Kindergarten Baby

We moved into our house 5 years ago after one of the biggest snowstorms of the century and surveyed the snow covered backyard.  This stirred dreams of building as gargantuan a garden that the space could stand come spring.

We built that garden, and come fall, it was time for my tulip bulb planting extravaganza.  I must have planted over 50 bulbs back there and each and every one had fallen victim to my nemesis…SQUIRRELS!  To them, each bulb planted was a personal invitation to dinner…or play…or whatever they do with the things after they dig them up.  Needless to say I had no tulips in my garden the next spring, but there were plenty on the other side of the fence where the squirrels had decided was a much better place for the dancing beauties.

They are farther away than I would like, but they are still beautiful.

 

Time seems to be marching on at an uncontrollable pace.  How can my oldest son be starting high school and my youngest…the baby…starting kindergarten in September??  Soon they’ll be out of the house and on the other side of the fence like my tulips...or in their own houses with their own families I guess.  Which would be better than the other side of the fence because all that is there are train tracks, squirrels and tulips.

Carter, my little one, had his Kindergarten orientation this week, which I suppose is arousing all these clingy feelings in me.  He watched intently as I held out my hand to introduce myself to the principal.  He waited for our exchange to end, and then offered his own hand out to her along with a mighty, “Hi, I’m Carter Hughes”.  Where did this baby/man come from?  Wasn’t it just an hour ago I gave birth and brought him home from the hospital along with the terror of what to do with him next?  I guess we figured it out.  The principal certainly thought so.

This pic is from orientation night.  Everyone got a kids fun package to take home, and inside, along with the array of colouring activities, books and 1 lollypop, were a pair of sunglasses along with a business card from the local family optometrist.  I guess nothing says family optical target market perfection quite like the gathering of pre-schoolers at the annual kindergarten orientation trade show. Huh.

In honour of our growing kids, I’m featuring a fun and easy recipe for those Solid Food Professionals out there of 12 months +.  At 12 months, baby is ready to enjoy a wide array of foods and is eager to experience new tastes and textures closer to what their family is regularly eating.  These chicken quesadillas are a great way to introduce a new flavour into baby’s repertoire and is the perfect finger food for them to enjoy with you at the table.  It also packs a great nutritional punch with the assortment of veggies, protein and dairy incorporated.

Ready…Set…Evolve…

Arriba, Arriba, Quesadilla!

 

Age – 12 Months +

Ingredients

·         1 tbsp. plus ½ tsp. of butter

·         1 small boneless skinless chicken breast

·         1 tomato

·         ¼ cup of diced onion

·         ¼ cup of diced green pepper

·         ¼ cup of corn niblets from cooked corn on the cob

·         Pinch of cumin and coriander spice

·         2 soft 12” tortillas

·         ¼ cup of grated cheddar cheese

Baby Steps

1.      Peel, seed and dice tomato using the boiling water method.  For details check out a previous blog, “Bye,Bye, Spontaneity”.

2.      Dice onion and green pepper and set aside.

3.      Boil corn on the cob in pot with lid until cooked through, approx. 12 minutes.  Set aside.

4.      Melt 1 tbsp. of butter in large sauté pan over medium/high heat.

5.      Chop chicken into small pieces and add to melted butter in pan.  Cook until brown all over, approx. 6 minutes.

6.      Remove chicken from pan and set aside.  Add diced onion and green pepper to pan and reduce heat to medium.  Sauté until tender, approx. 3 minutes.

7.      Slice corn off of cooked cob and add ¼ cup of the niblets to the sauté pan along with the veggies.  Continue to cook for 1 minute.  Save the rest of the corn from the cob for finger food for baby to have later that day if you want…or treat yourself.

8.      Add diced tomato to veggies in pan and continue to cook for another 2 minutes.

9.      Add chicken back into the pan with the veggies along with a pinch of coriander and cumin spice.  Stir together well then turn heat down to low.

10.  In another pan large enough to fit the 12” tortilla, melt ½ tsp. of butter over medium/high heat, then add 1 tortilla to pan and cook for approx. 1 minute on each side.  Remove and repeat with 2^nd tortilla.

11.  Keep 1 tortilla in pan and reduce heat to medium.  Add all of the chicken and veggie mix onto tortilla plus the grated cheddar.  Place 2^nd tortilla on top and continue to cook approx. 1 minute until cheese is melting and tortilla is browned.

