baby burrito – a tiny announcement

This needed to happen today.

Hi.

I’m looking at the calendar — it says that it’s August 28, and my brain can’t process that. I could ask where the summer went, but it went by while I was working on two books – that’s where. Somewhere in there, I also landed a dream job, and now, like a kid before her first day of school, I’m full of anticipation, sharpened pencils and all. On Monday, I had a pre-work meeting with my boss and we talked about specific books and projects on the docket, and I walked away with a level of excitement somewhere in the eeeeeeee! stratosphere. I can’t wait to get started.

Over the last several weeks, I cooked a lot of different things from blogs, books, and magazines. Something to the tune of a dozen, and not a single one is worth mentioning here. They were solid recipes, but not anything I’d tell you to drop your planned dinner for or anything that I’d repeat – some had good potential but were only so-so in the end; others were lacking balance, like a touch of acid, or a light punch of heat. The last of these recipes, Butter Chicken, from the Sunday New York Times Magazine, was a solid recipe, but it needed (forthcoming) some major tweaking. I was promised a dish “astonishing in its richness and depths of flavor”, but in the end, it tasted a bit bland on my palate – rich in texture, but lacklusters overall – and I wanted more flavor, more intensity, something that would stop me in my tracks.

Stay tuned for that, I’m not done with this one yet. But if you do attempt your hand at it, do make it with ghee instead of butter – and use Heidi Swanson’s excellent primer.

My cooking plans for August, derailed as they were (I get easily distracted!), were dead simple: lobster rolls (check), lots of salads and eggplant caponata (check and check), Swedish cardamom buns (one unsatisfactory attempt to be continued when it’s not 90 degrees out), Dutch baby pancakes (I keep forgetting), and burrito bowls (check, again). On the whole, it’s safe to say that I’ve consumed more burritos (and burrito bowls) this summer alone than collectively in my entire life, and there’s a good reason for it besides the fact that burritos are supremely delicious and gratifying on their own. There was that one day when I had two burritos for lunch and one for dinner – and that was a very, very good day. (Also, if I am forced to count burrito bowls, then the estimates of burrito consumption are far higher…)

Which brings me to this next tiny announcement… I’ve never been good at these sorts of things, and I don’t like to beat around the bush. I’ve been known to bury the lede in the past; I don’t do it intentionally, so let’s just get right to it, shall we?

image

We’re having a tiny human (we won’t know boy or girl until the baby is born), lovingly named, for now, Baby Burrito (see above), who is due to arrive at the end of January (I’m a little past 17 weeks). We’re excited, scared, and a little bit incredulous. At the moment, I look like I ate a few burritos for breakfast.

Neither Andrew nor I have ever been huge baby people. I mean, we’ve always liked babies, but there was always this internal relief that they weren’t ours. And yet, trepidation aside, we’re kind of excited about Baby Burrito – a few weeks ago, during a sonogram, it looked like he (or she) was having a one person dance party, arms and legs moving everywhere. So, we’re excited to meet this human, but mostly we’ve decided that the most important lessons we can impart on this tiny human are this one and this one. And aside from that, we’re looking forward to teaching him/her to dance awkwardly but with great enthusiasm; love Led Zeppelin and Monty Python; become a voracious and discriminating reader; and be an overall happy and healthy little guy or gal.

But overall, it’s all very surreal, doctor visits and all. It doesn’t yet feel like there’s a tiny human in there, but according to sonograms and ultrasounds – there is. And we’re pretty sure he/she is holding a burrito.

 

 

 

53 Comments

  • Robert

    CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!!!!!

    Enjoy the journey…treasure your sleep…and take the epidural…

    I am so, so, so, so happy for you and Andrew!!!

    I am sure that you and Andrew are going to be awesome parental units. Just make sure he/she is aware that no one expects the Spanish Inquisition… :)

  • olga

    Megan, Vidya, Leens, KH, and Robert – thanks, guys! exciting times!!

