elizabeth bruenig on taking food to people

taking food to people: a thread

elizabeth bruenig

@ebruenig

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it's been a tough year. on top of all the disasters that happen in the ordinary course of life — a baby arriving unexpectedly early, a fender-bender, a bout with the flu, getting legionnaire's from a hot tub in los angeles — lots of us have friends/family dealing with covid19.

one nice thing you can do for people who aren't feeling well or are temporarily out of commission is to take food to them. so here are some tips and considerations toward that end if it's something you'd like to try out.

1.) different situations call for different foods. if the person is sick, what kind of illness is it? people going through chemo can have serious digestive trouble, so think rice pilaf, homemade bread and butter, etc. for covid, brothy soups with ginger, etc.

new moms are often nursing, and certain herbs are helpful -- fenugreek, for example -- while certain ingredients, like caffeine, can pass through the breastmilk to the baby. so just try to do a little recon to get a sense of what might be maximally helpful/not harmful.

2.) check with the person to make sure there are no dietary restrictions, and be extremely mindful of allergies. 

 

3.) consider the person's living situation. are they looking after a family? then make lots! are they alone? focus on easy-to-prepare and portionable things.

4.) once you know what you're going to make, figure out if you're going to deliver it fresh (i.e., ready to eat out of the pan) or frozen (to be eaten at their leisure.) for fresh, make surer you've got a good delivery system -- i use tupperware and disposable pans.

5.) if you're freezing stuff, make sure you know how to get it defrosted, so you can include defrosting instructions. i put a strip of masking tape on the tupperware and provide oven temp and preferred defrosting method with directions, so there's no fuss.

6.) what can you freeze? a lot of things! some things you want to freeze post-production (i.e., bread -- a loaf of fresh bread can be frozen and just as delicious defrosted) and others pre (for instance, cookie dough -- fresh, hot cookies anytime!) mains can often be frozen.

7.) for inspiration, consider cookbooks (i have and love 'it's always freezer season') and the stuff you see in the freezer case at the store. if they can freeze a lasagna, so can you. if costco can freeze a pizza, a chicken bake, or a bowl of soup, so can you.

8.) sometimes you'll want to break the dish up into component parts as opposed to freezing it altogether. for instance: you can make a single soup base (just the soup/veggies/herbs) and then send along dumplings, matzo balls, or homemade noodles, all separately frozen. DIY soup!

9.) i really try to limit two things: dishes that will require the person to use/buy their own stuff (i.e., frozen fresh pasta with no sauce/meatball accompaniment, etc.) and dishes that will create a giant mess. i send dishes in disposable pans they can be cooked in when i can.

10.) of course, the most important thing to remember is that this is about the person you're feeding, not you. it's okay if it's not perfect if it's what they like. it's fine if it's not something you'd usually make. sharing food is about taking care of people, it's about love.