In five hours I'm supposed to be at my friend Carla's  house for Food Club, and I'm  expected to  have in hand something I've made to share with Carla,  Eileen and Kayla, who will also be bringing food they've made to share with  the rest of us.  We arrive with our  portions divided into tupperware containers, and when we leave everyone has four or more different courses to take home and enjoy throughout the week.   Planning has never been one of my strengths, so I love having food in my refrigerator that someone else has made and all I have to do is heat it up when I'm hungry.  But before the exchange, we  drink tea and eat cookies or fruit and talk.  Sometimes  we discuss what's going on in the bigger world,  but usually it's more about our worlds -- our kids and jobs and the men who are or aren't in our lives at the time.

It began about six years ago around the time I was getting divorced. I was having dinner out with two friends who were also single moms with one daughter at home. Our discussion turned to how hard it was to cook for one or two people,  and the frustration of cooking for offspring who may or may not grace us with their presence on a given night. We also agreed that when we got home from work and were hungry we wanted to eat, but not necessarily take time to prepare a healthy balanced meal.   Somehow we came up with the idea of cooking for each other and sharing once a week on Sunday evenings, rotating between houses, and it's been happening ever since.  Membership has changed over the years as people have moved or dropped out.  Of the three "original" members, one moved to the west coast after a couple years, and one dropped out because she didn't want the pressure of a weekly deadline.  So it's now Carla,  Eileen, Kayla and me.  Carla was a friend of the founding member who moved and Kayla and Eileen are friends she met through Al-Anon.  They have all become my friends. 

I look forward to our meetings.  These women are  smart, funny and supportive.  In the six years or so since the group started we've seen each other through divorces and break-ups with boyfriends,  breast cancer treatment, kids leaving home, and losing parents or dealing with their aging issues.  We didn't get together regularly during the summer because of scheduling difficulties so I'm anxious to hear about Eileen's new job and  Carla's preparations for moving into a new house. My fingers are crossed that Kayla's still feeling good about getting past a rough patch in her marriage, and I expect they'll offer advice and perspective to me since my boyfriend for the past year-and-a-half has moved on. 

Although we're all competent in the kitchen, none of us is a gourment cook so there's no pressure to be "the best" or try to impress each other.  Flexibility is key, and no one is upset when someone has a crazy week and ends up providing a deli treat or something that's not homemade. But membership does require some sort  of food offering, and today I'm stumped.  Is there a cook's block that's like  writer's block? Because  I think I have one.  Maybe I need to go to the store for inspiration. I have $30 until I get paid on Friday, so I need inexpensive ingredients.

Time to stop writing and start cooking. Have I mentioned I'm not big on planning??  Wish me luck.