It has been a very fun adventure so far. I've been making the food (hubby gifted a fun contraption that both steams and purees the food; we've also been mashing what can be mashed and finding lots of great uses for the immersion blender on things that have been stewed on the stovetop or roasted in the oven). Over the past few weeks, Avery has enjoyed a range of veggies and fruits: yams, peas, carrots, green beans, avocado, banana, apples, pears, watermelon and mango. More recently, we've started combining single foods into medleys and also incorporated yogurt (pictured above!) and oatmeal.
Avery is a great eater. The avocado and green beans (individually) that didn't go so well the first time around turned out to be more a function of his mood than his taste, with subsequent trials being successful endeavors. We've been warned not to get too excited about Avery's accepting palate (some say that infants this age mostly eat everything and that it's when they get a little older that it becomes challenging), but I am hopeful that the varied diet I ate while pregnant and now eat while breastfeeding plus an early emphasis for Avery on fresh, organic fruits, veggies, and whole grains (plus the necessary dairy and, soon, meats) will help Avery keep his already emerging love of real food through childhood and beyond.
It occurred to me that a fun way to resurrect this blog (which has been dormant since March...my longest break from it since inception) would be through a slight change in focus: cooking for baby and us. The idea is that variations of the main dish will be able to feed the whole family (6-month-old inclusive).
I'm excited for the day that Avery will be able to routinely eat what we eat. In the meantime, I'll be cooking for us with him in mind, making meals and using components for baby. These are the recipes I'll share with you here. Fret not if you aren't feeding a baby currently, I'll make sure the main dishes are tasty enough to stand on their own. First up: peaches. Enjoy!
For us: cornmeal peach cobbler
For baby: roasted peaches
For filling:
10 ripe peaches (reserve 1-2 for baby)*
2/3 c. brown sugar
2 Tbsp. flour
the juice of half a lemon
cinnamon
salt
*A good-sized peach will result in about 4 ounces of food for baby.
For dough:
1 1/2 c. flour
1/2 c. fine ground cornmeal
1/3 c. brown sugar
3 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
6 Tbsp. cold butter, sliced
1 c. buttermilk**
**I rarely have buttermilk on hand, this case being no exception. Instead, I used a cup of milk whisked together with the juice of half a lemon, a trick learned from hubby.
Note: I don't mind my peaches with skin on them, but baby does, so I peeled the peaches for baby but not the ones for the cobbler. If the skin bothers you, go ahead and peel them all.
Heat oven to 425 degrees. Slice all peaches except the 1 or 2 for baby and put into a large baking dish (I used an 11x13 glass dish). Meanwhile, heat a pot of water to boiling on the stovetop. Cut through the skin of the peaches for baby, making an 'x' on one end. Put in boiling water for 1 minute. Remove, allow to cool enough to be handled, and peel. Slice the peeled peaches and place in a small baking dish. Add a dash of cinnamon (optional) and set aside.
To the cobbler peaches in the large baking dish, add brown sugar, flour, lemon juice, a couple dashes cinnamon, and a pinch of salt. Mix well.
In a bowl, combine the dry ingredients for the cobbler dough. Cut in the butter with a pastry cutter until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Stir in milk. Spoon the dough onto the prepared cobbler peaches in the large baking dish (none for baby!).
Place both the large and small baking dishes in the hot oven. Remove the small baking dish after 15 minutes. Puree in a food processor or using an immersion blender (for older babies, you may even be able to mash directly without the need for electronics). The cobbler will cook for another 5-10 minutes, until golden on top.
We enjoyed our cobbler with friends and family and a big scoop of Milwaukee frozen custard. Baby enjoyed his roasted peaches with a big spoonful of organic whole milk yogurt.
When does Avery get his first Knackwurst?
ReplyDeleteDear Cole, As babies grow their taste change. They may not like some veggies at some times (they change every day) but stick with others. It is my thought that kids should be exposed to fruit and vegetables that are going to be part of a healthy diet. I don't like to listen to politicians but I heard good advise from the program for Better Nutrition Michelle Obama is promoting around the country. In some TV program she was being interviewed for she said something I think is really true..." You as a parent and grown up should know what is better for your kid." She was referring to the parents that give up to kids choice of food. They, she said, as kids, don't know what is better for themselves, they are kids but you Do know.
ReplyDeleteI thought about this and realized it is right. For that reason, I'm not afraid to expose my kid to the same dinner I prepare for the rest of my family. If my son doesn't like broccoli the first time the second time he may be inclined to try it and the next time after that he may decide it is fine. We as parents are supposed to keep trying to point them in the right direction.
Cole, love this new focus of your blog. It will come in handy several months down the road for me, as I start making homemade baby food. Keep the ideas coming; love the peaches. Hope you and your boys are doing well!
ReplyDelete