the hungry bambino

You hear it all of the time: yes, life changes drastically when you have a child, but no one talks about how much it changes for the food-obsessed.

I have been really struggling to keep my cooking-dinner-every-night mode going since our 14-month-old, Rhys, was born. At first, it wasn't too difficult: he nursed; we ate dinner as he slept; sleep-deprived coma would ensue; and we'd start all over again the next day.

Now that he's eating everything we're eating (diced or cut into pieces the size of a pencil eraser, of course!), getting dinner on the table when he's hungry (6 p.m.) versus the old days of eating dinner at 8 p.m., has been difficult to say the least.

Last year I had the summer off for maternity leave, and since Rhys would wake up at o-dark-30 even on Saturdays (didn't he know he could sleep in?), we would take advantage of it and hit the Dane County Farmers' Market with the other early birds. I would have über-fresh veggies to cook with all week and since I wasn't working, nap times for Rhys became cook times for me. It was a great set up ... that is until I went back to work. Work really gets in the way of living sometimes, doesn’t it?

So, here I am, trying to come up with food that inspires me, while providing nourishment for our little Pickle. This new lifestyle has challenged me to come up with new recipes and new approaches to cooking and now I want to share my hard-earned wisdom with other foodie parents who want to keep eating well once their hungry bambino has arrived.

Enjoy!