A Friend

A friend of mine from work is pregnant with twins and a few of us are planning to bring gift baskets of food after the babies are born in late August. When it is my turn I was thinking of maybe getting some prepared foods sent over from a supermarket deli, or maybe muffins from a local bakery, etc. Does this sound like a good idea to you? Is there anything else you think that would be better? We already had a shower and stuff, so we were looking for something to help out and make their lives a little easier at first. – A Friend

Dear Friend,

Food is the right idea, but specifically: Dinners, already made, in disposable containers, arriving either hot at dinnertime - followed by a quick exit; or arriving in disposable, fridge-or-freezer-ready, microwavable containers. With any baby, dinnertime is the hour of true desperation, and double that with twins. Oh, and skip the muffins; baby weight issues for Mama.

To make it easier on the cook, plan to make enough of the gift meal for your own family to eat the same night after you’ve made the delivery. A casserole* would be welcome and easy to heat up, just add a salad and some fruit for dessert.

By the way, be sure to call ahead to see whether they'd like this help immediately after the twins arrive or in a few weeks when all other offers have started to dwindle. Also ask what night of the week they’d like to have dinners arrive, and check on allergies or other food issues. Then, for as many weeks as you have volunteers, dinner will arrive on the same night of the week, at the same time. That way the parents will have something they can count on (or fixate on, depending upon their desperation level).

Another idea: You and your friends could consider calling the new parents and saying something like,”What can I do to help? I have an hour that is yours.” I did this once for friends in need and ended up mowing their lawn. They were grateful, and I felt I had done something useful.

*Casserole Suggestion: Baked Pasta with Sausage, Tomato and Cheese – makes 8 servings

1 lb. uncooked ziti (short tube-shaped pasta) 1 lb. hot Italian turkey sausage links

1 cup chopped onion 2 garlic cloves, minced

1 tablespoon tomato paste ¼ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon pepper 2 (14.5 oz) cans diced tomatoes, undrained

¼ cup chopped fresh basil Cooking spray

1 cup (4 oz.) shredded fresh mozzarella cheese 1 cup (4 oz.) grated fresh Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain the pasta and set aside. Remove casings from sausage. Cook sausage, onion and garlic in a large non-stick skillet over medium heat until browned, stirring to crumble. Add the tomato paste, salt, pepper and tomatoes, and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Combine cooked pasta, sausage mixture and basil. Place half the mixture in a 4-qt. casserole coated with cooking spray. Top with half of mozzarella and half of Parmesan. Repeat layers. Bake 25 minutes. Serve.