Pieces of Me



 

Where was the serenity of my tulips this past Thursday at 2:32pm. when my wisdom tooth was being yanked out?  I hadn’t so much as ever even had a cavity filled in my life when this was thrown at me.  Since it was only one that needed excavating and the word around town was, “it’s quick and easy these days”, I thought I could just go for the freezing and be done with it.

I survived the freezing with relative ease, “there you go, that’s the worst part over” said Dr. Nightingale.  Oh, this is not so bad…easy street…I thought.  They let me linger with the freezing for a few minutes for it to take effect.  As soon as a fork could be stuck into my right cheek with me none the wiser we were ready.  “Now you’re going to feel a tremendous amount of pressure” said Dr. Death as his assistant kept me comfortable by stroking my head and telling me to breath.  I didn’t realize I needed to fire up the old VCR before this appointment to watch “So You’re Having a Baby” to brush up on my labour survival skills.  A tremendous amount of pressure there was, but he neglected to mention the tremendous amount of aggression that goes along with removing someone’s tooth with a tool, brute force and your own two hands.  I’d sooner have someone tie one end of a string around my tooth and the other on a door knob and slam that baby shut!

Don’t worry…I survived.  There was just the swelling to deal with and relearning how to chew and keep food away from the canyon in the back of my mouth.  Tricky.  At least I’m well versed at making food for people who gum their food into oblivion or I would have felt pretty deprived these past couple of days…maybe I’ll eat today’s baby food recipe for dinner tonight.  Mmmm.

It was just a little wisdom tooth.  I’m now a ¼ less wise, so says my husband.  Lucky for him. 

It’s just another little piece of me gone like my favourite mug I had to throw out last week.  I was in ceramic chip denial for a few weeks until I had no choice but to give in.  So sad.

In other news…

 

This maple syrup has been in my fridge for a while.  When my husband asked me how long today, I thought for moment and remembered picking it up at the St. Lawrence Market in Toronto while away with my friend for her birthday…maybe last year.  Then I thought about what we did for my friend’s birthday last year, and it wasn’t this.  REALLY…it was 2 years ago and I still have the maple syrup in my fridge??  How do 2 years pass by so fast?  Clearly we don’t eat enough pancakes.

Ready…Set…Evolve…

 

Cheesy Veggie Risotto

Age – 8 months +

Ingredients

·         1 cup broccoli florets chopped

·         1 cup of carrots chopped

·         ½ cup of frozen peas

·         ½ cup of rice

Cheese Sauce

·         1 ½ tbsps. butter

·         1 ½ tbsps. flour

·         1 ½ cups of milk

·         ¾ cup of grated cheddar cheese

Baby Steps

1.      Cook rice according to package directions leaving out the salt and set aside.

2.      Peel and chop carrots into small pieces and place in steamer set over boiling water.  Cover and cook for 10 mins.

3.      Clean and chop broccoli and then add to carrots once the first 10 mins of cooking is complete and continue to cook for another 8 mins.

4.      Add peas to steamer and cook for 5 more mins.

5.      To make cheese sauce, melt butter in large sauce pan over medium heat.

6.      Add flour and stir with a spatula until it makes a smooth paste, approx. 1 min.

7.      Add milk to paste, increase heat to medium/high and stir and cook until lumps are gone and milk begins to thicken, approx. 3 mins.

8.      Add grated cheese and continue to stir until melted and well combined.

9.      Remove steamed veggies from pot and transfer to a bowl to use hand held blender to pulse a few times breaking veggies into tiny pieces.

10.  Add rice to veggies and pour in cheese sauce and stir together until well combined.

11.  Let cool for a few minutes then transfer some into freezing trays to be stored in the freezer for up to 3 months, and some to a food storage container in the fridge to use within 48 hours.

Makes – Approx. 12 servings

I wonder if the pain of a tooth forcing itself in is as bad as someone forcing one out?  Just another reason why I wish babies could talk.

March Forward

I must say it’s challenging to stay on the ball and inspired on my journey of writing a baby food cook book in my spare time.  I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, “I don’t have any spare time”.  Yet somehow each week my second thoughts and negative energy are mercilessly defeated in the nick of time by a feeling of “you can/must do this”.  Sometimes it’s as simple as an episode of Survivor or an encouraging word from friends and family that set me back on track.  If they can sit on an island trying to get along with perfect strangers while being eaten alive by bugs, eating nothing but rice and the occasional reward feast, I think I can strive to write my book.  And the Survivor contestants have it rough too.

Last night my “nick of time” revelation came to me in the form of a cough drop.  A little unconventional perhaps, but soothing just the same.  I was coughing up a storm at around midnight while desperately trying to get to sleep.  I stumbled downstairs and dug through my purse in hopes of scoring a throat lozenge in the hidden depths of the pouch.  I found 2!  The overhead stove light in the kitchen grazed the wrapper just enough to reveal some cryptic messaging.  These words went above and beyond the typical branding of “Halls” one might expect…

 

There were inspirational messages all over these babies…”You’re tougher than you think”…yes, I am! “Bet on yourself”…you know it! “March Forward”…I will!  So I popped the drop and fell asleep with thoughts of taking on the world in the morning.  Whatever keeps me going I guess. 

