turning up the heat

Whereas the first time around I felt the need to prove that a baby would not hamper our ability to go out to dinner every night, with the recent arrival of our second child I have an equal but opposite impulse to affirm that we are capable of feeding ourselves and our children in the excellent manner to which we have become accustomed, and doing it every single day from our very own kitchen. That recipe folder that has been fattening over the last few years, full of potential meals that remained untested, is finally getting its day. It turns out we can make Mexican food that we crave, like these Smoky Chicken Corn Cakes from Real Simple (we used blue cornmeal and cherry tomatoes to make them prettier), served with a side of Meg's crockpot black beans. Mmmmm. Dare I say, we are giving Mesa Coyoacan, our favorite Mexican fusion in Brooklyn, a run for their money.