The Naptime Chef: Fitting Great Food Into Family Life

Is there anything more enjoyable than sitting around with your women friends, talking about family and trading recipes? Not for me. That’s why I loved our talk today in The Motherhood, when we sat down with Kelsey Banfield, known around Internet parts as The Naptime Chef, who’s got a new cookbook out. Kelsey was joined by Winnie Abramson of Healthy Green Kitchen and Angie McGowan of Eclectic Recipes … and a bunch of moms hungry for a good discussion about cooking foods we love for people we love.

My first dinner after bringing my first child home from the hospital was Chinese takeout. My second was lasagna, made by a friend, and fed to me forkful by forkful while I tried to nurse a newborn. After those early days, I had more time to cook (and eat) … but not much. That’s why the premise of Kelsey’s blog and cookbook is so welcome: we can feed our families well, in the little snippets of time we have.

Kelsey’s cookbook features breakfast, salads, snacks, dinner, dessert and pantry staples – what she refers to as “all the food we consider family food.” In other words, the types of recipes and tips we all turn to for everyday eating. And like cooking for family, it sounds like the creation of the cookbook was a labor of love. Kelsey said, “It was a ton of work, but I loved it. I tested each recipe several times, used a recipe tester and then wrote everything down. It took a lot of work to keep the voice and work consistent throughout. I loved the process!”

When you’re talking with a cookbook author, the conversation necessarily turns to meal planning – and the lack thereof. Kelsey says flying by the seat of your culinary pants can be a great way to generate recipes you never would have thought of otherwise – reassurance for those of us who sometimes look up to see it’s 5:00 and realize we don’t have anything planned, much less prepared. Pinterest is a new favorite tool for both finding and keeping track of recipes we’d love to try.

Several people commented that planning about three meals a week works out well – plan too many, and you can’t eat all the leftovers; plan not enough, and you find yourself at the drive-thru. Winnie has a designated noodle night, Asian night, and Mexican night. She noted, “This helps direct my shopping but there’s still lots of room for creativity.” A perfect metaphor for motherhood: structure and flexibility are both needed for things to work.

Of course, we just had to ask Kelsey what her favorite recipe from her cookbook was. Like all good mothers, she had trouble identifying a favorite among her babies, but allowed that she really likes  asparagus with feta, browned butter asparagus risotto and couscous salads for spring and summer. Artichoke lasagna is a beloved cold weather dish. I’ve never had it or even heard of it, but it sounds so good I think I’d pick up the cookbook for that recipe alone.

It’s possible to cook well, and it’s possible to cook easy foods, and it’s possible to cook healthfully. It’s just difficult to do them all at once. Kelsey, like so many of us, is hooked on fresh summer produce from the garden or the farmer’s market, which helps achieve the nutritious/delicious/efficient hat trick. I had to ask about convenience foods, too. As much as I prefer not to rely on box, bag, or can, sometimes your back’s against the dinnertime wall and you have no choice. Kelsey avoids canned foods as much as possible because of BPA, but finds boxed POMI tomatoes and boxed chicken stock useful, healthy, and tasty. Angie seconded the recommendation for POMI, and also depends on olives, beans and refried beans as staples.

Of course that launched us into a discussion of go-to meals when time’s short. Deborah says her family will eat “anything wrapped in a tortilla.” Cooper makes marinated grilled flank steak, Emily makes risotto with whatever veggies are on hand, and Erin makes ravioli with sauteed zucchini and Parmesan. And because our kids love dessert, even when we don’t love making it, we shared ideas for that, too.  Lots of fresh fruit, of course, but surprising presentations – Emily said her kids have actually learned to make pavlovas, big fancy looking meringues that she swears are easier than pie. And Erin shared her recipe for one-minute chocolate cake!

Kelsey has an automatic popsicle maker that’s a big hit at dessert time at her place. She wondered what appliances the rest of us love and can’t live without.  Angie swears by her food processor, Winnie and Deborah by their blenders. Immersion blenders are popular favorites, as are slow cookers, and everybody loves a Kitchen Aid stand mixer.

I could have sat forever at my (virtual) kitchen table, trading tips, tricks, recipes (and confessions) with everyone, but these talks, like all good things, must end. Maybe in a few months we can have another one after we’ve had a chance to try out Kelsey’s cookbook, so we can share our favorite Naptime Chef recipes. Cookbook club, anyone?

Read the stellar reviews for Kelsey’s cookbook, The Naptime Chef: Fitting Great Food Into Family Life, here.