Sometime last summer, I was walking in our neighborhood in Roslindale and ran into my friend and neighbor Meg. I must have looked as exhausted as I felt. “Um, can I bring you dinner some night?” she asked. I said yes, of course, but was blown away by her offer. Apart from a life-saving casserole a friend brought over when our daughter was born and the occasional pot-luck contribution, I was relatively unfamiliar with the experience of food as a gift, of sustenance and time. But it is. Meg’s chicken piccata and pasta were amazing, like take-out, only better. My husband and I enjoyed a much needed break from cooking (and cleaning) and some much needed time together.

I wanted to return the favor. And so our supper swap was born.  What if we took turns making dinner for each other? Every other week? Every week? We spun our plan into action. We doubled recipes, and on our appointed days, walked over casserole dishes of mac and cheese, chicken and biscuits, tomato soup. Our kids got used to “dropping off dinner.” It became, you know, a thing. Here's how to set up your own supper swap and make good use of some of this summer's farmer's market bounty.