"oh, just like 'Little Women'"

Ages ago, I had an old, childfree friend coming over for drinks, and I wasn't home when she arrived. My husband explained that I was out delivering food to an ill preschool teacher, and my friend remarked amusedly, "Oh, just like in 'Little Women.'" Well, it's been just like in "Little Women" here a lot lately. Preschool teachers are dropping like flies.

Last week we delivered a meal to Iris's former pre-k teacher, who was laid up following bunion surgery. Today, I cooked for Lucy's current teacher, who was hit by a taxi when crossing a street. I completely overcooked for her, because I was seized by the knowledge that I'm going away tomorrow for a week and I will have no access to a kitchen and no ability to cook. I love cooking, and I don't know quite what to do with myself if I can't cook. So I spent half the day laboring over a hot stove on the pretense of cooking for Lucy's teacher (of course, I doubled everything so we could have some of it all as well). I made spicy cauliflower, tortilla a la Espanola, Sicilian eggplant spread (to go with storebought artisanal bread), and a chocolate cake.