About

Some of the earliest memories from my largely unsupervised childhood involve making omelets with my sister. Mine weren’t classic french omelets, but rather brownish-grey scrambled egg concoctions that contained basically everything that I may have deemed tasty at the age of 6 (soy sauce, ketchup, american cheese, etc). It didn’t take long to notice that my sister’s omelets steadily improved, while mine maintained what I liked to think of as admirable consistency. At 9, my sister was well on her way toward becoming the most talented home cook I know. She just seems to “get it” in a way that I never quite understood. So while I went on to develop what always seemed to me an unusual interest in food (mostly because of things my sister taught me), I often shied away from the kitchen, thinking it was a place for people with better instincts, or in my Mom’s case, a ton more experience.

It wasn’t until I began my second career as a scientist that I became somewhat more comfortable doing things at the edge of my experience and ability. I think new cooks often get frustrated when even simple recipes don’t turn out. In science, this happens all the time. It’s striking how exciting it can be to get something that’s supposed to work, to work! One of the things we’re forced to do in this job (over and over again) is think through why things fail, understand how things are supposed to work, and figure them out. I’m not quite there yet in the kitchen, but I am starting to get it, and it’s as rewarding as those moments at lab, with much less at stake.

Why do I cook?
I started cooking regularly when my daughter was about one and a half years old. She was beginning to be picky about food, clearly tiring of her standard repertoire of strawberries, yogurt and chicken nuggets. I’m a grad student, so I tend to want to get things done quickly when I’m at home. Left to my own devices, I would probably heat up a Trader Joe’s Indian MRE or some frozen pizza and be done with it. But while I’m perfectly comfortable poisoning myself with junk, I’m not OK with poisoning the rest of my family. So the idea was to cook, at least once a week, things that Esme might enjoy eating. Eventually, between the week’s entree(s) and frozen leftovers, she could have tasty, healthy food every day. Erin and I would eat kid food, which was probably better for us than what we had been eating.

Well, as every scientist knows, things don’t always work out quite the way you plan. It turned out that Esme poo-pooed almost all of the child entree dishes that I made (though Erin and I were perfectly happy to eat them). We found, unexpectedly, that she liked a lot of things that kids aren’t supposed to like (like kalamata olives, for instance, and frozen peas). Meanwhile, I found the Sunday shopping and cooking routine to be one of my favorite parts of the week. I really enjoy the whole process, and as a lover of food, I find making things that people (including myself) are just soooo stoked to eat incredibly satisfying.

Before long, I started cooking with less regard to what kids are supposed to like, and instead cooked things that I was always curious to try (like coq au vin—where else are you going to eat a rooster if you don’t buy one on purpose?). Sometimes Esme loves them, but usually it’s Erin and I that eat well. Every week, though, I learn a lot more about cooking and little more about what what my daughter likes and doesn’t like. I’ve learned, for example, that what she really likes is to help me cook. So I’m really looking forward to growing up with her, in this kitchen. The net result of all this has been that I eat healthier and better than I ever have before.

Why do I write?
I’ve always enjoyed writing. It’s much more comfortable to me than trying to socialize in person. But I’ve never given myself much time to do it for fun. In this space, my aim is to talk about things that I learn in the kitchen. Hopefully, someone might find it interesting or useful. Should you read this? Hard to say. I’m not an expert at any of it, but to me that means that if I can cook well and have fun doing it, perhaps other people (who’ve also shied away from the kitchen) can, too.

-Ben
San Francisco, CA
February 2010

If you’d like to get in touch, send an email to ben@youfedababychili.com. If you are human, we look forward to hearing from you!