Almost a year ago, I was lying on my couch, half listening to an episode of Real Time with Bill Maher. I started having mild back pain…which quickly progressed into not-so-minor back pain….which eventually prompted me to pull out a stopwatch and wonder if this was it.

Ten hours and two calls to labor & delivery later, we made our way to the hospital in the hope that they’d confirm I was in labor.

Twelve hours, an epidural and too much apple juice after that, we had a baby.

I’ll always remember a few things about that night. It was raining. San Francisco was celebrating the fact that the Giants were headed to the World Series. My post-labor hospital meal (chicken breast, noodles in peanut sauce, salad, a roll and milk) was simultaneously weird and satisfying. And this little person was wide eyed, alert, and cool as a cucumber.

It took Lucy and I a few weeks to get in sync – she was barely 6 pounds and had some trouble breastfeeding. But once she got the idea, she went from this:

to this:

in a relatively short amount of time. Strangers commented on her kissable, squeezable cheeks, and I marveled over each and every fold and roll on those beautiful baby legs. I did that. Me. 

Eventually, we added solids into the mix…

And my girl just kept on growing, changing and loving life.

Parenting while working full time is definitely the hardest thing I’ve ever done. I knew my life would change after I had a child, but one thing I didn’t expect was a radical change in the way I cook, eat and look at food. In the early months with Lucy, eating was both a luxury (due to the fact that she was a terrible napper and hated hanging out in the swing and bouncy seat) and a primal necessity (due to my insatiable breastfeeding hunger). I ate what I could, when I could, and felt as if I’d never get back to my old routine.

Many months later, that routine has not been restored. I still eat what I can, when I can, though Lucy’s on a more regular schedule that allows us to have proper meals as a family (or quiet adult meals after she goes to sleep!). I don’t cook dinner every night; instead, I cook several big meals on Saturday or Sunday, and we reheat them during the week. It’s not the way I love to cook – I  hate leftovers, and reheating meals cooked in advance feels a lot like leftovers – but it works. I don’t want to slave over the stove at the end of a busy workday; I want to spend time with my family. My palate may suffer, but my heart reaps the rewards with moments like this:

I never thought I’d continue looking for chocolate chip cookie recipes after discovering this one. It really is the best, but I’m always open to new interpretations of what might be my favorite sweet treat. (More on that in a minute.)

I never expected to take such a long break from blogging. There were many times where I wondered if I’d ever come back…not because I don’t like it, but because it seemed so daunting to cook interesting meals, photograph them and write about them. But my lovely Lucy is eight months old, and has settled into a nice little routine that allows me to spend a little more time in the kitchen. In other words, the kid finally figured out how to nap, and how to go to bed at a decent hour.

I never knew I could love something so much. It’s almost overwhelming. Lucy is funny, sweet, curious and adorable. She’s loud and she loves food. I wonder who passed along those particular traits.

I never imagined we’d leave the cozy house we found when we moved to San Francisco 4 years ago. But since I last blogged, we found out we needed to move, and landed a wonderful apartment in Cole Valley. I loved our old house, but this location makes me feel like we now truly live in the city.

And to get back to those cookies…I never thought I’d use the word delicious to describe a whole wheat chocolate chip cookie. I eat well 92% of the time, but when it comes to baked goods, I want old fashioned butter, sugar and all-purpose flour. These things taste good and are proven to combine for a pleasant cookie, cake or pie experience. But I’ve heard so many good things about the whole wheat chocolate chip cookie recipe in Good to the Grain. People like my friend Tim and my friend Jessica (both of whom enjoy butter and sugar as much as I do) raved about this cookbook, and I trust their culinary opinions.

The recipe is simple. The cookies are nutty, buttery and chewy. Never say never!

Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Cookies

adapted from Good to the Grain

makes about a dozen cookies – double the recipe if you wish

1.5 c whole wheat flour

3/4 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

3/4 tsp kosher salt

1 stick cold butter, cut into 1/2″ pieces

1/2 c brown sugar

1/2 c white sugar

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

4 oz chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a SilPat.

Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl and whisk to combine. Place the cold butter and both sugars into a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Mix on low speed until the butter and sugars are blended, roughly 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, add the egg and mix on low speed until just combined. Add in the vanilla and mix, then add the flour mixture, keeping it on low speed until barely combined (about 30 seconds). Scrape down the sides of the bowl.

