Guess Who Joined Us For Dinner?

Welcome to dinner Noa!

She dined on an apple core and a way over cooked sweet potato, far preferring the apple core.

Here's to more dinners and food groups soon! Yay big food!

Baby Led Weaning

This is much yummier and squishier than plastic. What fun!

Noa was sitting in her exersaucer, madly trying to eat the plastic letter B and the plastic butterfly hanging next to the plastic letter B. She was yelling a lot. I started thinking maybe they didn't taste nice? How about a banana? I've been reading the Baby Led Weaning book for a little while now, and feeling inspired by their (many might say crazy!) ideas.

"The mush stops here!" In a nutshell (not a spoon), the Baby Led Weaning idea is that babies will feed themselves when they are ready to, and we don't have to push food into them. It's finger foods from the beginning, whenever the baby decides the beginning will be (an ability to sit up and grab things required).

BLW proponents say feeding themselves helps babies learn hand-eye coordination. Babies will have an sense of what they are putting in their mouths instead of being surprised by the mush, so they'll be happier doing it. They won't feel left out of the family dinner. They won't choke because their reflexes will push the food out if they aren't ready for it, (Noa pushed out the little piece of banana that she accidentally bit off). I think BLW is even supposed to make them smarter!

I'm gonna give it a shot with Noa. I didn't do it with Isaac (and he's certainly smart enough). I mostly chewed his food for him in the very beginning (I know, gross, but helpful in a digestive enzyme sort of way!), and he loved being fed so it wasn't a problem.

Noa, by the way, isn't quite ready. As you can see from the photo up there, I was holding the banana for her, and I think that is a major no-no. The little girl needs to be in charge, and I don't think she is quite up to the task yet. But soon!

For now, I think the thumb is yummiest. Especially when it's covered with banana goop.

It's ok mom. I'll eat it when I'm good and ready.

Chocolate Pudding for Dinosaurs (and your kid, and you.)

Our friends just gave Isaac a book called Goldilocks and the Three Dinosaurs. It's a super silly remake of the classic; a story you can giggle at while your kid looks on, a little confused. For example, the (sort of) smart and scheming dinosaurs tempt the sweet (and a little ditzy) Goldilocks to stay in their house with 3 bowls of chocolate pudding, of varying temperatures. Goldilocks eats all the pudding because it's so yummy, and then gets a tummy ache and wants to take a nap, poor thing.

This inspired a pudding making day and for this I thank you, you three dinosaurs!

Oh Goldilocks, doesn't this pudding look good!?

*Dinosaur Pudding

In a thick pot combine a little more than 1/3 cup cocoa with 1/3 cup sugar, and a pinch of salt.

Add 1/3 cup warm water and stir, or let your little one stir, until you get impatient and need to stir it yourself until its smooth and sort of like mud.

Turn on the burner to medium high and add 1 3/4 cup milk and stir a little more.

In a separate bowl or cup, mix 3 Tablespoons cornstarch with 1/4 cup milk until it's smooth and then pour that into the cocoa milk mixture and marvel at how quickly it becomes thick and yummy looking.

Turn the heat down and stir for a little longer.

Turn the heat off, add some vanilla extract, or if you are feeling daring, maybe some orange extract (I love a choco-orange combo) and pour into ramekins to chill. If you don't want a skin on top, immediately cover the pudding with plastic wrap. Though I would definitely advise a nice skin rather than hot plastic molecules going into the lovely pudding.

I know I have gone on and on about recipes being easy, but this one! Oh, this is seriously easy. And seriously delicious. Just check out the pics below as proof :)

La di da! I've been waiting hours for this moment!

Maybe if I put it on my face, I'll get more?

What!? I don't get another bowl!?

A note for parents: Be careful when you plan to make your pudding! Isaac requested it today after lunch. It was still a little early for his nap, so I thought the timing would be perfect. I thought we could make it together, and he would nap while it set. Then he would wake up hours later, and we would have a nice snack. Noooo way. He was so dang excited about the pudding that there was no napping at all. When I finally gave up and retrieved him from the crib, his first words were, "Is the pudding ready!!??"

*Adapted from the Joy of Cooking. I used their recipe as a guide, but with less sugar (it was still sweet!), and whole milk instead of half and half.

Making Yogurt is Fun and Easy!