12.  Flip quesadilla over to cook other side for 1 minute more until browned.

13.  Remove from pan and let cool.

14.  Use a pizza cutter to cut some into finger food sized pieces for baby, and triangles to share with other family members.

15.  Serve immediately.

Makes – 1 serving for baby plus 7 wedges for other family members.

Note:  This dish isn’t just for baby, it makes a great family meal.  Double the recipe and add a bit of salt and pepper and chilli powder to the chicken veggie mixture used in the rest of the family’s portions to kick up the flavour a bit.  Serve with salsa and sour cream for dipping and a side salad.  Olé!  Dinner is served!  Maracas are optional but always encouraged.

I know our kids must grow and we must grow along with them.  I just wish it didn’t happen so fast.  Eventually they may be farther away from home than I would like, but they will still be beautiful.

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!

Trick or Apple?

We made it through another Halloween with the kids keeping emotions of elation and terror in balance.

The Trick-or-Treat tradition of politely asking (begging) door to door for candy has been customary since at least the early 1950’s in North America, so says Wikipedia.  In Scotland, “Guising” or knocking on doors for food on Halloween dates back to 1895.  There, the little well intentioned charlatans would carry lanterns made of hollowed out turnips and be compensated for their efforts at each door with cakes, apples, nuts and money.  Imagine what a kid would think of receiving cake, apples or nuts in place of CANDY today?  It may be something reminiscent of the thanks Mr. Cunningham of T.V.’s “Happy Days” received after giving out an apple at his door on Halloween.  “You broke my cookie you big ox!”

No matter how you candy coat it, even if it’s with a candy coating, an apple is an apple on Halloween and it just doesn’t cut it with our kid’s one track candy minds at this momentous time of year.

It’s a good thing they can’t eat Halloween candy for dinner or my meal preparation efforts would be threatened at this time of year along with my dignity after dressing up for the office Halloween party.

Today I’m making Baby’s First Spaghetti!  It’s exciting when you can start making baby food that somewhat resembles the adult versions in taste and texture.  Baby is growing up!  Try this one at 8 months as there is a bit of added texture with the ground beef and spaghetti that may be a bit too much for a smaller baby to handle.

Ready…Set…Evolve…

Baby’s First Spaghetti & Meat Sauce

Age – 8 months +

 

Ingredients

·         ½ lb. of lean ground beef

·         5 plum tomatoes

·         1 small zucchini chopped

·         ½ cup of chopped onion

·         1 clove of garlic minced

·         ½ cup chopped green pepper

·         ½ tsp. dried basil

·         ½ cup of low sodium chicken, beef or veggie broth

·         ½ cup of low sodium tomato sauce

·         225g. of spaghetti pasta (about ¼ of an average 900g. package)

Baby Steps

1.      Peel and seed tomatoes using the boiling water method, chop and set aside.

2.      Brown ground beef in large sauté pan over medium/high heat until cooked, approx. 10 minutes.  Crumble and set aside in bowl.

3.      While beef is cooking chop onion, zucchini, garlic and green pepper.

4.      Add butter to empty sauté pan used to cook beef and allow to melt, then add onions, garlic, green pepper and zucchini to pan.

5.      Cook veggies over medium heat until they begin to soften, approx. 6 minutes.

6.      Add tomatoes and basil, stir and continue to cook for another 5 minutes.

7.      Add broth and tomato sauce, stir well and bring to a boil over high heat, then turn down heat to a simmer, cover and cook for ½ hour stirring occasionally.

8.      While sauce is simmering, boil water in pot to cook pasta according to package directions but leave out the salt.

9.      Once sauce is done simmering transfer to a blender, food processor or deep bowl to use hand held blender to puree to a smooth sauce.

10.  Add sauce back into sauté pan and add in cooked beef.  Stir well and heat to warm.

11.  Drain pasta from water and put into a large bowl to cut into small pieces with a knife and fork.  Add pasta to meat sauce and combine well then remove from heat.

12.  Let cool then transfer to freezing trays to store in the freezer to use within 3 months along with some in a food storage container in the fridge to use within 48 hours.

Makes – 20 Servings (1 serving = 2 tbsps.)

