Interlude: Baby Food Recipes

Been meaning to post an update on Jordy's gastronomic adventures through middle earth, but haven't really found the time nor energy. Our days are mostly filled with going to the park and playing in various sandpits around the island, so by evening time, I'm usually too sun-addled to do more than sit on the couch and watch TV. And what a few weeks of TV it has been with American Idol reaching fever pitch. Now that it's over, and I'm still recovering from Adam not winning (HOW, tell me HOW was that possible?!), I'm wondering what to fill the empty desert lands of summer TV programming with.

Ah but I digress. This is meant to be an update on Jordy's culinary journey, and boy is it getting more and more exotic and fun. The last two weeks saw the introduction of more sophisticated fare like strawberries and golden kiwis, and just last week, his first muffin! Homemade corn and cheese muffins! He wasn't sure of it at first, I suspect because he wasn't that hungry when I let him try it, but now, he's a convert!

So at exactly 9.5 months of age, this is an updated list of what he's ingested thus far (sorry to bore non-mum readers out there, but this record is really for posterity and who knows, Jordy might just find it interesting one day):

Fruits
Pear
Apple
Banana
Peach
Apricot
Prune
Honeydew
Papaya
Mango
Watermelon
Kiwifruit (golden)
Strawberry
Orange
Grapes
Raisins

Vegetables
Sweet potato
Carrots
Parsnips
Peas
Broccoli
Spinach
Leeks
Potato
Cauliflower
Zucchini
Avocado
Pumpkin
Tomato
Onion
Garlic
Red lentils
Celery
Corn
Butternut squash
Red pepper

Meat
Fish (Ling, blue cod, threadfin, tuna, garoupa)
Chicken
Beef

Dairy
Cheese (Cheddar - Mild and Tasty, Edam, Philadelphia Cream Cheese)
Yogurt (plain and Greek style)
Butter (unsalted)
Milk (full-fat)

Carbs
Pasta (spaghetti, alphabet)
Rice (white and brown)
Oats
Barley
Rice cereal (white and brown)
Bread (Sunshine enriched softmeal bread, both toasted and untoasted)

Snacks
Crackers (various flavours, various brands, a mixture of cheap and cheerful and riculously expensive organic stuff that is gobbled up way too quickly)
Rusks and toothie pegs

Condiments and spices
Cinnamon
Peppercorns
Bayleaf
Thyme
Parsley
Sage
Basil
Oregano
Balsamic vinegar
Vanilla

Oh, and those muffins I was telling you about? Adapted from a recipe I found on the Baby Whisperer forum. My adapted version is reproduced below:

Corn & Cheese Muffins (Makes 12 regular or 24 mini muffins)

380g pack of corn kernels (washed and drained)
1 1/2 cups plain yoghurt (360 ml)
1/4 cup olive oil (50ml)
1 large egg
100g grated cheese (mild cheddar or edam)
2 cups self-raising flour (225g)
1/4 cup milk, if required (50 ml)


Preheat oven to 200 C or 190 C for fan ovens. Put rack just below middle of oven.

Pulse corn in blender if muffins are for younger baby (I did).

Mix yoghurt, oil & egg well together. Add in corn and cheese.

Put flour in a big bowl. Pour in the liquid mixture and begin to fold together. If you think the mixture looks too dry add the extra milk and fold JUST enough to combine. (Do not over-mix it - lumps are OK!)

Spray muffin tins with non-stick spray. Using two spoons divide the mixture evenly between the pans.

Bake for 12 - 15 minutes or until golden-brown and centres spring back when pressed. Let the muffins cool in the pans for 2-3 minutes before tipping out.

I then use what I need and freeze the rest for picnics in the week!

I'm going to try a variation of this recipe soon, changing the corn and cheese to banana and apple juice! Will post the results of the Jordy taste test once done!

High Chair Antics Part Two (Or, A Record of Jordy the Gourmand)

At our first proper dine-out lunch together as a family at the NUSS Guild House. Jordy had his favourite baked fish in orange and carrot sauce (homemade of course), and D and I had Mee Rebus (it was damn fine Mee Rebus too!)

