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.
   

17 Basic Purees

After several months of feeding my first baby, I feel like I've got a pretty good list of basic purees that helped introduce different foods and flavors.  In a desperate attempt to not get bored - because let's face it, there are a lot of meals when you have to feed this little person something but I certainly don't have the brainpower, time, or ingredients to do something fancy - I've created a go-to list of purees that are simple.  These basics will most likely be the keystones for many more meals.  Just appropriate prep the food by peeling (if necessary) and cutting into chunks.  Steam, puree by adding enough reserved cooking liquid as needed, and you're ready to go:

Watermelon Radishes

I've always had a weird aversion to radishes.  I never ate them growing up and assumed that they are just a strange, unnecessary food item.  When I started planting my own garden a few years ago with zero experience or knowledge, I found that radishes were as close to an immediate gratification plant as you get.  They can go from seed to plate in about 28 days given the right variety and conditions.  And they actually taste pretty good if you harvest them when they are young.  (A word of caution - don't try to grow a giant radish and then try to eat it - it will be peppery!)

And then I discovered watermelon radishes.  They are a light green on the outside with a beautiful dark
red to hot pink interior.  They are beautiful and delicious.  I've found that they are perfect steamed and pureed.  No need to add anything as they will be subtly sweet when prepared.  It's one of the easiest veggies to prepare:

Watermelon Radish Puree

• Rinse and peel the radish
• Chop coarsely
• Steam for 12-15 minutes
• Blend
• Serve

Tex Mex, Baby Style

I've been waiting for good, fresh tomatoes for Robert, and finally they came!  Farmhouse Delivery sent three gorgeous, local tomatoes in our bushel this week.  Since this is Texas, guacamole is practically its own food group, and should be introduced early.  We've already done plain avocado mash, but haven't quite made the jump to full on guacamole.  These tomatoes gave me the perfect opportunity to start introducing more flavor in an intermediate step.

Tomato Mash, Texified

First, remove the skin of the tomato (I had to look this one up)

• Bring a pot of water to a healthy boil and submerge the tomato for about 30 seconds
• Remove the tomato and dunk it in a bowl of ice water
• Use your fingers to peel of the skin

Then prepare

• Cut the tomato in half and scoop out the seeds
• Steam the tomato halves for about 10 minutes (you can reuse the pot that you just boiled the tomato in)
• Wash a few sprigs of cilantro
• Wash an avocado, then scoop out one half (mash with a fork if you need a mush)
• Blend the tomato and uncooked cilantro.  Don't add any cooking liquid as the tomato will be mash after just a few pulses
• Pour the tomato mixture into the center of the avocado half.
• Serve by taking a small sliver of avocado combined with tomato on each spoonful.