Stir in the chocolate chips and, if necessary, use your hands to gently incorporate the chips and any remaining bits of flour. (The batter will be dense, so this is easy to do.) Use an ice cream scoop or large spoon to mound about 3 tbsp of dough for each cookie, placing the mounds 3 inches apart on your prepared baking sheet. Bake for 16 to 20 minutes, rotating the pan after 8 or 9 minutes. The cookies are done when they are evenly browned and set around the edges but still slightly soft in the middle. Allow cookies to cool on the pan for a minute or two before gently transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Repeat with remaining dough. When completely cool, store cookies in an airtight container.

Especially when I can’t stop staring at this little love muffin.

(She’s almost five months old. Unreal!)

And so, I have a question for fellow bloggers with babies/families: how do you find time to blog? Or heck, even if you’re just really busy (and don’t have a family) how do you find time to blog? I don’t really want to give up on this, but I know I won’t be able to post as frequently as I did in the past. Perhaps it’s a good idea to pick one day a week to post and stick to that, so a) I stay accountable to myself, and b) I carve out some time to do something I love. Give me your thoughts! (and hey, if no one comments on this post maybe that’s a sign no one’s left to read my ramblings….haha.)

Admit it. You want to nibble on those cheeks

I can’t believe it’s been 5 weeks since my last post. In that time, I haven’t done much on the cooking front. Well, I’ve cooked, but most of the meals have been pretty lackluster, and the few times I’ve made something more elaborate I didn’t have time to blog about it. I always wondered how new moms could possibly not have time to eat. After all, you need to eat in order to have energy to care for the baby, right? Right?! Well…I now know that yes, you do need food, but most of your meals will be consumed with one hand as you feed or otherwise occupy your baby.

So, we’re not doing much cooking or baking. How are we spending our days?

We’ve been trying out new toys…like the Bumbo chair. (Despite the serious face, I promise she liked it!)

We’ve been wearing stylish outfits.

We’ve been begging Daddy to stay home from work and keep us company.

And in general, we’re just being adorable.

Caring for Lucy is a more-than-full-time job. At times, I’ve wondered how I can ever return to blogging when I’ll soon be juggling motherhood AND my real job. But my fellow moms tell me it gets easier as you hit your groove and your baby settles into more of a schedule. We’re not there yet, but I know we will be.  Here’s hoping regular posts will resume after the new year!

Hello from the world of motherhood! The past two weeks have been exciting and exhausting. On one hand, I can’t believe I’m someone’s mama. On the other hand, I can’t believe I had a life different from the one I now lead. My focus is no longer on myself; it’s on my daughter and her needs, which is why I don’t have much to report on the food blogging front. Our meals have been simple and quick, and if I’m being honest, my husband has done most of the cooking as I learn the ins and outs of breastfeeding. (Turns out he’s a pretty capable chef, btw. I even sent him on a solo grocery store run and was quite impressed by the quality of the meat and produce he brought home.) Speaking of which – I have NEVER been as hungry as I’ve been in the past two weeks! I thought my pregnancy appetite was voracious, but damn, breastfeeding has blown that away. I need to eat about every two hours, and chug water in between meals. It’s amazing!

So, my food has been kind of boring, but life with Lucy is anything but. It’s true what they say – babies change a little bit EVERY day. I look at her face now, compared to the photos from the first few days of her life, and I see a totally different little person. Her cheeks are starting to fill in (thanks to a fabulous weight gain – she’s now over 7 lbs!) and her personality is starting to emerge. Example: what we’ve dubbed her “judgmental face,” which appears when we don’t seem to be meeting her demands.

(She already knows she’s smarter than us.)

For the past two weeks we were lucky to have Corey at home with us. We got brave and took Lucy on a few brief outings, including her first trip to Golden Gate Park. After a brief struggle with both the carseat and the stroller (two items that will make even the smartest person feel like a moron), we enjoyed a lovely walk in the sun.

We also made our first trip to the pediatrician, who declared that Lucy is absolutely perfect. (We knew that already!) As I mentioned, her weight gain has been phenomenal, which makes me feel even more confident about breastfeeding. I was pretty nervous to take her to the doc, but Lucy seemed completely unperturbed by the experience. Perhaps because it was around 90 degrees in there? She just sat back and enjoyed a little baby sauna action.

Right now we can’t manage more than one brief outing per day – travel is exhausting for everyone. Afternoon naps make the late nights a lot more manageable.

All in all, I’m happy as can be. Today is my first day on my own as Corey heads back to work. It’s a little intimidating to be doing everything on my own, but I know I’ll get the hang of things. Thanks for your kind words of support and for understanding as I take a little more time to focus on my little girl. Normal cooking and baking activities will resume soon enough!