Dad

Dad is good

Dad is strong

He puts my laundry away where it belongs.

Dad is fun

Dad is silly

Thank you kindly for not naming me Willy. (not that there’s anything wrong with that name)

Dad is patient

Dad is kind

Except when my table manners are unrefined.

I love when you read to me

I love when we laugh

I owe you 5 minutes today to enjoy a draught.

You’re always so giving

And not often cranky

Now can you please go and get me my blankie?

Ready…Set…Evolve…

Daddy’s Day BBQ

Age – 8 months +

In honour of all those wonderful dad’s out there, we’re not going to toil away and make batches of baby food to freeze today.  Instead, baby can partake in the BBQ feast!

Let’s say the menu is BBQ’d chicken, baked potato, corn on the cob and steamed carrots.  Mix a bit of everything together with some butter and some of the cooking water used to steam the carrots, puree and baby’s dinner is served.

It really is as simple as that.  The corn and the carrots can be made indoors and then the rest is thrown on the BBQ. 

In a food processor, blender or large bowl to use a hand held blender to puree, add in some of the white meat without any skin from the cooked chicken, a scoop of some of the baked potato, 2 sides of corn that were shaved off the cooked corn on the cob, a few cooked carrots and a ½ tsp. of butter.  Add 3 tbsps. of the cooking water used to steam the carrots and puree to desired consistency.  If you want a thinner consistency you can add a bit more of the cooking water.

Voila!  BBQ for the whole family. 

If there are left overs of the puree you can keep it in the fridge for up to 48 hours so baby can have it for supper or lunch tomorrow too.

I want to wish all the amazing father’s and father figures (including my own and my husband) out there a very Happy Father’s Day!  Without you there would be a lot of mothers losing sanity, and a lot of kids wondering what beer is.

Baby Talk

Do you ever wonder what your baby is going to sound like when they start talking?  What type of voice will project from this tiny growing person?  I’m not talking about the exhilarating day they first say “mama” or “dada”, and the endless torment received by the losing parent for not getting their name broadcast by baby first.  I’m talking about a true string of words linked together in verbal communication.  “Goodnight Mommy”.  “Let’s go Daddy”.  “I hate broccoli”.  What will it sound like?

Now that my baby is 2 he’s full of things to say and we know exactly how it sounds…cute sometimes, incessant other times, and really funny most times.  The other day I introduced him to “Crispers”, which are cracker type chips.  Yes, if you recall I do allow my kids some nutritionally desolate snacks once in a while to keep it real.  The next day he asked, “Mommy, whispers please?”  What?  “Whispers please”.  Ah, got it.

We’ve been getting concerned with how he always uses his name instead of “I” when referring to himself.  “Carter do it”.  “Carter go to the park”.  “Carter don’t like it.”  We tried explaining to him to say “I want to go to the park”.  Then it dawned on us that when we talk to him we refer to ourselves as Mommy or Daddy.  “Mommy wants you to brush your teeth.”  “Daddy wants you to settle down.”  I guess he’s doing as well as can be expected linguistically.

We also have the added intricacy of international accents for Carter to decipher.  My husband is from the UK and I’m Canadian through and through so he definitely says some words exactly how Daddy says them and then others how the Canadian masses do.  “How does Daddy like his coffee?” Carter responds “Large, double, double.”  Very Canadian.  But then he pronounces his own name, “Kawta”.  Very UKian. 

Whenever we visit my in-laws in England my overly hospitable brother in-law offers to translate every word I say so no one is confused.  I say, “I have to run to the washroom.”  He says, “she said she has to run to the toilet”.  Confusion averted.

In keeping with the actual theme of this blog, let’s make some Apple Peach puree for baby.  This is a great one for the Solid Food Apprentices out there who are 6 months +.

Ready…Set…Evolve…

Apple of my Eye Peach Puree

Age – 6 months +

Ingredients

·         3 ripe peaches

·         3 apples (a sweet variety like Gala or Golden Delicious)

·         Yes, that’s it

Baby Steps

1.      Peel and slice peaches.  To peel, score and “X” on the bottom of the peaches and put them into a large bowl.  Pour boiling water in the bowl completely covering the peaches and let them sit for 1 minute.  Remove from water and rest on a cutting board for 30 seconds or so.  The skin should easily peel off if they were ripe peaches.  If they are giving you trouble, peel the rest with a paring knife or veggie peeler.