Jordy is getting more and more comfortable in the lofty status of his high chair. I thought that, for posterity's sake, I should record what a leaf from Jordy's daily meal planner looks like at exactly 7.5 mths age.

Breakfast
Milk first thing in the morning, followed by

Oatmeal or barley cereal with fruit (usually banana, apricot, peach or pear), milk (this is where I introduce follow-on formula into his diet) and a dash of prune juice (to help the old digestive track along).

Morning tea
Homemade yogurt with fruit (usually mango, papaya or banana)

Lunch
A protein dish. His favourite right now is Annabel Karmel's baked fish in carrot and orange sauce (with cheddar cheese, his newfound favourite food). Today I tried brown rice pasta for the first time, served with another Annabel Karmel recipe, fish in cheese (edam this time) and zucchini sauce. He loved it.

Afternoon tea
Milk feed, followed by

Rice crackers or few small pinches of softmeal bread (tried bread for the first time today. he loved it!). Whatever we can have on-the-go as we're usually out at this time.

Dinner
A vegetarian dish (today it was steamed sweet potato from my mum's garden, with carrots and broccoli. Yesterday it was Annabel Karmel's tomato and cauliflower gratin. Again a favourite), and depending on his appetite, some fruit with brown rice cereal (like a rice pudding), followed by

Milk feed

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Cooking for Jordy now takes up a fair bit of the day. Can't wait for him to be able to help me with the grating and measuring of flour etc! Can't wait for when he sprouts teeth (yes, he still is TOOTHLESS!!!) then the first thing I'm going to make him will be corn and cheese muffins! Yee haw!

Anyway, to illustrate just how grown up he is getting, here he is with his friend Poppy at their favourite cafe.

Hobbit's Rabbit-less Stew (or, Jordy Homemade Stew with Any-Kind-of-Vegetable)

Happy 1st of March! In this spirit of new-ness, I think I'm going to start a little archive of baby food recipes I'm concocting and testing out on Jordy. This is what he had for lunch today, and thoroughly enjoyed (although I over-estimated how much he'd eat and ended up only using half the portion).

For some reason, in my cooking, I seem to also be rather inspired by the Shire, and what I imagine little Hobbit-y children would feast on in Middle Earth. I might even start taking some food photos if I have the time, but for now, you'll just have to rely on ye olde imagination.

Hobbit's Rabbit-less Stew (or, Jordy's Homemade Stew with Any-Kind-of-Vegetable)

3 carrots, peeled and chopped
4 Japanese sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped
1 large white onion, diced
3 potatoes, peeled and chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
Chicken stock, enough to cover vegetables*
Liberal sprinkle of your choice of dried herbs (I used what I had, which was basil)

1. Put all vegetables in slow cooker.
2. Cover with chicken stock.
3. Add in dried herbs.
4. Cook on 'low' for 10-12 hours.
5. When done, give it a good stir and let the stew cool for a while.
6. While warm, puree with blender.
7. Serve warm, or chill then freeze accordingly for future use.

This recipe makes enough for at least 6 to 7 meals. To serve, you can thin it out with a bit of stock or hot water.

*Homemade Chicken Stock
(this is adapted from the book First Foods)

Lean chicken thighs
Chicken carcass
Chinese mushrooms
Water

1. Soak Chinese mushrooms in warm water for a few minutes. Drain.
2. Place chicken thighs and chicken carcass in slow cooker.
3. Add water until meat is just covered.
4. Add in Chinese mushrooms.
5. Cook on 'low' for 8-10 hours.
6. Drain, and put chicken thighs aside.
7. Remove meat from chicken thighs and puree as needed.
8. Freeze stock in ice cube trays for convenient meal preparations down the track!

This recipe passed the Jordy taste test today! More to come.

ps: Slumdog Millionaire was AWESOME. More on that soon, but boy, did we pick the best movie to end our six-month movie drought with!