Your Meal Plan May Vary

Among our friends, we've either come late to the baby-having party or are breaking new ground. So, some of the social rituals associated with having kids in the Bay Area (elsewhere too no doubt) are unfamiliar to us. One of these social rituals is the meal plan - wherein friends sign up to bring take-out meals to new parents. No fewer than three friends swore that meal plans preserved their marriage in the early days of parenthood.

I consider it a validation of our way of life, or maybe just our division of labor, that instead of take out we were treated to a crate of food. Carrots that found their way into mire poix for an oxtail braise, mangos that became sorbet, tomatoes that were blended into gazpacho. The riches of Berkeley Bowl delivered to our door step along with a bassinet - belated thanks to our friends Maya and Leo.


There would be more food gifts. Home made preserves and a tomato relish from my new boss, a pot of meatball and chard soup from our friend Jenny. We shared the soup with her as we watched Iron Chef America - just like old times.