The Full Plate Blog: relishing time (before *really* juggling)

Sunday, March 11, 2012

relishing time (before really juggling)

[Addendum: Oh my gosh-- when I wrote this this morning I had no idea the blog was exactly 3 years old today. Holy cow. Time flies! If you are new to the full plate blog, I encourage you to read my first post... It was-- and continues to be-- the roadmap for this blog. Cheers!]

With school ramping up (for both of us!) in two weeks, I am savoring this unstructured time with my boys. I have to admit that it's a little daunting, wondering whether I'll be able to juggle it all? Was happy to step away from my computer/school prep for the day and experience the awe and excitement of NYC through a newly 9-year-old's eyes...

And then, of course, there's the food aspect of going into NYC...the special treats we can't get in the suburbs, like wagashi (Japanese sweets)

and some (decadent) macarons from Bouchon Bakery. It was a perfect day, in every way.

P.S. Can you tell who received a digital camera for his birthday?

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About Founder/Editor Eila DeBard Johnson

This blog has not been updated since 2015, but you are welcome to bookmark the recipes, so you can enjoy "bonus hours" with friends and family.

When I wrote this blog, I described myself as a happy, healthy mom of two young children, who has a knack for being able to whip up family-friendly, healthy meals with whatever I find in our fridge, freezer and pantry. In these years of motherhood, I have come to appreciate that there is so much intertwined in "being healthy" and feeling good as a mother, wife and friend. As a super busy mom who raising young children, juggled part-time work, volunteering, keeping the house in order, writing this blog and the elusive goal of “me” time, I understand the need for recipes to be simple.

While I’d love to claim that I cook everything from scratch, with only local ingredients, I don’t. One of my children is a vegetarian, the other is a self-proclaimed "meatatarian", so mealtimes are a constant juggling act around here. But, I do a swell job of getting healthful meals made quickly…that everyone around here enjoys. And if you open my freezer, chances are you'll find a bevy of homemade meals at the ready.

My love of cooking comes from an entire childhood spent in Southern California, where phenomenal produce was available (and offered up) year round... memories of homemade meals and family dinners throughout my upbringing... my incredible exchange student experience living on a farm in Austria in high school... and years of fine-tuning my cooking skills through numerous classes at The Institute for Culinary Education (then called Peter Kump's), private cooking lessons at night after my day job at an investment bank, and a Professional Certificate in Techniques of Healthy Cooking from The Culinary Institute of America. I have a BA from Colgate University and an MBA from Northwestern.

Before writing this blog, I ran a (wildly popular) Fairfield County, CT-based personal chef service; consulted on private label food products; and worked in new product development and brand management for a really big food company.

As my children got older, and I had the dinner gig down pat, I shifted my focus and expertise. You can find out more about what I am up to here.