To begin, find yourself a:

Pot. A thick one is nice. I use a Le Creuset pot, but I think any biggish pot would be ok.
Heating pad - This is what turned me into a yogurt maker. Before, when I read yogurt recipes, they said to put the yogurt-to-be into an oven with a pilot since it's warm, and leave it there for 8 hours. The problem is hardly anyone has ovens with pilots that are always on anymore (Arggh, technology!) and there aren't many places that are consistently warm for 8 hours at a stretch. I had thought my yogurt making would have to wait until I had space for a big cumbersome yogurt maker, so this heating pad advice has made me (and my belly) so happy and changed everything!
Thermometer - I guess you don't have to have this - there is a method where if your finger can stay in the hot milk for 10 seconds without it hurting, then you are at the right temp, but my obsessive compulsive side loves to (try to) get it exact.
Little bit of plain yogurt. I keep having to buy new little tubs for this purpose, but if you have more willpower than I, you can save a little bit of the yogurt you made previously and use that. You should use about 3 - 4 tablespoons for a 1/2 gallon of milk.

Here is what you do:

Pour the milk in the pot and turn it up to medium, or medium high if you are daring. I am an impatient cook, so I usually turn it up a little too high, but if you have a thick pot that should be ok.* Clip the thermometer to the edge of the pot. I use an old metal bulldog clip, but I think you can find special candy thermometers that are made for this that have their own clips. Also, if you are a super careful type of cook, or don't want to have to scrub the bottom of your milk pot, you can also use a double boiler for a gentler approach.

Put your 3 - 4 tablespoons of yogurt into a bowl/pyrex measuring cup, so that it has time to get a little more room temp-ish while you wait for the milk to heat.

Stir the milk once in a while and wait until it reaches 185 degrees. This is to help the yogurt to be thicker in the end. When it reaches 185, turn it off if you are using a big heavy pot that will hold the heat for a while, or turn it way down if you are using a thinner pot.

When the milk temp comes back down to 110 degrees (this usually takes about 45 minutes to 1 hour to cool down in a Le Creuset pot) and ladle some into your awaiting plain yogurt to temper it (warm it up). Then pour the yogurt with a little milk back into your pot of milk and stir.

Turn your heating pad on a medium setting and lay it out on a wood cutting board or counter. Place your pot, covered with it's lid, on top, and then a bath towel on top of that, like a tea cozy.

Go to sleep! Honk shoo...honk shoo...honk shoo...

Wake up, look under the lid and celebrate the miracle of yogurt in there!

Put the yogurt into containers, or just put the whole pot in the refrigerator and let it chill for a while before eating. This will help it to thicken even more, and be even more impressive.

Yogurt, lazing about on the windowsill, waiting to be eaten.

Why do all this? Well, as I said before, you will feel amazing. Almost like you baked a loaf of bread. But the other, perhaps even more important reason is that it is crazy good. It tastes seriously fresh, because it is. Also, you can know that your warm yogurt has not been sitting around in plastic pots absorbing scary chemicals. Instead it's been becoming it's delicious self all cozy, in enamelware or whatever you choose, right there in your own kitchen.

Yogurt everywhere, over the summer in Seattle.

*You may need to do a bit of scrubbing of the bottom of the pot if you get too carried away with a high temp. Some people use a big double boiler to prevent this from happening, I just don't have one (yet)!

The Best Brussel Sprout Recipe Ever

I know that's a big statement, but seriously, these are the best, and (sort of) the easiest brussel sprouts I've ever made. I learned how to make them today from my friend Micaela. I had been complaining that I had to go home and make Brussel sprouts taste good, and she said "Hey! I have a great recipe for Brussel sprouts!" I said, "Really?" I was expecting a long complicated process, but she surprised me! The recipe is so totally simple, it will thrill you; the only thing you gotta do is a bit of chopping.

Micaela's Recipe:

Take your brussel sprouts and slice them as thin as you can, so you end up with little brussel sprout ribbons.

These are gonna be good!

Put them in a pan on top of heated olive oil. Add salt, and a little peper, and red pepper flakes if you like, and saute for about 5 - 10 minutes, or until you think they are done.

That's it! Glorious!

The secret, Micaela explained to me, is that usually the outsides of Brussels get overdone, so that the middle will be cooked; here the sprouts cook evenly and yummily..

so simple and sweet

I was thinking it might be nice to add some toasted walnuts or almonds, but alas, we were out. Next time!

I Welcome You Fall, With Red Lentil Soup

Goodbye dear summer. Hello slippers, sweaters, quiet apartment, and a kid who will sleep until 7:30am. Hallelujah! He doesn't do that in the summer, nooo way.  And an extra big welcome and hug for...soup!

Last night it was a red lentil, sage-y, cumin-y sort of soup that I took from a Martha Stewart cookbook, and changed by not putting in bacon as she suggested, (nothing against bacon, it just seemed gentler and cleaner without) and by accidentally putting way more cumin in than she suggested - a very happy mistake!

My recipe:

Chop up 3 or 4 lovely carrots, 1 onion, and some garlic, at least 2 cloves or more if you are garlicky and daring! Heat some olive oil in a biggish pot and put the chopped up veges on top to get all warm and snuggly and soft.

Happy together!

