Volunteer creates meals with available ingredients

For professional actor Ann Marie Nordby, it may be that her favorite role is the one she plays as a volunteer for Wings. Once a week Ann Marie teams up with another volunteer and steps into the Wings' safe house kitchen to act as chef for the women and children who live there.

Ann Marie began volunteering at Wings, an organization dedicated to helping victims of domestic violence, about six years ago.

“I started volunteering at the resale shop for a few hours on a Tuesday afternoon and now it's up to two full days,” says Ann Marie, a local theater and commericial actor who also serves as chairman for Wings' upcoming bridal fashion show. But it's on Wednesday mornings that you will find Ann Marie at her creative best. Her mission is to prepare three to five meals the residents will eat during the week.

The first challenge is finding out how many residents are in the house that week. The numbers at the safe house can vary weekly, from 10 to 30 women and children. The next challenge is coming up with a menu based on what's in the pantry. Before Ann Marie's visit, the house manager gives her a heads up on the meat that has been pulled out to thaw. Food for the Wings' shelter comes from the Chicago Food Depository, private donations and various food pantries in the community.

“I'm reliant on what's in the pantry. The challenge is to cook something fresh and tasty, that both adults and children will like — something that doesn't taste like institutional food,” Ann Marie explains. “In my own kitchen I rarely use canned goods, I always choose fresh, but here we just don't have the luxury.”

One week wonton wrappers showed up in a donation bin. “I told them to let me know when we got ground meat and coleslaw.” When that happened, Ann Marie hand-rolled 12 dozen pot stickers that she steamed using two stacked colanders. Ann Marie shares this easy and tasty recipe with us today.

Often Ann Marie faces an additional challenge of feeding a large amount of people using several different cuts of meat.

“At home I would probably never cut the meat from a fine-looking t-bone steak, but when you have only two and lots of people to feed, you chop it up and it becomes one gorgeous stew.”

One memorable dinner, a pork roast simmered in a slow cooker, yielded a special moment for Ann Marie. “One of the women came up and told me that it was the first meal that tasted like home since she had been there. It broke my heart and warmed it up at the same time.”

At home Ann Marie enjoys cooking a variety of foods.

“If Bobby Flay were to come to my house and we went toe-to-toe, I'd do well with my spice-rubbed pork tenderloin,” she laughs. “I am the master of my grill and the queen of the slow cooker.”

In fact, Ann Marie believes that no home should be without a slow cooker.

”It's versatile, and it can make a large quantity of food without a lot of mess. Set it in the morning and when you get home, dinner is done.”

Ann Marie's advice for cooking for large groups is to keep it simple.

“Use quality ingredients, be creative and cook with love. If you do that, it's always going to taste good.”