Gentle Reminders

Do you think there will ever be a time when my calendar notes things like “Morning bike ride…Harvest Russet and Yukon Gold potatoes…Harvest apples and feed extras to the chickens and donkeys…Today Show appearance”?  This is typically what you will find on Martha Stewart’s  calendar.  Ah, Martha.  That woman knows a little bit, if not a lot, about anything and everything.  Or so it seems to the envious…I included.

Although I make mental notes to harvest my vegetables, it would be a waste of ink to actually scribe it down on a calendar.  By the time I would write it down and follow through, my bounty would have already been harvested by the wild life.

Ah, well…we all need something to aspire to.  Mine is to have a real life calendar like Martha’s.  Except maybe the parts about scrubbing porch floors, walls and ceilings.  That stuff can sort itself out.

Fall is in the air...

...and with it apples, carrots, tomatoes and pumpkins are ready for the taking.  I wouldn’t be so bold as to create a baby food puree with a combo of all of these, but I think a pairing of apples and carrots would do the trick.

I had a whole grain carrot muffin yesterday and it reminded me of how ridiculous I thought it was that carrots could be used as an ingredient in cake when I was a kid.  Why would anyone want carrots in a baked good?  Of course I now know it’s delicious, but if you tell a kid you are making carrot or zucchini cake, you might as well tell them you are whipping up some red pepper and beet cookies while you’re at it.

Luckily I’ve matured and know that the sweetness of a carrot is a great addition to confections.  Pair them with apples, and you’ll also have a puree that baby will love.

Ready…Set…Evolve…

Apple Carrot Puree

Age – 6 months +

Ingredients

• 3 small Apples (about 2 cups sliced)
• 1 cup of chopped carrots
• Yes, that’s it

Baby Steps

1. Peel and chop carrots and peel, core and slice apples.
2. Place chopped carrots in steamer set over boiling water and cook for 15 minutes.
3. Add in apple slices and continue to steam for 5 more minutes.
4. Remove from heat and let stand for a few minutes.
5. Transfer to a bowl to use hand held blender to puree.  Add in 4 tbsps. of the cooking water and puree to a smooth consistency.
6. Transfer puree to a container to go in the fridge to use within 48 hours, or to freezer trays to keep in the freezer to use within 3 months.

Makes - Approx. – 5 Servings (1 serving = 2tbsps)

 

Note:  Feel free to double, or even triple this recipe to freeze more.  I only used 3 small apples because that’s all I had handy today.  Use a sweet variety of apple, like Gala, rather than a tart variety like Granny Smith so the puree isn’t too tart for baby.

I shall sign off now…my calendar is sending me a gentle reminder to “order pine trees for planting before the ground freezes.”