Last fall, for example, our son was born, and my time to cook disappeared. We received a steady stream of visitors, and none of them came empty handed. Before they sat down to chat with me they handed Shefali a casserole dish large enough to feed the two of us for days. We were humbled by their generosity, as we received more than 30 meals from friends and family. What they'd cooked didn't matter. The food was always satisfying.
When friends of ours recently had triplets, I paid it forward and made portable meals - 24 total - fast enough to deliver them that evening.
When I was a child my dad traveled often and my mom had to feed the three kids. Between long days at the pool and ball games in the evenings she couldn't spend much time in the kitchen, but we always ate home-cooked food.
This week, 13 of us gathered at my table for Thanksgiving Dinner. Everyone arrived a day or two early, so as host I needed a meal before "the meal."
