Cooking For A New Family

Ben's sister gave birth to a lovely little Spanish-American monkey of a boy two days ago, at least as far as we could tell from the blissed-out sound of her voice and the blurry images of an adorable wee baby face on the webcam. We're counting the days (hours! minutes!) until we get to snuggle little Francisco (nickname: Kiko! Are you dying from the cuteness? I think I might be already dead.) and in the meantime I'm trying to come up with ways to be useful.

What I mean is, what shall we bring them to eat?

So far, I've decided on a pot of jam, a jar of homemade zucchini pickles, and a batch of meat ragu for their freezer. But then I started to get sidetracked (I've never made a tuna fish casserole! It scares me. And how well does bean soup freeze? And while we're asking questions, do chocolate chip cookies aide breastfeeding?) so I thought I'd put the question to you all.

Tell me, dear readers who were once the wide-eyed and sleepy  parents of a newborn: what shall we bring this new family to keep them (mostly) out of the kitchen and fed while they spend these first weeks doing nothing else but changing diapers and contemplating the beauty of their little boy?

This proud almost-aunt thanks you.

*   *   *

Oh right, I knew there was something I was forgetting, the redesign! Yes, I finally got around to cleaning things up around here. I hope you like it. I'm still settling in, feeling my way around. But I think it's a good change and I hope you agree.

Comments

[Ruby Binnun]

Congratulations to you,the almost-aunt and to Ben from Jerusalem! The best food for the new family is your love, definitely! So glad to finally discover your blog.

[Alison]

How about some zucchini bread? If you have a lot of cucumbers and zucchini on hand, check out our garden party for tips on turning them into meals. of the recipes we have, I think zucchini bread would be the most transportable.
http://blogs1.marthastewart.com/dinnertonight/2008/07/zukes-and-cukes.html

[amy]

I have not eaten them myself, but I hear that these cookies: http://www.recipezaar.com/192346 are very good, and do in fact increase milk supply. oatmeal and brewers yeast are huge milk-helpers.

[Luisa]

Thank you, thank you, thank you everyone! You guys made fantastic suggestions - I kind of want to cook everything! We're off to Providence with food in tow in just a few minutes.

[Liana]

Dark greens, yes! I would've loved it if someone had brought over a huge container of braised broccoli rabe with lots of garlic. And cookies, of course.

The main thing, though, is babysitting. If possible, take the initiative yourself and don't wait to be asked. It's so nice when someone says that they'd love to babysit, say, tomorrow afternoon for a couple hours; there's no pressure to make a big deal of the event. And, if you can, offer to take the kid off-site sometimes so Mom can take a long shower in peace, or just be alone in her own place for a little while—or so Mom and Dad can watch a movie on TV and make a nice supper for themselves. Simple things like that are what many people miss as parents, not the big "date nights" or whatever.

[Paula]

I took big batches of spaghetti and chicken and dumplings, and a casserole of crab-stuffed chicken breasts, and supplemented with loaves of home-made bread and some pies - made my son-in-law some Honduran-style black beans from his mom's recipe. Anything helps when they first get home with the new one - I also volunteered to do the weekly farmer's market trip, for fresh veggies, which was most appreciated of all...

[molly]

My favorite thing anyone brought me when I was first home with my son was some very rich, classic homemade mac-n-cheese a friend made for me. It was made even more sublime with a side of scrambled eggs. I was nursing and h.u.n.g.r.y.

I also like to bring people spinach lasagna.

Kiko. I, too, am dying being exposed to such cuteness. Congrats!

[Abbey Goes Design Scouting]

love your blog! Love that name! cuteness all around!

[Janna from Honeyed Hashette]

Congrats on the new nephew!
Here are some things to consider when giving food to the family with a breast feeding baby.
Spicy foods and foods with high acids (like tomatoes) can upset a new baby's tummy. Food with high gas like brocolli and beans can also upset new tummies. It's better to go with foods that are more basic with simple flavors like butter, salt and simple black pepper.

[Dalia]

Congratulations!

I'm a new mama myself, and while I was still pregnant I froze portion-sized batches of soups/stews like mushroom-barley, lentil, and lamb stew. Frozen breads were nice to heat up alongside. (No potatoes - I found out that they don't defrost so well!) They came in really handy, and were hearty and healthy enough to keep me conscious and nursing.

Long-time reader, first-time commenter. Thanks for the lovely site!

[Marie]

Sheppard's pie is another good meal that can be frozen. I've also given people grilled chicken with couscous and a bag of salad with some dressing (although hard to eat one handed while breast feeding, but a good change of pace from casseroles). Also snacks, like tortilla chips and 5 layer dip are always appreciated, because you don't always have time to sit for a meal.

Always good to include are oatmeal raisin chocolate chip cookies. (use the recipe on the inside of the Quaker oats top + add a package of chocolate chips - they were THE BEST middle of the night breastfeeding snack after my daughter was born)

My brother and sister-in-law gave us a great gift! Meals ready to go, or something like that, who pick up food at a local restaurant and deliver it (ones that usually don't do delivery). They live a few thousand miles from us, but had an amazing Greek feast delivered to our door the night after we got home from the hospital. It lasted for days!