From the day my husband died generous friends and neighbors delivered delicious meals to our home.  We were blessed to have this continue for almost four months.  Isn’t that amazing? Three days each week, a friend or neighbor would come to the door with the most wonderful meal.  These were full meals – a salad or vegetable, main course and dessert.  Often times, a bottle of wine was included.  I still marvel at this outpouring of kindness.  As those of you who have been on the receiving end of a hot, home cooked meal know, it has a way of soothing you like nothing else can.   I found that like many previously routine tasks, cooking a meal felt overwhelming.  I don’t know that I could have boiled water successfully in the early days.  It seemed like I had ten thumbs and wasn’t quite sure how to get them to work together.  This was a strange and unsettling feeling for someone who cooked every day.  I often wondered when and how I would ever get my “groove” back.   To be honest, it was a little scary.

Many of the recipes are included in my upcoming book Comfort Food.  In fact, the meals were the impetus for the book.   There is a little story to each meal, either about the person who prepared the food or the history of the food itself.  I thought it would be fun to share some of these recipes with you.  I invite you to share recipes for any meal delivered to you in a time of need or any you may have prepared for someone in need.    If  you would like to share any thoughts about how giving or receiving meals helped you to heal, I would love to hear them.