What Should I Bring?

Welcome to a newsletter that fosters homemade food to-go

At the start of the pandemic, when we were truly most scared about contact with anyone outside our home—don’t forget this is before we had face masks or knew that gathering outside was a lower-risk activity—a funny thing started to happen. My neighbor’s kids would bake a batch of cookies, and bring over several, ringing the doorbell and scooting away before we could share any threshold germs. Then the next day, we’d do a baking project of our own, or maybe I’d make a jar of pesto, and we would return the favor. The joy of making the little food gifts was undeniable, as was receiving concrete and edible proof, in the form of a brownie or spiced nuts, that there were real-live humans caring for us at a distance. Before our world changed, I had talked a good game about the power of sharing food, but the situation really reinforced that feeling.

I began to think of all the times bringing food to someone can help cement our bonds. There are the meal trains for friends who were sick or recovering from surgeries. There are the side dishes we bring to help round out a cookout. There are school potlucks and snacks for the book club. There are the sandwiches packed along for a hike, and the thank you gift for the host of a party.

So this newsletter will help you think through all the ways we comfort and welcome each other with food. I’ll publish recipes and ideas for how and when best to share the warmth of our kitchens with others, and I hope to hear about your traditions or help you think through any food conundrums you might have. And yes, at some point there will be pie.

Sara is a Seattle-based cookbook writer (co author with Renee Erickson Sunlight & Breadcrumbs, Getaway, and author of Secrets of Great Second Meals, Bon Appetit Food Lover’s Cleanse.

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