Mommy Doesn't Cook

Here it is, my new blog. Long gone are the days of posting about this hip new restuarant or that fabulous bar that just openend.  The money, energy and sleeping time devoted to the culinary explorations of my youth (see: my twenties) are now just too precious to be casually "reserved" for dinners out with friends, long brunches on Sunday mornings, late night food truck runs or happy hour cocktails. Now...I'm a mom.  And I am really a full fledged mom now. Here's the deal--most of your life you are told horror stories about the trials of caring for an infant. There's so much to dread when a baby come into you life-sleepless nights, no time to shower, tension with your partner and, of course, zero time for fun with friends (of fun with anyone for that matter).  What no one tells you is that the infant stages (0-approx 9 months) are actually only a transition into having no life of your own to speak of.  With a baby that little, you can still pack 'em up in a carrier, sit 'em in the booth a restaurant and enjoy a (somewhat) civilized meal at a (somewhat) civilized hour.  Once they hit the toddler stage, the boom is, effectively, lowered.  But its not just your social life that takes a hit with a toddler in tow.  For mommies, autonomy is gone.  The desicions you make affect someone else now.  You have the stink of responsibility clinging to you.  In many ways, it is absolutely terrifying. 

One of the biggest changes is meal time.  As someone who takes food seriously and who has made a little side career of being "in-the-know" about the Los Angeles food scene-I think I dreaded the change in my dining habits the most of the all the things that come along with that little bundle of joy.  Until I had Rider (my son), I spent most nights (and a good deal of expendable income) eating out with my husband or friends, checking out a new bar or wine store, enjoying all that the LA food scene had to offer in neighborhoods from Downtown to the beach. Now, with one little mouth to feed (Rider) and one very big one (my husband, Steve), I find myself struggling with changing my lifestyle and dealing with my fear of failure in the kitchen.  Thats' where 'mommy doesn't cook' orginiated... birthed from my cooking inabilites, my love of all things made for me by a chef and my desire to stay current on my LA food scene knowledge.  Here is where I'll find my way through being a mom who puts food on the table each night, one way or another...