Asparagus with Dijon and Lemon

Robert wants more and more finger foods and fewer and fewer puréed items.  It is simultaneously exciting and sad.  I finally get to move on to more food as he become independent, but I will miss the sweet moments of him waiting expectantly for another spoonful.  This super fast and easy starter is a good dish to set down while preparing the rest of a meal.  I rushed it to the table after music class yesterday, and he gobbled it up!

Robert loved feeding himself.

Asparagus with Dijon and Lemon

Ingredients

• 2-3 thin asparagus stalks
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard
• a drizzle of olive oil
• 1 lemon wedge

Directions

• Wash the asparagus and cut off the tough end of the stalk
• Cut the remaining asparagus into small bit size bits, but leave the tasty end in tact
• Put a small amount of water into a sauté pan and place the asparagus pieces in the water
• Cook for 5-7 minutes or until soft
• Meanwhile, put the mustard and olive oil in a small bowl and mix together
• Squeeze the lemon and mix again
• When the asparagus is cooked, transfer it into the mustard bowl and incorporate thoroughly
• Let the asparagus cool slightly before serving  

Sardine Stuffed Mushrroms

I admit it. I went back to the French Foodie Baby blog and took a chance with the mushrooms stuffed with cream of sardine recipe.  There are some absolutely wonderful recipes on this site, and this one is particularly quick and easy.  And delicious.  My husband, who doesn't usually like stuffed mushrooms, was swooning.  Robert, who has never had stuffed mushrooms, ate one and a half by himself.

Sardine Stuffed Mushrooms

Ingredients

• 4 Portabello Mushrooms
• 1 can of sardines in olive oil
• 1 cup Ricotta 
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan
• a few chives
• 1/3 bunch of parsley

Directions

• Preheat the oven to 375
• Rinse the mushrooms and cut off the stems.  Place mushrooms on a cookie sheet
• Put the mushroom stems, chives, and parsley into a food processor and blend until fine
• Pour the sardines and oil into a large bowl and fork mash
• Add the Ricotta, Parmesan, and mushroom stem/herb mixture.  Stir until thoroughly mixed
• Spoon into the 4 mushroom caps 
• Cook for about 20 minutes or until there is a pool of liquid bubbling under the mushrooms

I needed to cut Robert's mushrooms into small, bite size pieces for him to enjoy this dish.  This will definitely show up on our table again.  It is nice to have a tasty option for days when I can't get fresh fish.

Easy Oatmeal

I am not a morning person.  It is quite a change for me to get up with Robert.  I used to sleep until 8 or 8:30 most days and was lucky enough to be able to arrange my schedule to allow me to be alarm clock free most of my adult life.  Now I have a 20 pound alarm clock that likes to wake up between 6:45 and 7:00.  In my foggy state, I've developed a simple breakfast routine that gets him fed and requires minimal brain power on my part.  Easy, no-cook oatmeal.  I make this in small batches that create oatmeal for about 4

days and are stored in 2 oz containers in the fridge.  I pull one out in the morning, along with an apple-pear sauce container, and we have breakfast.

Easy Oatmeal

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup oats  (I like old-fashioned Irish oats, but really anything that's not instant will do)
• 1/4 dried fruit (like raisins, currants, blueberries, or craisins)
• 1/4 cup orange juice
• Light 1/2 cup water

Directions

• Pour the oats and dried fruit into a food processor.  Blend to chop up the dried fruit and oats.
• Pour in the juice and water.  Pulse once or twice in the food processor.
• Let the mixture sit for at least 5 minutes before mixing again.
• If you need breakfast immediately, you can take a portion and heat in the microwave for about 15 seconds at this point, though I recommend letting it sit overnight in the fridge.
• Pour the moist oatmeal mixture into portion cups, cover, and place in the fridge.
• To serve, heat in the microwave for about 20 seconds and mix thoroughly with a spoon.  Pair with your favorite fruit puree.

Spicy Fish

We've just introduced a new fish to Robert - Monkfish.  I became familiar with the fish through sushi restaurants.  Monkfish liver is a tasty treat!  I've also found it to be a delicious and simple fish to cook for myself.  Tonight, we took the fish in a different direction and added a few dollops of Sriracha

onto the fish pieces.  I wasn't sure how the extra spice and heat would go over, but Robert loved it!  He ended up eating two huge servings.  I don't think I'll be as hesitant to add some real heat from now on.

Spicy Monkfish

Ingredients

• 2-3 oz of Monkfish 
• Olive oil for the pan
• Sriracha (use your best judgement - start off with a small amount and add more if you think your little one will like it.) 

Directions

• Heat the oil in a frying pan so the bottom of the pan is lightly coated
• Place the fish in the pan on a medium-high heat
• Put a few drops of the Sriracha on each side of the fish
• Cook for about 5 minutes or until done.  Try not to over cook the fish so it is still tender and juicy.
• Either puree for young babies or cut into small, bit-size chunks for kiddos who want finger food.