While the veggies are doing their thing, you can admire the beautiful sage you will soon mince, at least 6 leaves:

Holding the sage in the light will help with admiration

Add the sage once the veges seem to glisten and be happy together. Cook for a little longer, and then add 2 teaspoons cumin and 1 1/2 cups red lentils.

Red lentils are this lovely peachy color before they are cooked.

I really love red lentils. Mostly because they cook really fast. Regular lentils, of my mom's lentil soup are delicious, but they have to cook for hours and hours, and even then sometimes they aren't done. Red lentils you can decide to make at 6pm, and they are ready by 6:30. They also become creamy and rich and can be wonderful chunky like in this soup, or smooth as silk in a soup I made once with ginger. My final reason for loving red lentils is that they remind me of dal. And eating dal, or any kind of beans for that matter make me feel one with the world, because you gotta think at least half of the world is also eating some sorts of beans for dinner.

Pour in 5 cups of broth, chicken or veggie, and simmer while you go play with your kiddo, or your cat, or lie on the floor in a relaxation pose for 25 minutes, or until the soup looks and smells yummy.

And here it is!

I need a spoon.

Isaac wasn't sure where to begin!

A little corn, a little soup, a little cous cous

But then he concentrated and figured it out.

And he makes his move

Bon appetite!

A Uniquely Delicious Way to Make Tofu

I always feel secure when there is a brick of tofu in our refrigerator. And I've been feeling even more secure since I figured out the easiest and most delicious way to cook it; a variation from my old Sivananda Ashram Yoga Cookbook. Isaac loves this kind of tofu and always wants more more more. And so do we!

Here is how you make it:

In a little oven-proof container put a three or so tablespoons of butter (the more the yummier) and about equal amounts plus a little more Tamari or Soy Sauce. Melt them together in your toaster oven. If you don't have a toaster oven, go get one! Or put a little pan on the stovetop, which would be perhaps easier than shopping right now.

While the butter is melting, take a brick of tofu, firm or soft, but not silken, and slice rectangles about 1/3 of an inch wide. It doesn't actually matter how thick or thin the rectangles are, it's just personal preference.

*Doesn't look so delicious now, but just wait!...

Lay the rectangles on a cookie sheet and brush both sides generously with the butter-tamari mixture, and then (this is the weird part), sprinkle them with nutritional yeast! I feel like a big hippy using nutritional yeast, but it's the magic ingredient in this dish, and this is the only time I actually use it, so I think that makes is alright. Nutritional yeast (in case you are wondering), is very popular with vegetarians because its a complete protein and has lots of B vitamins.

Now it looks even worse! Nutritional Yeast up close on the right.

Everything becomes much more OK after you put your tofu + yeast in the oven, hot. I like to do 450 for about 20 minutes. It will get a little crusty on top, brown, and super savory with the soy and the butter soaking into the tofu for maximum yumminess. The nutritional yeast gives the tofu a dimension it definitely does not have without. The best way to describe it would be a cheesiness, though that doesn't really give it the credit it deserves.

All lined up and ready to go!

With brown rice and vegetables, this is warm, yummy, and healthy. Plus you feel delightful after eating it, which is a definite plus for any meal.

*For this recipe, just to be daring, I tried using black bean tofu, that's why it looks a little speckle-y.

What's For Dinner?

Roasted Cauliflower, Spinach and Orange Salad!

Yummm!

Who says that little guys (or gals) can't eat salad? Actually I said that, and hadn't made a dinner salad in ages, but after coming home from our California road trip where we survived on bread, cheese, and peaches (not bad, but oh, am I sick of bread!), I felt the serious need for vegetables. And if I needed 'em, I decided the little guy needed 'em too!

I chose spinach because it's way easier for him to eat than lettuce; there's more of it to it for him to bite into, plus he likes the idea of eating leaves. He loves roasted cauliflower and the nutty sweetness that results from the little florets being roasted with the miracle combination of lemon juice and olive oil. Oranges give the salad a brightness and sweetness, which is the key to making a salad that people will actually eat. Finally eggs, because who doesn't need a little protein with their greens?  Tossed with a super simple dressing of flax seed oil that tastes buttery and grassy all at once, lemon, and a wee bit of salt, this salad was eaten!

My Recipe:

Cut up a cauliflower bunch into little florets, the smaller the better for the toddler set. Use the whole bunch even if it seems like a lot because it shrinks when it cooks and it's so yummy, people will want more! Put them on a cookie sheet and toss with salt, olive oil, and lemon. Place in a preheated to 450 oven and roast until they look nice and brown. If they aren't browning enough, give 'em a little shot under the broiler.

While you are waiting, boil a few eggs, just shy of hard so that they keep their bright yellow yolks.

