Just Show Up

A gentle guide to creating a care package for people you care about.

If you're new here, welcome! I wrote a cookbook, Room at the Table: Gluten-Free Recipes, Stories and Tips to Share With the People You Love. It’s available on Amazon, and everywhere books are sold. In this newsletter, I share more recipes, travel inspiration and stories to inspire a joyful life. If you don’t already subscribe, you can do so here. 🤍

Hello friends!

Well, I didn’t plan for so much time to go by, but here we are. Honestly, I just haven’t had anything new to share. I’ve just been making the same comfort foods over and over. If you have a copy of Room at the Table, you already have the recipes. Stacked enchiladas, baked pastas, slow roasted chicken, lots of roasted vegetables. Simple, nourishing, familiar. It’s just what I’ve been craving. Luckily, my family doesn’t complain.

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about how we show up for the people in our lives. Something akin to ‘Take the trip, buy the shoes, eat the cake.’ But instead, it’s ’Take the trip, make the phone call, meet for a walk, drop off a meal.’ It can be so easy to get wrapped up in my own excuses for why I don’t have enough time or energy or capacity to show up. But every time I do, it’s like giving a gift to myself.

A few weeks ago, I shared in my Stories a few care packages I put together for people in my lives going through difficult times. They didn't necessarily need someone to cook for them, but I wanted them to know they are loved. A friend suggested I make a newsletter about care packages. I thought about it for a while, because I wanted to make sure I had something substantive to say.

I’m going to tell a sad story here. Stop here or just skip to the recipes if you’re not up for that today.

In 2007—it’s hard to believe that was 17 years ago—I lost a childhood friend. Melanie and I had been best friends in elementary school and junior high, until I moved away. After I moved, we stayed friends. She visited me in our new town. We had slumber parties, talked on the phone and wrote letters. I was maid-of-honor at her wedding. But over the years, the time between our calls grew longer, until it had been years since we had spoken. We didn’t have a falling out. Busy-ness and being lost in my own struggles of work and marriage beat out connection.

When she was 31, she and her three children were killed in a car accident as she was driving them to school. I had never met her children. I was devastated. For the unimaginable loss of their lives. And selfishly, for all the time I missed. For those in-between moments I would never know.

I swore to myself I would never again be too busy, too tired, too stressed, too distracted to show up for the people I love. It’s sacred work of the most important kind.

There are so many ways to show up for the people in our lives, of course. For the people who live close, a walk is my favorite way to connect. Fresh air, movement and meaningful conversation, all in one. The gift of time is one of the greatest gifts. It says—I value our relationship enough to make you a priority in my life. What a treasure.

For those who live farther away, a phone call. A rare written note, popped in the mail. Even a text, just to say I’m thinking of you.

Sometimes, the people in our lives need something different. They may be ill, going through a difficult life change, or struggling with sorrow and grief. They may not necessarily want company. But they still want to know they are not alone. That they are loved. That someone cares. This is where the care package comes in.

There are times—in cases of births and illness—that many of us have signed up for meal trains. Those are awesome, and so appreciated. But I’m thinking of the times when people don’t ask for anything, and a care package appears.

I know that when I feel ill or anxious or lonely, I want comfort in all forms. So that’s what I think about when I’m putting together a care package. It’s not the time to break out my most difficult or fancy recipes. It’s a time for simple chicken soup and oatmeal cookies. For bath salts and a beautiful candle. For something that says, I see you, and you are not alone.

View this reel, to see one example of a care package.

lisahsamuel

A post shared by @lisahsamuel

Perhaps putting together a care package seems obvious. But here’s how I think about it—I want the person to feel wrapped in a warm hug. Typically that means a soup + granola + cookies + something personal, like the aforementioned bath salts or candle.

A soup means they can eat it for lunch or for dinner, or they can freeze it if they want to save it for later. It’s unfussy and flexible. I package the soup in simple Ball jars that don’t have to be returned. I share my simple, comforting chicken soup recipe, below. From the cookbook, I also love to make the Chicken Poblano Soup and add black rice, to make it a one-pot meal. Chili is another great option. If you have the time and ambition, you can include toppings and condiments, like toasted pumpkin seeds or chile oil.

