand
and the mayor called on him.
"I invite you to use the parking lot
of Family Business Rest as much
as you want, no charge," said Gideon.
"Not everyone can get out to restaurants."
"I can work up a schedule for parking
and traveling, so --" Kardal began.
Several other hands were already waving.
Katie McCormic invited him to park at
the Fair Valley Interfaith Center.
Yann Quevillon suggested checking
with staff at Green Mountain Mall.
A man that Kardal didn't even
know encouraged him to ask about
visiting the Viridian Business Park,
and another woman suggested that
he try the Rutledge Farmer's Market.
Kardal took notes as fast as he could.
That schedule was getting crowded.
It was a promising sign, though.
Kardal spent the first few weeks
working out a schedule, which he
hung on a big board with pictures,
Arabic text, and English text
at Family Business Rest.
He parked there for part
of the day, most of the week,
and certain days he parked at
the mall, the business park,
or various other places.
When he went to prayers
at the Interfaith Center, he
left out a few of the items
that were fiddly to make
and hired a Christian boy
to handle the serving.
It was still very popular.
One stormy day when
Kardal was parked at
the Farmer's Market,
a woman approached.
"Do you have time to talk?"
she said, cheerfully waving
her red umbrella at the clouds.
Kardal had done decent business
for almost a couple of hours before
the downpour had driven away
a majority of his customers.
"Go ahead," he said.
"I'm Penina Trueblood,"
she said. "I work for
Eat Wisely Rutledge
and other programs
about healthy food."
Kardal winced. "Am I
in trouble? Paperwork?"
"No, no, I'm here to offer
opportunities if you want them,"
she said. "It's all voluntary."
"Opportunities for what?"
Kardal said, curious.
"Food trucks that sell
enough healthy foods can
qualify for perks, like parking
in better places at events,"
said Penina. "I can tell you
if you qualify, and if not,
how you could improve."
"How hard is it?" he said.
"I just got started. I don't
have much money yet."
"Healthy food doesn't have
to be expensive," she said.
"Standards are easier for
food trucks than restaurants
because of the limited menu.
From what I have heard about
Syrian Foods, you probably fit."
Kardal leaned out to look at
the remains of his chalk menu,
which was now mostly abstract art.
"I have paper," he said, but those
were damp and starting to shred.
He reached under the cabinet for
a fresh menu. "I have dry paper."
Those only listed the things that
he always had, and the categories
that changed, but it was something.
"Thank you," said Penina. "You
get extra points for being prepared!
Do you want to try the checklist?"
"Maybe," Kardal said. "I don't
know whether I can afford any of it."
"Your diet is a bank account," she said.
"Good food choices are good investments."
Kardal chuckled. "All right, I'll listen."
"The idea is to offer customers
meaningful choices so they can
find the foods they need," she said.
"Let's see, do you buy ingredients
that were grown in Vermont?"
"As often as I can," said Kardal.
"Less shipping is less expensive."
"See, you're off to a good start!"
Penina said. "Organic, pastured,
or other naturally produced things?"
He frowned, thinking. "Eggs, chickens,
lamb," he said. "Sometimes produce."
"What cooking methods do you use?"
Penina said, peering into the truck.
"Not much is cooked here, just
the fried falafel, grilled kebabs, and
shawarma meat on a spit," he said.
"Breads and some desserts are
baked in the kitchen, not here."
"That's fine," said Penina.
"I can see fresh produce,
probiotics, and whole grain
on your menu. Do you have
some sort of Healthy Plate?"
"What?" Kardal said blankly.
She showed him examples, but
he didn't have anything like that.
"It would be very easy to add one
if you want to," Penina said. "Some
of your combos are pretty close.
We have guidelines to help."
Kardal thought about that,
then nodded. "I can look
at those later," he agreed.
"I see healthy, prosocial food
for sharing," Penina said.
"Hummus is great for that."
"The Hummus Sampler Platter
and Desert Platter are meant
to share," Kardal said, nodding.
"Oh! I'm working up a new thing
for the dips because customers
love them and they want more."
He dragged out his tatty notebook
and showed her the page with
the Friendship Dip Platter ideas.
"This looks excellent," Penina said.
"What kinds of dips do you have?
Are they always the same?"
"I usually make one yogurt and
two vegetable dips each day, but I
have lots of flavors," said Kardal. "You
can get hummus in the dip combos,
but not dip in the hummus ones.
I usually offer three kinds of
hummus, sometimes with
an extra for a new flavor."
"Very good," said Penina.
"So you have enough to fill
the four dips for six people."
"I want to do a Party Size platter
with every dip that day, but I'm
not sure what else to add to it,
Kardal said. "I'm still thinking."
"What about something fermented?"
Penina said. "You list olives and ...
some sort of pickled vegetable?"
"Kabiss," said Kardal. "That's
easy to make. I just pickle
whatever vegetables are
cheap and good at the time."
Penina laughed. "My mother
calls those Anything Pickles."
"I lost my parents trying to flee
Damascus," Kardal whispered.
"Oh, I'm so sorry!" Penina said.
"I'm a Quaker. We believe
that all war is wrong."
