Pete the Pepper?

Guess who?

It’s the ever jovial and timeless Mr. Potato Head!

No, that’s not him…let’s try that again…

There he is!

Carter’s new (old) favourite movie is Toy Story. He has become entranced with each character so his discomposure was no shocker as he caught glimpse of the classic Mr. Potato Head toy my husband brought home for him recently.

He LOVES it!  Just as millions of kids before him. So simple…so easy…so brilliant.  Concoct your very own funny face on a plastic potato…genius!  When Mr. Potato Head first came to be, it didn’t include the plastic potato body.  The idea was to have your parents give you a potato, carrot or other big enough root vegetable to stick the plastic body parts into.  Voila…instant veggie person!

Mr. Potato Head was invented and developed by George Lerner in 1949 and then first manufactured and distributed by Hasbro in 1952.  This was the first toy ever advertised on television and the first ad aimed at children directly.  All previous commercials would speak to adults.  I guess this is who we thank now for instigating a regular riot in the grocery store cereal aisle as little Jimmy MUST HAVE those sugar corn something or others that the big coloured box told him he must have this morning.  

Growing up, Lerner would take potatoes from his mother’s garden and add homemade body parts to them to give to his sister to play with…little did he know this was the birth of a gazillion dollar idea.

Over 1 million kits were sold the first year and then a year later the introduction of his beloved side kick Mrs. Potato Head came to be.

By 1964, government regulations made the plastic potato body we know and love today a mandatory addition to the Mr. Potato head kit.  It was kids playing with appendages that had connectors sharp enough to stab through the flesh of a hard vegetable that caused a stir.  Go figure.

Many fruit and veggie characters followed such as Oscar the Orange, Pete the Pepper, Katie Carrot and Cookie Cucumber but none had the staying power of the almighty Potato.

This is inspiring a baby food recipe in me.  But instead of using the plastic potato I’ll use a real one and I’ll replace the swanky moustache and dumbo ears with carrot and rutabaga and the toothy grin and rubbery arms with broccoli and cauliflower.  Then I’ll mash them all together for the ultimate in flavour, texture and nutrients for baby. 

Ready…Set…Evolve…

Monster Mash

Age – 6 months +

 Ingredients

·         2 large carrots

·         2 medium potatoes

·         1 ¼ cups chopped rutabaga

·         1 cup chopped broccoli

·         1 cup chopped cauliflower

·         1 tbsp. butter

·         ½ cup of milk

Baby Steps

1.      Peel and chop carrots, potatoes and rutabaga and place in steamer set over boiling water.  Cover and steam for 12 minutes.

2.      Add chopped broccoli and cauliflower and continue to steam for another 10 minutes.

3.      Remove from heat and transfer to a food processor, blender or bowl to use hand held blender to puree.

4.      If baby is over 8 months you can mash the veggies instead of pureeing them for some added texture.

5.      Whichever method you’re using, add the butter and milk and mash or puree to desired consistency.  You can also add some of the cooking water a tbsp. at a time to further thin out the mixture if you like.

6.      Let cool for a few minutes then transfer to freezing trays to be used within 3 months, or to a food storage container in the fridge to use within 48 hours.

Makes – 14 Servings (1 serving = 2 tbsps.)

Just like the invention of Mr. Potato Head, this recipe is so simple…so easy…so brilliant (in nutrients for baby that is).