If you order a platter of Lebanese food from the Altar & Rosary Society at St. Anthony - St. George Church in Wilkes-Barre you’ll receive stuffed grape leaves, green beans with rice, hummus, pita bread and kibbie. A la carte items are also available.
Mary Therese Biebel | Times Leader
Pick-up is set for April 21
Click here to subscribe today or Login.
Volunteer cooks at St. Anthony - St. George Maronite Catholic Church in Wilkes-Barre include, from left, first row: Sharon Lumbis, Georgette Austin, Lisa Thomas, Tish Capriso, Lynn Ziegler. Second row: Sharon Koter, Cynthia Collins, Joyce Birk, Mary Ann Spagnuolo, Therese Kasmark, Jossiy Gutierrez.
Mary Therese Biebel | Times Leader
Church volunteers stuffing grape leaves include Therese Kasmark of Forty Fort, Tish Capriso of Wilkes-Barre, Lynn Ziegler of Plymouth and Jossiy Gutierrez of Kingston.
Mary Therese Biebel | Times Leader
Lisa Thomas, who is co-chairing the grab-and-go dinner with Cynthia Collins, fries kibbie in the kitchen at the Church of St. Anthony and St. George. Raw kibbie also will be available at the Grab & Go Dinner.
Mary Therese Biebel | Times Leader
Times Leader test cook Mary Therese Biebel practices stuffing and rolling grape leaves.
Photo by Cynthia Collins
When I visited the volunteers who are getting ready for their April 21 “Spring Fling” Grab & Go Dinner of Lebanese food at St. Anthony & St. George Maronite Church in Wilkes-Barre, I wanted to start rolling.
I mean, I wanted to help by rolling some stuffed grape leaves.
The food crew was kind enough, on Tuesday morning, to let me pitch in, and I found working with the leaves and meat mixture to be a calming, almost meditative kind of experience. Plus I enjoyed the feeling of working alongside these friendly folks.
Later, I was curious about the health benefits of grape leaves, so I looked them up and learned they are nutrient dense, full of vitamins and minerals that ward off disease. One dietitian even called them “mighty.”
But you probably don’t need testimony about the benefits of a Mediterranean-style diet to convince you to order food from St. Anthony & St. George’s ’s Altar & Rosary Society.
You probably already know it’s delicious.
If you order a dinner, for $15, you get fried kibbie, which is a seasoned patty of lean meat blended with bulgur wheat; stuffed grape leaves, green beans with rice, hummus, which is a dip made from chickpeas, and pita bread.
A la carte ordering is also available, with a serving of grape leaves for $8, fried kibbie for $8 or raw kibbie, for $8.
If you are wondering about that last item, raw kibbie is considered a delicacy. Whenever I see it listed on a menu, I remember a moment, years ago, when I visited the cooks at this same church to interview them.
A petite, older woman came up to me at one point and commanded, matter-of-factly and with grandmotherly authority: “Close your eyes and open your mouth.”
The next thing I knew, I had a mouthful of raw kibbie, which I probably would never have sampled in a more conventional way, knowing that it was raw. But it did taste wonderful. I guess I could call that my Anthony Bourdain moment, except he was such an adventuresome eater he wouldn’t have had to be coaxed.
The Grab & Go food will be available for pick up from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday, April 21 at St. Anthony & St. George Maronite Church, 311 Park Ave., Wilkes-Barre. Please place orders with Sharon Koter at 570-510-3085 or Joyce Birk at 570-814-1415.
An assortment of homemade Lebanese baked goods also will be available for purchase.