Every now and then I need to take a meal to someone. A friend has lost a loved one, a colleague has had a baby, someone has just had surgery--the response is to take them food. Right? In situations like that I usually bake: bread, brownies, muffins. Maybe I'll make some soup to go along with the bread, but my focus is on the baking. Recently a friend and I teamed up to take a meal to someone and that worked out great: I did rolls and soup, she did dessert and salad. Easy-peasy, and a good meal for our friend as well.
Today, though, I need to make some real meals. Someone I know from church is having a double lumpectomy today; a colleague has just had a baby and has no family in town. These are folks who need food in the freezer, meals that they can pull out later and enjoy without planning. A loaf of bread or a pan of brownies just won't cut it.
So I scanned through my recipes here on the blog and guess what? Mostly they're for side dishes and desserts. I have a few quick dinner recipes, but they're not really freezable ones--stir-frys and pastas and the like. I'm thinking strata could work, or maybe chilaquiles; I suppose a pot of chili could go in the freezer, but we're having temps in the 80s these days and chili just seems too heavy. I can do strata with spring vegetables--asparagus and mushrooms, maybe? And then it can be brunch or dinner or lunch or whatever is needed (I remember those topsy-turvy days of early parenthood, vaguely...).
What do you make for a friend in need? Why am I so stymied by this?
Hm, if it's so hot maybe a cold soup, like a curried-zucchini yogurt kind of thing, or gazpacho. Or one of those good Moosewood curries? Another direction to go is to make a big batch of pesto and freeze it in chunks for them to thaw as needed. I think lasagne is good no matter the weather, as is a pan of enchiladas. I just made a big batch of granola for a friend in need -- not a meal, it's true, but granola or your homemade muesli with some yogurt and fruit would likely make any of your friends very happy, too. Lucky them!
ReplyDeleteI make an excellent vegetable soup which is good hot or cold (just your basic vegetable soup with everything - plus I also use a lot of dill and take along a container of sour cream to make it more decadent). A friend of mine who had a particularly difficult first few weeks when her baby was born sat and ate the entire container I brought (at least 3-4 huge servings) cold, right while I sat there and talked to her. But it also freezes easily.
ReplyDeleteI usually bake and freeze meatloaf, lasagne, pot roast and/or vegetable soup to give to families who are going through a rough spot or just need a helping hand.
ReplyDeleteI just want to comment that I admire that you help out people and have a spirit of giving.