Next, I make granola, recipe below. I also package that in a Ball jar. Sometimes I’ll include a container of yogurt or milk and a pint of berries, so they have everything they need for breakfast.

Something sweet is a must in a care package, in my opinion. I love making these cookies, because they can double for breakfast. From the cookbook, the Tahini Cookies or Chocolate Chocolate Cookies are also hits. But tucking in a good chocolate bar is great, too.

The ‘something personal’ varies from person to person and depends on the reason for the care package. As I said above, I love these bath salts and these candles, both of which I keep on hand for gifts. Or it might be a book I think they’d love, a pile of magazines, a bottle of wine or a box of tea.

After everything is packaged, I nestle it all into a basket. I keep a stash of baskets in the basement, all of them picked up at thrift shops or vintage stores. It’s the best place to find baskets. I drop it off, with the offer of a visit if that’s welcome, or a simple hug if it’s not. Either way, they know I care. I showed up. I see them. They are important to me.

See below for the chicken soup and granola recipes I make most often.

Thank you for reading, friends. You don’t know how much it means to me to hear that my words have touched you or my recipes nourish you. It truly makes my heart happy.

And if you want to hear more about the power of showing up, I found this podcast particularly poignant.

Come back next week, where I’m going to start a series of recipes for the holidays. I’m starting with a shaved Brussels and walnut salad.

With love,
Lisa

Old-Fashioned Chicken Soup

A great chicken soup starts with a great stock. It really does make all the difference. Once a week, I roast a chicken and make stock from the bones, so I always have stock in the refrigerator or freezer. But you can also easily use a purchased rotisserie chicken from the grocery store. I have a recipe for chicken stock in Room at the Table. The hands-on time is only minutes, and then it just needs to simmer for hours. The longer it simmers, the more flavor (and nutrients and collagen) the broth will have.

Makes about 5 - 6 quarts of soup

4 quarts of good (preferably homemade) chicken stock, well-seasoned with salt

3 to 4 cups of cooked, shredded chicken

1 fennel bulb, thinly sliced

3 or 4 carrots, scrubbed and thickly sliced

4 or 5 stalks of celery, thickly sliced

1 pound baby potatoes, cut in halves or quarters

4 or 5 stalks of Swiss chard, stemmed and sliced

a handful of parsley leaves, roughly chopped

1 or 2 tablespoons of tarragon leaves, finely chopped

freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Add the chicken stock to a large pot. Add the chicken, fennel, carrots, celery and potatoes. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer, cooking for 20 minutes. Add the swiss chard and cook another 10 minutes, or until the potatoes and other vegetables can be easily pierced with a fork but are not falling apart. Turn off the heat and add the parsley, tarragon and black pepper.

Divide the soup between straight-sided quart jars and put in the refrigerator. Once the soup has cooled, tightly seal with a lid. The soup will keep in the refrigerator for up to 5 days and in the freezer for a few months.

Almond Granola

Most granolas are too complicated for my taste, with too many different kinds of nuts and seeds and spices. This one is made with almonds, but I also like a version made just with pecans. Using honey as the sweetener creates those irresistible crunchy clusters, but you can substitute maple syrup. I love the flavor of the olive oil in the granola, but melted butter is also delicious and makes the granola even toastier.

2 cups raw almonds, roughly chopped

2 cups whole oats

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/3 cup honey

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup of dried currants

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Combine all of the ingredients except the dried currants in a large bowl and stir well. Line a baking sheet with a silpat or parchment paper. Pour the mixture onto the silpat and spread with a spatula. Place the baking sheet in the oven and set a timer for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, stir the granola, moving the mixture on the edges to the center and flattening the mixture again. Continue to stir every 10 minutes until the granola is deeply golden, about 30 minutes. You will notice that the almonds have become toasty.

Remove the granola from the oven and sprinkle the currants on top. Let the granola cool completely and then store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Thank you for reading, friends! If you would like to share this post, I’m grateful. And I always love to hear from you, so please leave a comment or send me a DM on Instagram. When I hear that you love a recipe or that a reel or post felt meaningful, it makes my heart happy.