Ready…Set…Evolve…

ABC’s and 1,2, Cheese (and Tomato)Sauce

Age – 8 months +

Ingredients

·         1 cup alphabet pasta

·         3 tomatoes

·         ½ tsp. dried basil, or 3 fresh basil leaves chopped

·         ½ cup of chopped onion

·         ¼ cup of homemade or low sodium store bought chicken broth

·         1 ½ tbsps. of butter

·         1 tbsp. flour

·         1 ½ cups of milk

·         ¾ cup of shredded cheddar cheese

Baby Steps

1.      Chop onion and set aside.

2.      Peel, seed and chop tomatoes using the boiling water method.

3.      Add ½ tbsp. of butter to medium sized pan over medium/high heat and allow to melt.  Add onions and cook until translucent, approx. 5 minutes.

4.      Reduce heat to medium and add tomatoes and basil to onions and continue to cook for a couple of minutes until tender.

5.      Add chicken broth to tomato mixture, bring to a boil then reduce heat, cover and simmer over low heat.

6.      Boil water to cook pasta according to package directions but leave out the salt.  Cook, drain and set aside in large bowl.

7.      To make cheese sauce, melt 1 tbsp. of butter in medium sized pan over medium heat.

8.      Add flour to butter and stir with spatula until it forms a smooth paste.

9.      Add in milk, stir and raise the heat to medium high.  Continue to stir and cook until it has a thicker, smooth texture and is lump free, approx. 5 minutes.

10.  Add in cheddar cheese and stir until melted through.

11.  Remove tomato mixture from heat and transfer to a bowl and puree with hand held blender.

12.  Add tomato sauce to cheese sauce and combine well.

13.  Remove from heat and add tomato cheese sauce to pasta in bowl and stir together well.

14.  Let cool then transfer to freezing trays in the freezer to be used within 3 months and some to a food storage container in the fridge to be used within 48 hours.

Makes – Approx. 16 servings (1 serving = 2 tbsps.)

 Feeling a little down on yourself?  Mentholyptus to the rescue!

I Would Like...

With kids in the house there is no shortage of laughs.  Add in a 10 year age discrepancy and the diversity of humour goes through the roof.  One is funny because of the way they weave their words and thoughts together, and the other is funny because of the way they needle their prey with incessant mockery.  Considering both are boys it’s tough to guess which characterization is the 2 year old and which is the 12 year old.

2 year old Carter is currently on an “I NEED” kick.  Whenever he wants something he says, “I NEED” such and such.  One morning this week he bellowed, “I need a banana!”  My husband responded, “you don’t NEED anything.  If you would like a banana then say, I would like a banana please.”  “Now Carter, what would you like?”  Carter thoughtfully replied, “a yogurt”.  I almost choked on my granola trying to stifle my laugh.

On the other side of the spectrum is 12 year old Eric.  He’s more into the, “hey uncle Ryan I like your sweater…my mom has one just like it.”  And he’s in stitches.  And somehow so are we all.

Never a dull moment with these two…

And just as I started to mourn at the thought of Eric being too old to want to make me a Mother’s Day gift, in swoops the 2 year old with a handmade Mother’s Day card and potted plant courtesy of the daycare craft brigade.

Happy Mother’s Day to me. J  And to you of course!

Let’s see if all those hubbies out there want to whip up a simple Broccoli and Cauliflower puree with a creamy cheese sauce for baby today to give mom a break on her special day!

Ready…Set…Evolve…

Cauli-Broc ‘n Cheese

Age – 6 months +

Ingredients

·         4 cups of broccoli chopped

·         4 cups of cauliflower chopped

Cheese Sauce Ingredients

·         1 tbsp. of butter

·         ¾ cup of cheddar cheese

·         1 tbsp. Flour

·         1 ½ cups milk

Baby Steps

1.      Clean and chop broccoli and cauliflower and place in steamer set over boiling water.  Cover and cook for 10 minutes.

2.      To make the sauce melt butter in a pan over medium heat.

3.      Add flour and stir until it makes a smooth paste.  Approx. 1 minute.

4.      Add milk and stir until lumps are gone and it starts to thicken.

5.      Add cheese and stir until it reaches a smooth consistency.  You can add a bit more milk at the end if you want a less thick sauce.

6.      Transfer steamed broccoli and cauliflower into a blender, food processor or bowl to use hand held blender to puree.  Add a couple of tbsps. of the cooking water to the veggies and puree to a smooth consistency.

7.      Add cheese sauce to veggies and stir until mixed in well.

8.      Let cool and then add to freezing trays to use within 3 months or to a food storage container in the fridge to use within 48 hours.

Makes – 12 servings (1 serving = 2 tbsps.)

Note – For older babies, 8 months +, you can just slightly puree the cooked veggies or even use a knife and fork to cut them into tiny pieces allowing for a chunkier texture.

Lucky for me this hobby/project/destiny of writing a baby food cook book in my spare (ha!) time allows me to reflect on all those little things my boys do to make me smile.  And there’s plenty.