    Jennifer – first of all, thanks! Secondly – right? Re chicken? Kind of just meh? And the write up promised heaven and earth. Between us, ladies, it’s the second time, his recipe let me down (and second I made), so what gives?

  • Kathryn

    Long time reader/first time commenter here also. Congratulations!! I am 19 weeks now (with my first) and also just look like I overate. Instead of burritos, I use looking like i overindulged in Cinnabons as my point of reference though – ha :)

    These early 2nd tri weeks are a little strange…I just started feeling mine tumbling around and it definitely made it start to feel real. Here’s to a healthy and happy pregnancy for us both!

  • ruhama

    I know what you mean about not being a baby person–I’m totally fine with a toddler and older, but stick an infant in my arms? Ah! Congratulations and may your feelings change once s/he arrives!

    Also looking forward to your tweaked chicken recipe. Yum!

  • Kim Foster

    OLGA! OLGA! OLGA!!!

    I’M SO CRAZY HAPPY FOR YOU BOTH! I’m jumping up and down for you.

    Yay! Baby Burrito. This is going to be life-changing in ways you can’t even imagine, all of them hard, weird, messy and wonderful.

    Congrats to your new growing family. THIS IS HUGE!!!!

    xoxo

  • Molly

    B’sha’ah tovah.
    There are a few moments in my life I will always remember: meeting my husband, my wedding day, and the moment I got my epidural after 48 hours of labor. It would be another 12 before I met my baby, but that moment was huge HUGE in my life.

  • tea_austen

    Congratulations! What wonderful news! I’m so delighted for you!
    And there are plenty of people who do not love babies, but are utterly smitten with THEIR baby.
    Sending all best wishes, and hopes for an ample burrito supply :-)
    xox

  • Beth (OMG! Yummy)

    Well you’ve done it Olga – the three major life changes all at once that my husband and I used to be so astonished that we would inflict on ourselves – moving/remodeling, changing jobs, and having a baby! (Though it seems you did the moving thing a bit before the others if my memory serves me so good for you!)

    But seriously, I couldn’t be happier for you that your stove works, you are starting a new job, and you are growing a baby burrito!

    Mazel Tov three times over!

  • olga

    Kim, Kathryn, Brian, Elissa, Shaina, Mardi, ruhama – thank you :)

    Kim – life-changing, indeed! we’re excited, petrified — the works!

    Molly – 48 hours of labor pre-epidural? You deserve an award, friend!

    Kalyn – that’s what I hear :) and I think we’ll like our own baby burrito!

    Beth – we were just saying this year has been insane: new place, new jobs for me and Andrew, baby… it’s huge huge huge! and all of it rather good!

  • Kasey

    How wonderful!!!! Congratulations!! January baby! Just like mine :) Soo soo happy for you xoxo I’ve never been a baby person either, but then you have your little human, and it changes :)

  • olga

    Kasey – thanks! I’ll have LOTS of questions!! And I think January babies are the coolest! Relieved to hear that even the least baby-prone of us like their own babies enough to keep them around :)

  • olga

    Carol – thanks!! I think that pretty much every Chipotle in the NYC area knows me by name now :) or least as “that lady who sure likes burritos” :) we’re excited, scared, the whole works. Forrest is looking forward to teaching baby burrito how to nap.

  • Deena

    Hooray Olga!!!! Lucky, lucky babe. Also for the butter chicken, try dried fenugreek leaves, stirred in towards the end. That’s what I use in a similar paneer dish, and it definitely ups the game. xo

  • olga

    Deena – thank you!! As for upping the game, fenugreek isn’t even the beginning (but yes, I will be adding that for sure)… it needs more acid, more oomph, more richness of flavor. I was honestly very disappointed because the write up talked such a big talk. I’m loathe to write about dishes that aren’t worth making over and over, so it’s going in the “working” folder for now. We’ll see how much time I’ll have given September is start of new job + 2 books that need editing!