2.      Peel, core and slice apples into thin pieces.

3.      Add apples and peaches to a large saucepan.  Add 1 – 2 tbsps. of water if the peaches weren’t very ripe.  Cover and cook over medium heat, stirring frequently for approx. 12 minutes or until the fruit is tender and juicy.

4.      Remove from heat and let stand for a few minutes.

5.      Transfer to a blender, food processor or bowl to use a hand held blender to puree.

6.      Puree to a smooth consistency.

7.      Transfer to freezing trays and place in the freezer to be used within 3 months, or to a food storage container in the fridge to use within 48 hours.

Makes - 9 Servings (1 serving = 2 tbsps.)

No matter which accent they use to say it, when you hear a deliberate, “I love you” come from baby in your direction…well there’s not much in the world that can top that.

Balance

So it’s a little grey this weekend.

The flowers don’t mind.

We haven’t had rain in over 2 weeks.  Nope, just sunshine, lolly pops and butterflies for two weeks straight.  It’s time to sacrifice some bliss for a little grey.  The grey brings with it fresh rain for the flowers and their escape from the opposite of fresh pipe water that has to suffice while the barrels are dry.  It also brings with it a guilt free spell for us spent indoors doing things around the house without the sun screaming, “YOU SHOULD BE OUT HERE!!”.  No, the grey doesn’t scream, it gently allows you to go about your day.

It’s all about balance.  You have to take the good with the bad.  You take the good, you take the bad, you take them both and there you have The Facts of Life. I clearly watched too much t.v. growing up.  But you get what I’m saying.  If the universe was wonderful all the time our wonderful would become average.  The crappy days help to boost the otherwise average days to outstanding. 

I’ve just realized this is my 40^th post.  I began my quest of blogging baby food recipes last September to help generate the content for a baby food cook book I am writing in my spare time.  I’m happy to say the content is building up nicely, but I wish I had more time to start pulling everything together for the book.  Baby steps…all in due time. 

40 posts!?  Right from the beginning I vowed to try to make the blog interesting and more than just a diatribe on how to make baby food at home.  I would have never imagined I could come up with 40 things to talk about to entertain the masses.  And by masses I mean my husband, mom and dad, and friend’s great grandmother who read this blog.

Don’t worry, the book will be less about the history of Mr. Potato Head and the other tangents I run off on in this blog, and more about making amazing, fresh food for your baby at home.  However, I’m sure you will find hints of novelty throughout…it’s in my soul.  We’ll see.

That’s my cue for this week’s puree.  We’re going to do an Apple and Pear Puree with a hint of cinnamon for a little flavour experimentation for your older 8 month old baby.  If baby is 6-7 months you can leave the cinnamon out.  Spices are a nice way to add some flavour dimension to baby’s usual fare without adding salt.  Just wait until they are around 8 months, and you only need to add a tiny amount for baby to notice the flavour update.

Ready…Set…Evolve…

Apples, Pears and Everything Nice (cinnamon spice)

Age – 8 months +

Ingredients

·         4 Apples

·         4 Pears

·         ¼ tsp. Cinnamon Spice

Baby Steps

1.      Peel, core and slice apples and pears taking care to slice each fruit in pieces about the same size.

2.      Add apples to a large pot and add 3 tbsps. of water.  Turn heat on to medium high and cook for a few minutes until you start to hear a sizzling sound.  Turn heat down to medium, cover and cook for 10 minutes.

3.      Add pears to the pot along with cinnamon and stir together with the apples.  Cover and continue to cook for another 15 minutes stirring often until fruit is bubbly, tender and juicy.

4.      Remove from heat and let cool for a few minutes.  Transfer to a blender, food processor or bowl to use hand held blender to puree.

5.      Puree to a smooth consistency.

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

Makes – 18 servings  (1 serving = 2 tbsps.)

Note:  This recipe makes a lot but don’t worry, the older kids will love it and it’s also great for adults as a condiment on pork chops.

When choosing the apples, make sure to use a sweet variety like Gala rather than sour like Granny Smith or the tartness will make baby’s face turn inside out.  It will be funny, but probably not the best flavour experience for baby.  You’re probably better to watch Seinfeld reruns for a laugh instead.

I’m off to embrace the grey and do some housework.  Oooh…I can’t wait to see how this blah day will transform my otherwise mediocre day tomorrow to fantastic!!

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!!!

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).

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.