Work on the Cake

It’s been a while.  So much so this space seems foreign to me and yet like home at the same time.  Kind of like going back to sleep in your childhood bed after 30 years.  Comforting, yet too small.  Actually the “too small” part doesn’t make sense in this comparison but I’m all out of sorts so inaccurate analogies are to be expected.

In a mere 2 days my husband is off on an expedition of a life time.  He’s climbing Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa to tick off one of his bucket list items as a means of proving that 40 is just a number.  Everyone is curious as to why I wouldn’t join him on this incredible adventure.  The allure of climbing and camping and not showering would wear off for me after about hour 24, not hour 144 as it would be for the other bucket list checker offers.

But that’s o.k.  I wouldn’t make him walk around with me for endless hours exploring Botanical Gardens, gift shops and Farmer’s Markets…or maybe I would…but I may be getting off topic.

I read a statement of perfection recently that stuck with me although the author or even the context escapes me at the moment.  “You are responsible for the cake, everything else is the icing”.  So my husband is going to work on his cake in Tanzania Africa and I’ll work on mine here.  Then we will just slather all the icing on top once we each have a nice substantial base to apply it to.

Speaking of cake...check out the birthday cake I ordered from Cake Rolls in Etobicoke, ON.

“Looks like it’s just gonna be you and me” so says my 4 year old after learning of Daddy’s big trip.  Yep, there will be lots of single mom baths to be had over the next 10 days or so.  Baths where he’s not allowed to play because the earliest I can get him in is 7 minutes before bed…and that’s if all goes to plan without an unanticipated telemarketer call taking up 2 extra minutes for me to hear the plea, then to get my gentle yet firm answer out, “I’m not interested…I don’t have any ducts to clean sir”.

Ok I think I’ve rambled enough for one day…sorry like I said, it’s been a while so I’m getting carried away.  Although I haven’t been blogging very often, I have still been working on the book and I’m happy to say that I’m at the point of the last 10%.  The dreaded last 10%.  This is what separates the finishers from the non-finishers.  I don’t want to be a non-finisher!  This is the % that is the most difficult because it’s the time to organize and finalize.  All the meat, or in keeping with our theme today, the cake, is there, now it just needs the icing…and a few more recipes for those 12 months + Solid Food Professionals.  Let’s do this!

This is a great Potato Pancake recipe to introduce some exciting new textures for babies 12 months +.  It can be cut into little pieces so they can pick up with their fingers and feed themselves.  By adding in some shredded carrot in place of some of the potato and some spinach, you can pack in extra nutrition into this little pancake package.

Ready…Set…Evolve…

Popeye’s Potato Pancakes

Age – 12 months +

Ingredients

• 4 tbsps. Butter

• 3 Potatoes

• ½ Cup Baby Spinach Chopped

• ½ Cup Shredded Carrots

• 1 egg

• 2 tbsps. flour

• Pinch of Salt and Pepper

Baby Steps

1. Rinse, dry and chop baby spinach and set aside.
2. Peel carrots and potatoes and shred using the grater attachment on a food processor or mandolin slicer.
3. Add shredded potatoes, carrots and spinach to a bowl and mix well.
4. Add in egg and mix well.
5. Add in flour and pinch of salt and pepper and mix until flour is combined.
6. Add 2 tbsps. of butter to a large frying pan and melt over medium high heat.
7. Spoon potato mixture into pan and press down to form a pancake shape.  You should be able to fit about 4 pancakes into the pan at a time.
8. Cook until underside is brown, about 3 minutes, flip and repeat.
9. Once cakes are done, remove from pan and place on paper towel lined plate to let cool.
10. Add 2 more tbsps. of butter to pan and repeat process to make 4 more pancakes.
11. To serve, cut into bite sized pieces for baby once cooled down.

Makes – Approx. 8 Pancakes

Note:  These are best to eat the day you make them rather than refrigerating or freezing them and heating them up again.  So plan to have them as a side dish for a family meal and add a bit more salt and pepper to the other family member’s portions and dip in sour cream if you so desire.

I wish my husband Carl all the best on his big Kilimanjaro climb!  Enjoy every second and come home safe and sound.  And please don’t leave your cake out in the (African) rain…I love that song.

Perfect Fit

A shift in season is upon us. 

A shift in kid’s wardrobes is also upon us. 

Year after year, season after season I come to the same shocking discovery.  The clothes our kids were wearing last year have shrunk.  How do they shrink every year?  Do they wane on hiatus over the months of waiting patiently for our kids to take them out to play as a sulking tactic?  Surely there’s no way our little ones could have grown so aggressively that neither pants nor socks cover their ankles, bordering on shins, anymore?  No, I think it’s got to be those mischievous clothes.

Let’s hope the hand-me-downs scored last year which were in line with the season’s temperature requirements, but required too many pant cuff or sleeve roll ups, will fit to perfection now.  Fingers crossed.  Good old hand-me-downs.

We’re lucky to have lots of friends with little boys a little older than our youngest to reap the benefits of their wardrobe.

A cute song called “My Big Sister” comes to mind from The Barenaked Ladies’ 2008 Juno award winning children’s album “Snacktime”.  Although the band name doesn’t scream “kids r us”, they created one of the most clever and fun albums out there for kids (and adults who like to pretend they’re kids).

My Big Sister

By the Barenaked Ladies

I like my big sister

But I don’t want to wear her coat

Maybe black, it may fit perfect

But you and I both know, it’s a girls coat

Now I can handle some hand-me-downs

Shirts and sandals are out of bounds

Balls and games, and such, I don’t mind

But a coat, is over the line

 

O.K. time to cook.  I’m thinking potatoes, both sweet and white and add in some spinach for a Solid Food Apprentice iron boost.  These are perfect pureed for ages 6 months +, or mashed for those Solid Food Intermediates out there who are 8 months + and can handle some more texture.