"Nice to think," he said.
"So, your checklist?"
"Allergy-friendly items and
sugar-free, caffeine-free drink,
check," said Penina. "Of course,
your whole truck is halal, and --"
"That's a thing?" Kardal said.
"You give points for halal?"
"There's a category for catering
to special diets," Penina said.
"We want to make sure that
everyone can eat at events."
"No wonder so many people
ask me to do events," he said.
"Sometimes it gets very busy,
even though I'm still new."
"The only other food truck in
the area that serves halal food is
Hungry Hungry Hippies," she said.
"Yes, we talked before I set up, so we
don't compete too much," said Kardal.
"I don't serve Buddha bowls, sprouts,
pork, or sandwiches and they don't
serve kebabs, shawarma, or baklava.
We do mostly different drinks too."
"That's very thoughtful of you all,"
said Penina. "Another diet you can
advertise is the Mediterranean Diet,
because Syria is on the sea. That's
the healthiest eating style around."
"You mean, put a sign?" Kardal said,
looking at his menu board again.
"You could just write it in, but we
have stickers and posters -- it's easier
for people to find things if they all
look the same," said Penina.
"Yes, please," Kardal said. "I'm
still building a customer base."
"Then definitely join our program,
because we have an app that helps
people find the foods they want,"
Penina said. "You post your menu
and schedule, then the app will
suggest Syrian Foods if someone
searches 'Mediterranean Diet' or
'Falafel' or anything else that fits."
Kardal wasn't a fan of much in
the way of organizations, but he
was starting to like this one. "Yes.
Give me the paperwork," he said.
"We'll get to that at the end,"
Penina promised. "First, let's
finish this list. You already have
healthy things at affordable prices.
How is that working for you?"
"Chickpeas are cheap. I buy them
in 50-pound bags. I buy olive oil in
big drums. Eggs, chicken, bread,
and yogurt I buy from Syrian friends,
so those cost less than at stores,"
said Kardal. "The other meats
and fresh produce cost more."
"Hummus and bread are cheap
and healthy, that's plenty for
our requirements," said Penina.
"Basically we want to show where
it's easy to find a healthy meal.
You offer different sizes, too."
"Of course," Kardal said.
"Hummus can be a snack
or a whole meal. People
eat alone or together."
"Right, we covered that
in the prosocial point,"
said Penina. "I like that
you have snack or meal
options for several things.
What about calorie counts?"
"I don't know how," Kardal said.
"That's an American thing."
In Aleppo, customers just
ate whatever he served.
"Well, some things are
widely known, like hummus,
so we could estimate those,"
said Penina. "If you have
special recipes, we could
test those in our food lab."
"I can't afford that," he said.
"Science things are expensive.
Besides, I cook what I can get,
it's not always the same."
"Joining Eat Wisely Rutledge
gives you some free lab services,"
Penina said. "We could test
the more consistent recipes,
if you have any of those."
Kardal thought, then nodded.
"The Maple Za'atar ones don't
change much," he said. "It's
the vegetable dips that vary
the most based on what I find."
"That's a good start," she said.
"I see you don't have any labels
for healthier choices, despite
having lots of healthy foods.
I could help you figure out
which things would qualify."
"Labels?" Kardal said.
"Like on cans of stuff?"
"Sort of, but these are
little pictures or phrases
that help people find or
avoid things," said Penina.
She showed him a page of
pictures that described what
the different labels meant.
"Maybe if you help," he said.
"My English is good enough,
but not my first language."
"I'll be happy to help,"
Penina said. "We can
make an appointment, or
you can drop by my office
on a less-busy day for you."
"Okay," said Kardal. "If it's
raining, I don't get much traffic."
"So that brings us to the last point,
consulting with a nutritionist or
dietitian on your menu," she said.
"No, I just make things that
my people like," Kardal said.
"Okay, but after we meet later,
that'll fill this item," Penina said.
"I can give you more ideas for
delicious and healthy choices,
and you can figure out how
they fit into your cuisine."
"I like some American things,"
Kardal said. "I love maple."
"Everyone loves maple,"
Penina said, laughing.
"I started doing that
back when I worked at
Mandy's Diner," he said. "I
made Maple Za'atar Chicken,
and here I do it as kebabs.
Mandy has other Syrians in
the kitchen now, and they'll
think of new things too."
"I notice that you have
no plain meat," Penina said.
Kardal stared at her. "Who
wants plain meat?" he said.
"You're planning platters with
multiple dips," she said, pointing.
"Someone might want to try
the meat in each dip, which is
easier if the meat is unseasoned."
"Good point," Kardal said, then
shook his head. "No, I'd have to add
a separate container, and I don't have
room. Every meat has its own tub."
"Well, I can't argue with that," she said.
"Space is always tight in food trucks."
"I know!" Kardal groaned. "I keep
running out of things, then I have
to go back to restock them."
"Did you know that people make
refrigerated trailers?" Penina said.
"If your truck has a hitch, you could
add extra storage space that way."
"It has a hitch, but I can't afford
to buy a trailer," Kardal said. "I wish
I could, though -- that would be great."
Maybe someday he could manage it.
