Startup Mama Anecdote No. 2

Standing on the cold kitchen floor (9:45 p.m. PT)

After working a full day and commuting roundtrip between San Francisco and the Peninsula, the last thing I wanted to do was cook.

As a working mama, I savor each and every moment on the weekends because there’s nothing more precious to me than time. After playing with the toddler, bathing the toddler, searching for treasures deep within the nostrils of the toddler, and reading to the toddler — it was hard to stay motivated to wash vegetables three times before cutting. I’m a bit tired, maybe I’ll cook tomorrow. That’s what I kept thinking in my mind. Yet, I didn’t succumb to doing that — things just changed when I became a mother. It was either fresh food for the kiddo or scrambled eggs with rice and soy sauce — again.

I leisurely walked into the kitchen with my mismatched Target pajamas, grabbing the cutting board and metal strainers. I kept thinking of my warm bed. One more deep breath and a vigorous jumping jack later— I began to cut, wash, stir. Check my iPhone. Then stir again.

The distant whir and buzz from my husband and toddler snoring away strangely blended into the grumpy sounds of the stove’s vent. After closing up the kitchen, I snuggled next to my petit mung bean and sniffed her puffy, marshmallowy cheeks before closing my eyes.

Pictured here is one of the vegetarian dishes I made last night: chopped kale sauteed in clarified desi ghee, embraced with white sesame seeds. (To make the sesame seeds taste fuller and nuttier, roast them in a saucepan until they turn golden yellow/brown in color).