Note:  Since this recipe makes a lot of spaghetti you may want to keep more in the fridge for older siblings or even set some aside for your own lunch and just add a bit of salt and pepper and even some dried chilli pepper if you like a kick of heat.

 Hope you all had a Happy Halloween and that your kids were blessed with the treats they long for and a clean bill of oral health at their next dentist appointment.

The Great Escape

It’s been a few weeks.  I owe you something big.

I owe you something lofty.

I owe you something majestic.

If you can’t tell by now, I made a great escape to the mountains.  I left hubby, kids and dog to fend for themselves for 4 days while I went to visit my friend and the mountains in Calgary Alberta.

It was the longest time I’ve spent away from my little one in all of the 2 ½ years of his life.  4 days was good, a week may have been a bit too long, but the escape was perfect.

I have never seen the mountains before, so to experience the almost haunting drive into Banff  contemplating what those immense grey shadows in the sky off in the distance were was perplexing to say the least.  The enormity and sheer alien nature of them as we got closer and closer was overwhelming.

Have you ever been on a road trip, taking in the scenery and in a moment of silence the music floating through the car speakers fits your experience so perfectly it’s as if you’re watching a movie that you are in?  This was the case when my friend slipped in the Mumford and Sons cd “Sigh No More” on our journey through the rocks, for lack of a better term. 

Road trip + friend + silence + breathtaking view + this…

= perfection

It was certainly unnatural to be away on my own without the kids in tow.  I kept imagining Carter was in the backseat incessantly asking me to help him put his little sunglasses on and when I turn him down because I have a road to focus on he turns to the dog and asks him to help.  I often wonder if the dog actually spoke the words “sure”, and then lifted his fingerless paws to help Carter put on his sunglasses, would Carter be shocked or just say, “thank you Hogie.”?

I’m home sweet home now.  Back to work, back to home renos, back to kids, dogs and the misguided allure of Saturday night as it turns into an opportunity to catch up on sleep instead of life.

I think I’m just about caught up on sleep for the moment so I thought I’d better get caught up on this blog.

Here goes.

Ready…Set…Evolve…

Bambino Chicken Cacciatore

Age – 8 months +

Ingredients

·         1 tbsp. of butter

·         1 boneless skinless chicken breast

·         ½ cup tiny pasta such as alphabet

·         2 tomatoes

·         ½ cup diced onion

·         ½ cup diced zucchini

·         ½ cup diced carrots

·         1 cup low sodium chicken broth or homemade chicken stock

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

Baby Steps

1.      Peel and seed tomatoes using the boiling water method and set aside.

2.      Peel and chop carrots, onions and zucchini and set aside.

3.      Cut chicken into small cubes and set aside.

4.      Heat butter in large saucepan over medium/high heat and add chicken and cook until no longer pink inside, approx. 8 minutes.  Remove chicken from pan and set aside.

5.      Reduce heat to medium and add all veggies to pan except the tomatoes and cook for 3 minutes until onions begin to soften.

6.      Add tomatoes, basil and chicken stock to pan and stir well.

7.      Bring to a boil then reduce heat to medium/low, cover and continue to cook for approx. 25 minutes until carrots are tender.

8.      Meanwhile, cook pasta according to package directions but leave out the salt.  Once done, drain water and set aside.

9.      Use a hand held blender to puree the cooked chicken to a crumbly texture.  If baby is older than 10 months you can use a knife and fork to cut the chicken into tiny pieces baby can handle instead of pureeing.

10.  Once the cooking time on the veggie mixture is complete, remove from heat and transfer to a blender, food processor or bowl to use hand held blender to puree into a sauce.

11.  Return sauce to pan along with cooked chicken and pasta.  Stir well and cook for a few minutes until warmed through, approx. 5 minutes on medium/low heat.

12.  Remove from heat and let cool for a few minutes.  Transfer to freezing trays in the freezer to be used within 3 months or into a food storage container in the fridge to be used within 48 hrs.

Makes – 10 Servings (1 serving = 2 tbsps.)

One of my favourite books is Dr. Suess’ “Oh, the Places You’ll Go.” I’ve read it to myself a million times and of course to my kids.  “Kid, you’ll move mountains.”  Now I understand just how majestic a statement that is.

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!!!