My best friend had a baby on Monday. I remember that first day, when dinner for mom and dad is brought in by a nurse with latex gloves hanging from her pocket. She puts down the tray and leaves. You peek underneath the domed lid to find a small, round scoop of mashed potatoes. Maybe a bruised apple. Maybe a school-lunch-sized carton of milk.
Dreadful.
Testing out a new rice-maker (more on that next week), I threw together a risotto with dried Chanterelle mushrooms, petit pois peas, some shaved fresh corn and basil. Loads of Parmesan. Only a whisper of sea salt.
The meal didn't feel complete without something sweet and a flame going on the stove (this rice-maker thing is too easy), so I fired up a small sauce pan and added quartered apricots from the farmers' market, some butter, a lump of brown sugar, dash of vanilla and some ground cardamom.
Having been the woman in the hospital bed, I can tell you what a bonus it is (on top of the incredible bonus sleeping at your side or in the Lucite condo next to your bed) to have a homemade meal brought to you. Those of you who read this site are people who make food partly because you know the joy it brings both you, in cooking it, and those who you feed, in eating it. So I urge you, next time you know someone who just had a baby, take an hour and whip them up something simple, fresh, healthy, and easy on the tummy.
Congratulations, J&J. Welcome to the world, A!
Copyright © 2008 Apartment Therapy
Lovely.
view JudiAU's profile
Also appreciated by new parents: homemade foods that you can freeze. Because they are inundated with food when baby is first home, but after a month or two no one is bringing homemade food and the sleep deprivation is really doing a number. They will love you for the homemade meals awaiting them in the freezer.
view Daisy11's profile
You get extra rewarded for your efforts because it is such a memorable time in the new parents life, your meal becomes part of their unforgettable experience.
view Kate (NC)'s profile
I always cook for my new-parent friends. When I'm preparing the meal, I always get an intense feeling of joy at the fact that I'm helping nourish a whole new family.
I like to make things that can either be eaten straight away or thrown in the freezer until needed, one-dish meals that require little work to heat up. Casseroles, enchiladas, hearty soups and stews -- these all seem to go over well.
view TammyE's profile
That is one lucky family! I remember begging for some takeout sushi since I had been deprived for so long.
view izzy's mama's profile
I ate the best black bean burrito of my life the day after my elder daughter was born -- my husband brought it from Anna's Taqueria, dripping with salsa and guacamole, and I devoured it while looking at the miracle in the plastic bin beside me. Real food is so good at those moments.
view kyoko71's profile
Awww, how sweet! One of my good friends had a baby last year, and as part of her shower gift I gave her a menu with ten freezable meals on it and told her to choose seven. New moms can always use a little help!
view jlyn13's profile
Thanks for this post! I am planning to bring a meal on Monday to my friends who had a baby on July 4, and have been plotting what to bring. i was thinking of potato salad (great recipe in Veg Cooking for Everyone) but wanted it to feel extra special. I'm also trying to figure out how to present it so I'm not just handing over some old Tupperware that I had kicking around... your dish towels/burp cloths are a nice touch. Hm.
view Eliza's profile