Bitter Sweet

What shall we talk about today?  It’s Friday night around 9:30pm., Carter is sleeping soundly, Eric is out with friends, hubby is enjoying his biennial evening out, and I’m peacefully curled up on the couch in my jammies unwinding from week 2 at the new job, in my blissfully silent house…the pug (“Hogie”…yes, pronounced like the sandwich) isn’t even snoring at the moment.  Nice.

Completely off topic, although there really hasn’t been a topic introduced, it boggles my mind how a coffee can taste entirely different from one day to the next even though you got it at the same place, the same time (give or take 4 minutes), ordered the same size, requested the same cocktail of cream and sugar, and even got served by the same pleasant person?  One day it’s pretty good, the next it’s wretched and the next it’s mediocre.  How can that be?

Maybe I have extra sensitive taste buds or something?  It’s interesting how our taste buds and preferences develop at such an early age.  According to an article in Canada.com babies are born with a preference for sweet-tasting foods and an aversion toward bitter-tasting foods. They say that anthropologists believe the dislike for bitter foods came from the theory that it may protect humans from ingesting poisonous plants…or in my case, terrible coffee.

They say that taste preferences are influenced by our genes and by our environment so since we can’t manipulate our genes, luckily we can our environment.  Allowing your 6 month old to experience a variety of fruit and veggie puree tastes can help them build up a preference towards these foods as they get older.  I can certainly attest to this as I made homemade baby food for my youngest son who is now 2, but unfortunately 12 yrs. ago when my oldest was a baby he got the standard jarred which isn’t quite as true to taste  as the real deal.  I now have a toddler whose favourite food is broccoli, and a pre-teen whose favourite food is chicken nuggets.  Sorry Eric…hopefully in time you will break down those taste bud walls to let in the almighty vegetable.

Babies LOVE butternut squash, which makes sense after learning sweet-tasting foods are more their cup of tea in the early stages.  Butternut squash is a perfect first food for baby.  It’s best to choose a squash that is 8-12 in. in length with a base of about 12 cm. in diameter.  If there is a green tinge to the skin, it’s not ripe enough yet.  They are an excellent source of potassium and vitamin A and also contain vitamin C and folic acid.

Ready…Set…Evolve…

As Sweet As Me Butternut Squash Puree

Age – 6 months +

Ingredients

·         1 ripe butternut squash

·         Yes, that’s it

Baby Steps

1.      Peel, seed and chop squash into approx. 1” cubes.  It should make about 6 cups chopped.

2.      Add to steamer set over boiling water, cover and cook for approx. 15 minutes or until squash is very tender.

3.      Remove from heat and let cool for a few minutes.

4.      Transfer to a food processor, blender, or bowl to use hand held blender and add about 3 tbsp. of the cooking water then puree to a smooth consistency.

5.      Transfer puree to freezing trays to be used within 3 months and some to a food storage container that can be kept in the fridge and used within 48 hrs.

Makes approx. 20 Servings (1 serving = 2 tbsp.)

Note - I find of all the vegetables, butternut squash is the biggest pain in the neck to peel.  You can buy fresh, peeled and seeded butternut squash in your grocery store if you want to save some time and aggravation.

You know what…I think I realize what the problem with the inconsistent coffee is…some days it’s stirred and others it’s not leaving all the sweet goodness at the bottom.  And who could get to the bottom of a bitter tasting coffee for the reward of sweetness?  Not me, and not our “aversion to bitterness and poisonous plants” ancestors either, so I think I come by it honestly.