  • Jessica

    Congratulations! When I was pregnant with my second baby, I called her/him the Burrito Baby, as that was all I liked to eat in those first couple of weeks. Whatever it takes to get through that, I say!

  • olga

    Jessica – thank you. I pretty much am happy eating everything I liked eating pre-pregnancy, and I’ve always liked burritos, but pregnancy is making me like things I already like a bit more. So everything that I love tastes even better to me now. Except I’m always hungry!

  • Louise

    Congratulations! Speaking as the proud mama of my own 4 month old, 17 lb burrito, I’d say it’s all absolutely worth it. It still feels a bit unreal to me now that I carried her around for 9 months. It does start to get a bit more real once you can feel them moving, though, which should happen around 20-24 weeks, so not long now!

  • Agatha

    Olga!!! Congratulations! Long time reader – am so happy for you with the new job and the new baby burrito. So exciting for you and all the amazing changes happening in your life. As someone who is trying to make a switch to the food industry myself your accomplishments are amazing and so well deserved. The baby is truly the cherry on top. Wishing you much success in your new job and a healthy and happy pregnancy.

  • anita

    So excited to hear the wonderful news about “Baby Burrito”. I am sending all our love to you and Andrew…

  • Wendy Read

    Mazel Tov ! I am also a quiet reader, usually not a commenter :) I am so happy for you and Andrew. Life is wonderful and this baby will change yours in ways you can only imagine now, all for the good. It is a delicious ride!

  • Michelle

    So happy for you on your lil’ bundle of burrito! I enjoy your site and have used many receipies.

  • olga

    Janae, Alycia,sonya, Louise, Agatha, anita, georgie, wendy, and michelle — thank you all so, so much :) xo

  • Meredith

    Congratulations!! How exciting! Longtime reader/lurker here… I’m 30 weeks with my first and I totally get what you mean about looking like you just overate a few burritos at 17 wks. Hehe. It is pretty nice when you get past 6 months (ish, every body is different!) and look more ‘traditionally’ pregnant. Plus by that point the baby is moving and grooving and the reality that it really is a human being sets in. Ahhh!

    Side note: it might be too early for you to have explored your birthing options but I just want to recommend reading about hypnobirthing (I read the book by Marie Mongan and downloaded the free mp3s by hypnobabies.) Even if you don’t choose hypnobirthing for your birth and you choose an epidural/etc., the relaxation part of the program has been **amazing** for me during my pregnancy. I so wish someone had told me about it earlier in my pregnancy, so that’s why I’m sharing with you ;) The daily meditations may seem hokey at first but since pregnant ladies are going through so many emotions thanks to hormones (and life changing things are happening omg omg), doing the guided relaxation daily has been so helpful for me (not to mention my relationship with my husband/friends/work/etc.). Anyway, just a totally unsolicited tip.

    Congrats again!! xx

  • olga

    Marcella, Rick, Kickpleat, Margarita, Julie – thank you all so, so much!! :)

    Meredith – thank you for your kind words and advice. I’ll check it out, but I must confess, I’m pretty calm about it overall because it is what it is :) and Andrew and I will do our very best. I also love my practice and my dr of 14 yrs, so I will trust her guidance 100%.

  • Emily

    Huge congratulations from another longtime reader/first time commenter. I also had major burrito cravings with my 2nd kid. We called him (though he was an it at the time since we also decided not to find out gender) Burritus – a totally classy and delightful mix of burrito + fetus. I like Baby Burrito better. :) Best wishes for a happy, healthy pregnancy and many, many burritos.

  • Ksenia

    Hello! I have heretofore been a silent (but voracious) reader of your blog, but with this news, I just wanted to say – CONGRATULATIONS!

  • K

    Congratulations! I’ve been reading and lurking and blessing you regularly for introducing me to harissa chicken. But Baby Burrito is the best (we called ours that too! wait until you see your babe all swaddled…best burrito ever!). And when people ask you what you want it to be, meaning a boy or a girl, smile sweetly and say “happy.” Because that’s all any of us really want, isn’t it?

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