Absolutely Bananas: Seattle mom blog

A choppy kind of date-night

A while ago I succumbed to a whim and ordered Deceptively Delicious… you know, the cookbook by Jessica Seinfeld (Jerry’s wife, in case you didn’t know).

Now before I go any farther, I have to tell you that I ordinarily DO NOT support celebrities in their cockamamie schemes to get EVEN RICHER based on their celebrity status.

I refuse to buy children’s books by Madonna or Jamie Lee Curtis (I DON’T CARE HOW CHARMING THEY ARE!), I will NOT listen to Paris Hilton’s attempt at making music, and I am not even a little bit interested in Sarah Jessica Parker’s new low-price, high-fashion clothing line. Ok, maybe I’m a little interested. But I am definitely NOT interested enough to drive the 200 miles to find a store that carries it… so there.

But this time I completely stomped all over my moral high-ground in my hurry to buy Jessica Seinfeld’s cookbook. I had to buy it… the concept is just so cool. Seriously, hiding fruits and veggies in down-home favorites like macaroni and cheese in order to sneak nutrition into your child’s diet? I love it! And anyway, Jessica is only married to a celebrity. Would it be fair of me to hold that against her?

So anyway, two days ago the cookbook appeared in the mail. I eagerly flipped through the whole thing, front to back, trying to ignore the all-too-frequent references to “Jessica’s husband Jerry” (like we don’t know who THAT is).

I quickly learned that all I need in my quest for familial health and wellness is an abundance of vegetables (well, I’ve got THOSE), a food processor, and a bit o’ time. You prepare and puree massive amounts of veggies, freeze them in 1/2 cup portions, and, voila! they’re all ready for use in cooking throughout the week. Brilliant.

Then I had a Great Idea. Why spend my time pureeing alone when it can be a shared bonding experience of unparalleled proportions with my darling husband?

I had it all worked out in my head… Jay and I would spend a romantic evening joking and laughing, chopping and smashing, cooking and bagging.

Productivity + Bonding = A++ date night!

And so I turned on Harry Connick Jr., slipped into an apron, poured us each a glass of Syrah, and let the chopping begin.

Honestly? Shared pureeing is really not that romantic.

(You’re shocked, aren’t you?)

Jay spent most of the time complaining. (Sorry Jay, but you DID).

We diced and chopped and peeled and grated and steamed and roasted and PUREED until I felt sure that my brain was hidden somewhere in a brightly colored pile of mash.

We poured the mess into bags and labeled and wiped and dumped it all in the freezer.

I still love the concept. And I still have a (fading) dream of feeding my family meal after highly nutritious meal full of delicious and well-disguised vegetables. But I also now have a bit more of a grip on reality. And to be honest, I really can’t imagine that I’ll do this many more times. I KNOW I’ll never convince Jay to do it again. It’s just so much WORK. And the MESS!

And so we started to scheme up ideas for how we could do it BETTER. With less WORK and more… NOT WORKING.

Idea #1: Buy massive jars of baby food and use the contents in place of puree.
Idea #2: Convince major vegetable producer to begin mass-producing frozen purees for sale in national grocery stores.
Idea #3: Give up and go back to a diet of frozen pizza with the occasional baby carrot.

So Idea 3 it is, eh?

Oh, stop judging me. I never pretended to be that mom!

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