Sophie Hansen - A Basket by the Door : Recipes for Comforting Gifts and Joyful Gatherings.

Food for thought

A lovely lady recently told me about love bombing. She and her friend have an agreement that when things get difficult, they make up a casserole or cake or whatever, drop it off at the others front door and send a quick text saying incoming love bomb before driving away. Theres no pressure to open the door and be hospitable when that might be the very last thing you feel capable of doing just the understanding that someone is thinking of you, there for you and making good for you.

This story really is the essence of this little book. Its about how cooking for your friends and family is the very best thing you can do for them, in good times and bad. Its about bringing people together at a table for a warming kitchen supper or taking them a lasagne layered with winter greens or organising a weekend away in the country with friends and lots of delicious, easy food these are the gestures and moments that matter most.

And because winter is a time for rich braises, for sweet yeasted doughs, for bright citrus jellies and curds, and bolstering breakfasts before big days of sport or work in the freezing cold, thats just what this book brings you. There are recipes to make for friends laid low with colds and flu, filling and delicious soups, curries, dahl, baked beans, baked porridge and more. This is grounding, warming, loved-up food that you can make for your friends and your own family.

All of the recipes are designed to be doubled, so you can (and will, I hope) be making up good things to share with friends in need and also fill your own fridge, pantry and biscuit jars. They are easy to make, delicious to eat and perfect for sharing.

Packing up your care parcels

I think that if you are going to take the time to make a beautiful casserole, cake or jar of biscuits for someone, a few more minutes styling that gift up so it looks as good as it will undoubtedly taste are minutes well spent! Big tea towels or fabric offcuts are perfect for wrapping up cakes, boxes, bottles and even casserole dishes. And they look extra good when tied up with some kitchen string or ribbon with a posy of herbs or winter blooms tucked into the fabric folds.

One way to be sure you always have something cute to wrap or style up your edible gifts is to keep a drawer, shelf or basket aside in your kitchen or pantry with a little stash of fabrics and ribbons and cards. And please, when you are making a meal for a friend in need, dont give it away in your best, most expensive container the last thing youll want to do is pester them to get it back. Stock up on retro casserole dishes from your local opportunity shop, buy foil containers from the shops or just gift a container that you dont mind never seeing again.

Practical tips for giving food

Winter is a good time to be making and dropping off edible care packages much less need for ice bricks and cool bags when the temperature outside is as cold as the fridge. Nevertheless, its better to be safe than sorry. Here are a few rules of thumb to keep in mind when preparing, storing and transporting food: wash your hands before cooking and be aware of safe temperatures and storage times. Once cooked, cool food on the bench until the steam stops rising, then place it in the fridge. Dont let food cool completely on the bench. And dont put hot food straight into the freezer cool it in the fridge first. Cooked food can generally be safely stored in the fridge for 3 to 4 days only.

To freeze casseroles, divide them into servings of a size that suits your family or the family they are heading to, then place in freezer-safe containers or bags, label with the name of the dish and date, and freeze for 2 to 3 months. Avoid freezer burn by using good thick, resealable plastic bags or quality containers, and leave a couple of centimetres at the top of the bag or container to allow the food to expand when frozen. The best and safest place to thaw frozen food is the fridge.

There are lots of fun, easy ways to make your edible gifts look gorgeous.

Watercolour gift tags

Winter is the perfect time to get crafting, and even if you are no artist (Im definitely not!) there are lots of fun, easy things you can do to make your edible gifts look as gorgeous as they taste. My favourite is to create simple line drawings on the labels of my jams or preserves or cake tags and colour them in with watercolour paints. Its such a simple task but they look really lovely and are super satisfying to create. Pinterest is a great place to find some inspiration for food labels and wrapping. Get creative and have fun!

Beeswax food wraps

These wraps have become popular in recent years as a smart, eco-friendly alternative to plastic wrap. And while you can find them in shops, beeswax wraps are usually fairly expensive. But heres the good news: theyre super-cheap and easy to make. So grab some fabric (an old shirt or pillowcase) and make up a bunch of wraps to give away as presents and/or wrap gifts, sandwiches for school lunches, cover bowls of leftovers and so on.

Youll need 200 g (7 oz) solid beeswax (find it online or in speciality stores), 1 tablespoon olive oil, pinking shears, an old paintbrush, baking paper, a few baking trays and 68 fabric rectangles (theyll need to fit on your baking trays, so use that as a size guide).