Cooking with Babies

Erika is starting to get that old cooking itch again, now that she is sort of feeling like she has some semblance of control over a few aspects of motherhood. Maybe control is the wrong word. Some aspects of motherhood are becoming routine and predictable, at least for 2 or 3 days in a row or so.

To cook for me, she just pours nibbles into a bowl - perfecto! However, sometimes Martin appreciates something a little more complicated. This is possible, but not easy, while tending to an infant (even as one as sweet and even-tempered as Peter George). The first attempt was lasagna, and with the assistance of a postpartum doula, who prepped the noodles and spinach, the whole thing took about 3 hours (not including cooking time). But that was back when things were a little less predictable and a little more mysterious in the baby department.

Today we attempted Soup. The recipe is from Real Simple, one of the three magazines that Erika finds worthwhile to subscribe to (the others being the New Yorker (of course) and Orion). Nothing complicated, nothing that requires too long of an attention span. It went something like this:

Step One: locate torn-out recipe under piles of to-do lists and unopened mail. Scan to make sure we really do have ALL of the ingredients required. Check on peacefully sleeping baby at the other end of the house.

Step Two: Mmmmm, recipe requires BACON. Always a good thing. Open bacon, put 3/4 of bacon in lasagna pan in 400-degree oven (a trick learned from cousin Becky) and put the rest of it in a pan on top of the stove. Hear baby stirring. Quickly set timer for 18 minutes and retrieve baby from crib. Baby is happy to be held, falls asleep in Erika's arms with 4 minutes to go on the timer. Hmmm. Place baby gently in bouncy chair to avoid possible 3rd-degree burns, remove bacon from oven and stove, drain, and look for next step on the recipe.

Step Three: Recipe requires chopped onions, another cooking task that is best done without a baby in your arms. Pick four onions from bowl and place on cutting board...baby is crying. Determine that baby is hungry. Feed baby, and notice that baby desperately needs a bath.

Step Four: Run bath for baby, bathe and change baby, and wait until Martin comes home to finish prepping soup. Decide to go for a walk instead, in an effort to start shedding extra 20 lbs of baby fat. More calories burned when carrying a 14-lb baby (weight approximate) on a walk! Place alert baby in crib while putting on socks, shoes, and somewhat complicated Moby wrap. Ready to go! Find baby fast asleep in crib, with no desire to be stuffed into complicated Moby wrap for a walk. Give up on exercise AND soup. Decide to dictate blog post to Pawlene instead and nibble on bacon.

At least parenthood is compatible with Erika's attention deficit disorder.