Artichoke, Two Ways

Artichokes scare me.  How do you cook them?  Why do all of that work for not much food?  And they're not exactly the cheapest vegetable out there.  Our bushel from Farmhouse Delivery included a few gorgeous looking artichokes, and I had to conquer my fear.  My first attempt was a simple puree.  It wasn't exciting and didn't go over that well.  I think there's value in introducing a food by itself, but I didn't have much success this way.  My second attempt added more flavor and was a huge (messy) success for Robert, Jon, and myself.  My second attempt, with lots of good, strong flavors, and taken from the French Foodie Baby, was a total winner!  I made two dips, one for the tasty bottom and heart, and one for the leaves.  Robert was able to suck and chew on the leaves of the artichoke with lots of gusto.  This became an easy finger food.

Ingredients

• 2-3 artichokes
  
• Fresh parsley
• Garlic (3 cloves)
• Olive oil
• White wine vinegar
• Dijon mustard
• Salt & pepper
• Garlic powder (optional)

Steaming Artichokes

• Fill a large pot with water with enough room to boil without boiling over
• Sprinkle salt into the pot and bring the water to a boil
• Cut off the stems (the handle) of the artichoke
• When the water is boiling rapidly, but the artichokes in
• Turn down the heat and cover for about 25 minutes.  About halfway through, turn your artichokes so the top side is down
• When you can easily remove the leaves, they're done
• Remove from the water and let cool slightly

Lemon Vinaigrette

• Combine five parts olive oil to one part white wine vinegar
• Add a generous dollop of dijon mustard, salt and pepper to taste
• Squeeze fresh lemon 
• Fork the mixture until combined

Parsley Tapenade

• Dice 3 cloves of garlic 
• Cut the crust off of one piece of bread
• Cook the garlic and bread in a small amount of olive oil until both are brown
• Blend garlic, toasted bread, a dash of white wine vinegar, and about 1/2 cup of fresh parsley together in a food processor.
• Add more olive oil to get a smooth texture
• Add pepper and garlic powder to taste

We dipped the leaves in the vinaigrette.  When I got to the bottoms of the artichoke (the bits underneath the hairy fur) I chopped them up and mixed it with the tapenade to feed Robert.  He loved it!  Then again, he loves most things with garlic, especially Grandma's Humus.

First Muffins

A fellow new mom brought a version of the One Handed Cooks' Sweet Potato, Carrot & Apple Spelt muffins to a little get together last week.  Robert got a hold of some and devoured an entire muffin, so I asked for the recipe.  I made a batch yesterday, and they are going quickly!  Robert ate 2 as part of his lunch today.  (Don't worry, they were dessert - he still got plenty of good vegetables!)

Ingredients

• 2 cups peeled and chopped sweet potato (this is one good sized, but not huge, potato)
• 1 cup spelt flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 3 Tbs coconut palm sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp nutmeg
• 1 carrot
• 1 peeled and chopped apple
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup milk

Directions

• Preheat your convection oven to 350
• Steam the sweet potato for about 15 minutes
• While steaming, mix the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg)
• Using a food processor (or a Beaba once the potatoes are steamed), blend the carrot and apple together.  Mix the carrot and apple into the dry mix
• Use the food processor to puree your sweet potato
• In a Kitchenaid or big bowl, beat your eggs and milk
• Add the sweet potato puree to the eggs and milk
• Fold in the dry mixture until just blended
• Either use cupcake wrappers or butter a muffin pan.
• Bake for 25-30 minutes  My muffins were perfect at the 25 minute mark - and that never happens!

This recipe made 12 muffins exactly.  My husband's comments about them are, "They are so moist and spongey!  I love that!"  Needless to say, I think 3 or 4 have found there way into his belly, too.

*** Update ***  I tried another variation with about 1 tsp of Mexican vanilla.  This added just a touch more flavor.

How to Turn a Baby Purple

I've recently been exploring the French Foodie Baby blog.  It is a new obsession with wonderful recipes that are full of flavor.  Last night we made a variation of Romanesco and Purple Potato Salad.  It was so good that I ended up making a large portion of it for the adult dinner, too!  I had never heard of Romanesco broccoli before, and I haven't seen it at our local grocery stores either.  I used readily available Broccolini instead with great results.  It is fun to have new finger food options to try with Robert.  It is a mess, the dogs are getting fat, and we (Robert and I, not his dad!) love it.

Purple Potato & Broccolini Salad

Ingredients

• 2-3 purple potatoes (like Peruvian fingerlings)
• 1 bunch of Broccolini (you will only use some of this)
• 1 small shallot
• A few sprigs of fresh Dill
• A lemon slice
• A small portion of Smoked Salmon
• Olive oil
• Balsamic Vinegar
• Mustard

Directions

By the end, both cheeks and hands were
purple - and he loved it!

• Peal the potatoes, cut into small, bite size pieces
• Wash the broccolini and cut an equal volume as the potatoes into small, bite size pieces.  This way, there is approximately the same amount of green as purple in the dish.
• Steam the potato for 15 minutes.  After 5 minutes, add the broccolini in with the potato so it steams for 10 minutes.
• While they're streaming, mix up the dressing.  You can make this to taste, but I diced 1 small shallot, 5 Tbs of olive oil, 1 Tbs of vinegar, a small dollop of dijon mustard, and 2 chopped sprigs of dill.  This made enough dressing for the adult portion later on, too.
• When the Potato and Broccolini are done, let them cool slightly.  I expedited by putting them in the fridge for a few minutes.  Then I tossed with a small amount of the dressing.  
• Add small, bit sized chunks of salmon to the mixture.
• Squeeze the fresh lemon on top.