Ready…Set…Evolve…

Popeye’s Potatoes

 

Age – 6 months +

Ingredients

·         3 white potatoes

·         1 small sweet potato

·         2 cups of baby spinach leaves

·         1 tbsp. of butter

·         ¼ cup of milk

Baby Steps

1.      Peel and chop white and sweet potatoes and put in steamer set over boiling water, cover and cook for 15 minutes.

2.      Meanwhile, clean and pat dry baby spinach well and then add to potatoes.  Continue to steam for 2 more minutes.

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 to puree, or you can mash if baby is 8 months +.

 

5.    Add in butter and milk and puree or mash.

6.      Once pureed or mashed, let cool for a few minutes then transfer to freezing trays in the freezer to be used within 3 months, or to food storage containers in the fridge to use within 48 hours.

Makes – Approx. 11 servings (1 serving = 2 tbsps.)

Note:  These are a great adult side dish as well…just add a bit of salt and pepper for added seasoning if your heart desires.

Now it’s back to assessing the new season’s wardrobe needs or else my little guy will be a “big guy in a little coat.”  I couldn’t resist this Chris Farley of Saturday Night Live fame reference.  Enjoy.

 

 

Cultivate

Endless days and hours of preparation.  The culmination of all the baby steps that led up to this moment.  The exhilaration of reaching the highest summit!!

No, my baby food cook book isn’t done…my garden is planted.

I love gardening almost as much as I love cooking so when the two marry as veggie and herb seeds are sown to birth greens and produce for us to eat?!?  Well let’s just say I get a HUGE kick out of that!

Here comes the baby spinach…

Even when this type of spinach is full grown it’s still called a baby.  Just like some adults.

When we plant our edible garden, we really take some time to think about what veggies and herbs we eat on a regular basis so we can consume as much of what we plant as possible.  I remember the first year I wanted to plant everything even if I wasn’t that keen on eating some of the choices.  3 little pumpkin seeds turned into gargantuan vines that twisted and turned around all the other greens stifling them like an uninvited guest.  Although I loved the look of the pumpkin vines, I realized I would need to have acres of land to put them in so as to not cramp their style.  Live and learn.

The Basil is coming of age well now that she is free from the choking grip of the pumpkin creeper of years past…

If you’re making your own homemade baby food, think of things you can plant that can be used for baby food purees.  Imagine the $ you can save by making your own baby food, and then couple that with growing the ingredients at home?  Crazy savings and crazy inspiration to see those babies grow for baby!

Carrots, spinach, tomatoes, parsnip, potatoes and turnip are all great choices, and a strawberry patch will allow for weeks of strawberry puree to add to baby cereal or mashed fresh banana for babies over 8 months.

If you have older kids, gardening is a fun thing to do to get them and you outdoors.  You can teach them how food grows and explain that with a little culinary help, it can transform into wonderful things like spaghetti sauce and strawberry ice cream…that one may inspire them.

Here’s a fun little video I came across on Design Mom’s website.  They have a video series called “Olive Us” and this one was particularly cute for this time of year.

Olive Us – Episode 1 – Gardening

Now let’s use some of those home grown ingredients to make a wonderful little meal for baby.

We’ll feature some baby spinach in this one.  Spinach is jam packed with nutrients like Folic acid, Vitamins A, C and B6 and iron and calcium, to name a few.  It makes a great addition to baby’s menu.  And we’ll throw in some tomatoes and basil since they’ll be growing in abundance, along with a carrot or two and some onion.

Ready…Set…Evolve…

Cheesy Tomato & Basil Rice with Spinach

Age – 8 months +

Ingredients

·         2 plum tomatoes

·         ¾ cup chopped onion

·         1 tbsp. butter

·         2 Basil Leaves chopped

·         1 cup of Baby Spinach loosely packed

·         ¼ cup of cheddar cheese

·         ¼ cup of milk

·         1 large carrot

·         ¾  cup of rice

Baby Steps

1.      Peel, seed and chop tomatoes using the boiling water method. See instructions from an earlier post “Bye, Bye Spontaneity.”

2.      Clean and dice basil making sure to remove stems.

3.      Clean spinach well and remove stems.

4.      Peel and chop carrots and onion.

5.      Cook rice in rice cooker or however you would typically make your rice.  I add double the amount of water to rice and let it cook for approx. 20 minutes.  So you can use ¾ cups of rice and 1 ½ cups of water.

6.      Meanwhile add carrots to a steamer set over boiling water, cover and steam for 20 minutes or until tender.

7.      While carrots are cooking, melt butter in a sauté pan over medium heat and add onion.  Sauté until soft, approx. 5 minutes then add tomatoes.  Stir frequently for approx. 2 minutes until tomatoes start to soften.

8.      Add basil and spinach to tomatoes and onion and continue to cook until spinach is wilted, approx. 4 minutes.

9.      Add cheese and milk to tomatoes and stir until cheese is melted.  Remove from heat and set aside.

10.  Transfer tomato and cheese mixture to a food processor, blender or bowl to use hand held blender to puree, and add cooked carrots.  Puree to a smooth consistency.

11.  Add tomato sauce to cooked rice and stir together well.  You can add some of the cooking water used to cook the carrots a tbsp. at a time  if you want a thinner consistency.

12.  Let cool for a few minutes then transfer to freezing trays to store in the freezer and use within 3 months, or to a food storage container in the fridge to use within 48 hours.

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

Now go get the kids, put baby in a shady spot and get out in the garden and cultivate some family fun!!!