The other morning I was sitting in the rocking chair in Babyman's room, eating a bowl of cereal while he played with blocks. Eventually (as is the ritual), he clambered up into my lap and said "C'I have some twiggies, Mommy, please?" (He calls it twigs because, well, that's what it's called -- Trader Joe's Twigs, Flakes, and Clusters. Which is appetizing, no? But anyway.) So I gave him a spoonful, not noticing that there was the tiniest little chunk of strawberry embedded between the flakes. Moments later, Babyman made that face that triggers the old "palm under the mouth" reflex from ... [READ MORE]
The Trouble with Peanuts
August 30, 2010 by Leave a Comment
My favorite columnist in Time is a fellow named Joel Stein, with whom I became enamored largely because his "lovely wife Cassandra" was pregnant roughly at the same time as I was, and I felt we were bonding over his satirical take on impending parenthood. So now Joel and I are navigating the wild world of child-rearing together and I am always excited when his son (Laszlo, if you can believe it) shows up in his column. Well, it appears poor Laszlo has been afflicted with a nut allergy. (It is worth noting that this revelation has caused Mr. Stein to recant an article he wrote last year ... [READ MORE]
The New Meaning of Dinner
August 10, 2010 by 2 Comments
This morning at the gym I was watching one of those WalMart commercials for back to school and there was this child on a bus looking back at his mom and she was waving goodbye, and I started weeping. At the gym. This is true, if pathetic. I don't even shop at WalMart. (I'm a Target gal, myself.) How does this shameless elliptical trainer display of emotion relate to cooking? Well, I suppose it doesn't, but we are all adjusting to the "new normal" of mommy working full-time, which means that, like most dual-income families (I imagine) the time we have together during the work week is ... [READ MORE]
On Packing a Lunch
July 12, 2010 by 2 Comments
Lest my more loyal readers fear that I am wholly fixated on Babyman's vegetable consumption, take heart: I am also pretty obsessed with lunchbox packing (and shoes, but that's for another blog I suppose). What is it about lunchboxes? At the preschool level, at least, it means someone else (i.e., Babyman's wonderful teacher) has a window into the weird world of his particular tastes. I mean, with all the friends and activities and distractions at school, it's not exactly an ideal place to test-drive new recipes. But if I loaded his lunchbox with his favorites, it would look something like ... [READ MORE]
What’s Up, Doc?
July 8, 2010 by Leave a Comment
This is the dichotomy of the (now) full-time working mommy: by day, triumph consists of finally landing somewhere that allows some measure of work-life balance and also holds the (possible) promise of affording one's young child a world-class education in a fabulous but expensive city; by night, triumph consists of...carrots. Yes, Babyman consumed a carrot -- two, in fact! -- by which I mean he not only tasted said root veg but actually chewed and swallowed it. Enjoyed it, even, chewing for several minutes with careful contemplation of the crunching sound and the chunky texture. And there ... [READ MORE]
More on the Floor?
April 23, 2010 by Leave a Comment
I went back to work four months ago, a move that coincided with a rather unhappy turn in Babyman’s gastronomic evolution: his transition from happy, hungry baby to picky, mealtime-is-my-battlefield toddler. The child who once gobbled up anything we put in front of him has developed some serious opinions about what he will eat (“Like it!”) and won’t (“No. No. No.”). In fact, as of this writing, avocado is the only vegetable he will eat in its natural form. (N.B.: I mentioned this to a friend at a party recently, and he helpfully reminded me that avocado is, in fact, a fruit. So ... [READ MORE]
CSA Management
April 15, 2010 by Leave a Comment
I started a subscription with a CSA in January when I went back to work--i.e. no more trolling around the Farmer's Market on Tuesdays for this lady. I'd been talking to a lot of people about FFTY before I joined, and the feedback everyone seemed to share is that it was fun until a few weeks in, when they realized they were drowning in bok choi/kale/zucchini. (N.B. There is good news for baby foodies in this: That which you cannot cook within ten days, puree and freeze. Even though Babyman has long since finished with purees on their own, I find that ice cubes of veggie puree are an easy ... [READ MORE]