The added storage would help a lot.
"It's good to have growing room,"
Penina said. "Here's the form
to join Eat Wisely Rutledge.
Tell me if you get stuck."
It wasn't too complicated,
it didn't cost money, and
Kardal only needed to ask
for her help a couple of times.
"Here's another program I represent,"
said Penina. "Farmacy allows doctors
to prescribe fresh produce. People can
use that to get some at certain stores
or the Farmer's Market. They also get
tokens for food at healthy eateries.
I'm sure Syrian Foods would qualify."
"More paperwork?" Kardal said,
eyeing her armload of pages.
"I can fill it out for you, based on
your menu, and just ask questions
as needed," Penina offered. "It
would get you more customers."
"Okay, if you do the papers,"
Kardal said. "I can read, but it's
hard to know what they want."
He could always quit later if it
turned out to be too much trouble.
"Designing effective paperwork
is a skill, and hiring experts is
not cheap," Penina said. "So
some people do it themselves,
and it's not always very clear.
We have an expert on staff
to write or help with forms."
Kardal suddenly liked
her program even more.
Penina filled out the forms,
which mostly seemed to involve
listing dishes and their ingredients.
Syrian Foods had a lot of things
that amounted to "pile of vegetables,"
"some vegetable with tahini," or
"some vegetable with chickpeas."
Apparently just being Mediterranean
was a very good thing, and so was
having a lot of vegetarian options.
Back in Aleppo, vegetarian meant
either "the meat is bad today" or
"I can't even afford to buy meat."
He could always make falafel,
though, and everyone loved
falafel with a dip or two, so
he had gotten by just fine.
Until the war turned home
into a pit of hell, but he was
trying not to think about that.
"Okay, that application is done,"
said Penina. "Read over my work
to make sure you agree with all of it,
then sign at the bottom. When you
get approved to join the Farmacy,
we can arrange to meet and I'll
explain how the tokens work."
Kardal read through, but
everything looked fine to him.
"This is good, thanks," he said.
"Great," said Penina. "We can
work on the labeling programs
another time. Some of those
are a lot more complicated."
"Another time," Kardal said.
The rain was letting up and
people were starting to drift
toward his food truck.
Then he thought
of something else.
"Have you had lunch
yet?" Kardal asked her.
"When did you last eat?"
"I had grapefruit for breakfast
and an everything bagel with
coffee on break," said Penina.
"I could definitely use lunch."
"Pick whatever you like, for free,"
said Kardal. "You've helped a lot,
and you should know the food
that you're helping me sell."
"Oh, I don't know where
to start," Penina said.
Kardal grabbed a meal tray.
He put a falafel and an egg, then
a Za'atar Maple Chicken Kebab.
"Choose two dips or spreads,"
he said, waving at the rows.
"Um ... Aleppo Pepper Hummus
and what's the Barbie-pink stuff?"
Penina asked, leaning forward.
"That's Mutabal Shawandar,
beet and tahini dip," said Kardal.
He added a few pita wedges and
fresh vegetables for dipping.
"I'll have that," said Penina.
"Choose a side salad," he said,
adding a phyllo spinach triangle.
Penina looked at today's options
and then chose the tabouli.
Kardal dished up a small scoop.
"Do you want dessert?" he asked.
"I'm not turning down baklava,"
she said. "One sweet thing
won't do me any harm!"
Kardal put a lady's bracelet
on top of the pita. "Drink?"
"Mint lemonade," Penina said.
Then she looked at the picnic table,
sparkling with raindrops in the sun.
"I have no idea how I'm going
to eat all this standing up."
"I have plastic bags for trash,"
Kardal said, and handed her one.
"Just put that under your butt."
"My hero," Penina said as she
took both the bag and her lunch.
It was a good thing Kardal had
bought the sturdy platters that
came with a cup holder.
By then, customers were
starting to line up at the window,
so he turned to serving them.
It had been a good day after all.
* * *
Notes:
This poem is long, so its character and content notes appear separately.
(no subject)
Date: 2021-06-22 04:57 am (UTC)Thoughts
Date: 2021-06-22 07:20 am (UTC)They're up! :D
>> I want to try the Maple Za'Atar Kebab...<<
Go for it!
>> hafta do it a day when my strictest kosher-keeper isn't here, though, because they also don't like sweet meat.<<
Consider maple vinegar.
>> I'm probably gonna contrast it with the newer (more... smoky-ish...?) za'atar I got from the same Med place I got the shawarma blend... or maybe do some of each... <<
That sounds good.
(no subject)
Date: 2021-06-22 01:43 pm (UTC)And yeah, paperwork is annoying.
I wonder if Kardal could run a second food truck, if the first is this popular. Or would he upgrade to a restauraunt?
(no subject)
Date: 2021-06-22 01:48 pm (UTC)I'm really enjoying Kardal's run of stories. 💖💖
- Readera
Thoughts
Date: 2021-06-22 07:27 pm (UTC):D
>> I'm really enjoying Kardal's run of stories. <<
There are still a couple left to be sponsored, so you can always chip in toward those in the future.
(no subject)
Date: 2021-06-22 01:54 pm (UTC)