In a big bowl toss baby spinach (I can't help but love the lazy kind that comes in a bag), cut up oranges, and if you have a little cheese, little cubes of that too. You can add peeled cucumber and avacado too if you are feeling very vegetable-y. With a dinner salad, you kinda want to go nuts and add all sorts of stuff. It makes it much more filling and fun. Sprinkle salt (Salad comes from the word salt! Proof that it needs a little) on top, your desired amount of flax seed oil (super healthy, they say), and lemon and toss.

Scoop the salad into bowls and top with the roasted cauliflower, and the eggs cut into pretty wedges. Sprinkle a tiny bit of salt on the eggs and you're done!

Actually almost done. You should toast a little (dare I even mention) bread to go with, or my latest favorite, Ryvitta Rye crackers. Otherwise the people might still feel hungry (terrible to even mention)

And dig in with a big smile!

How to Make a Delicious Banana Milkshake Without Ice Cream!

"WANT a banana milkshake!" says Isaac.
"ME TOO!" I say. "Now please ask nicely."

Oh boy!

What you need for 1 serving:

Frozen banana pieces, the amount of 1 small banana

Milk, about 3/4 cup

Cinnamon, dash

Vanilla extract, splash (not necessary, but makes helps to make the shake extra milkshakey and special)

What you do:

Next time you have bananas that are ripening too quickly, break them into pieces and put them in the freezer.

frosty cold bananas

When you or your little one is desirous of a shake, take the banana pieces out, and put about one small banana's worth into your blender.

Waiting patiently for milk.

Cover the bananas with milk, dash of cinnamon, and splash of vanilla extract.

I'm ready!

Tell your little people (and big people too) to cover their ears, and blend away.

Plug your ears!

If you like your shake thicker, use more banana and less milk, or if its too thick, use less banana and more milk. As long as the bananas are frozen, ripe and sweet, you can't go wrong. You can also experiment with adding a little orange juice for a surprisingly tropical taste.

Yummm...

See? Its sooo easy, healthy, and seriously tastes like a milkshake. Its by far my favorite food right now.

Can a milkshake be a food?

The Japanese Secret to Raising a Healthy Baby!

Mugi-cha! In English, it's called Barley Tea, though we think mugi (mooghee) cha is much more fun to say.

My friend Kyoko told me that in Japan, mugi-cha is the first drink babies have besides milk. It is unsweetened, so its very friendly to their teeth, and has a taste that is more fun to drink than say, water. It's kind of nutty and smokey, and also super easy to make. You don't need to heat up water. Instead, you just throw the jumbo tea bag into a pitcher of cold water and it steeps just like that. Mommies and Daddies and friend's of mommies and daddies seem to like it too. Very refreshing!

A happy, messy, mugi-cha drinker.

And a cleansed mugicha drinker too? The people say its supposed to be very good for you!

Though, I gotta admit, I did love hearing him say, "ap-po jute" long ago...

Double Dating

waiting for lunch

waiting for dinner

Roan's grandma Susan and I have been going on a few double dates with the little ones. Its been lots of fun, even if not always so restful. Susan is really strict with Roan. She calls it Grandma's rules and says she's gotta do it or she wouldn't be able to catch him. He is pretty fast. And when she tells Roan he has to eat his chicken and tomatoes before he gets a french fry, he actually does!

I asked her how to do it and she says I have to get, "the look". The "you better do as I say or else" look. I've tried it out, but it's not so easy.

Susan has blue hair that is very photogenic in the sunlight.

Mighty Mountain of Pancakes

We went to my step brother's house on Sunday and he made pancakes.
I love pancakes so much, and these were way better than any I've made. He said the recipe was pretty normal except for the wacky addition of making your own buttermilk by adding vinegar to regular milk.
Very DIY!

The recipe is from Allrecipes.com, and it goes a little like this (I only changed it to take out spray oil for the pan. He used, and I definitely prefer straight up butter!):

Fluffy Pancakes

• 3/4 cup milk
• 2 tablespoons white vinegar
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons white sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 egg
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted
• butter for the pan

Directions

1. Combine milk with vinegar in a medium bowl and set aside for 5 minutes to "sour".
2. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large mixing bowl. Whisk egg and butter into "soured" milk. Pour the flour mixture into the wet ingredients and whisk until lumps are gone.
3. Heat a large skillet over medium heat, and melt more butter. Pour 1/4 cupfuls of batter onto the skillet, and cook until bubbles appear on the surface. Flip with a spatula, and cook until browned on the other side.

Easter Meets Passover

If you introduce Streit's to Cadbury, something very magical happens!

Streit's, meet Cadbury.

Voila!

And it tastes goood!

Cooking Together

I've always dreamed of the day that Isaac would stand up on a chair and cook with me.
And on Saturday, it (sort of) happened!

I hope he's thinking about how he must stay away from that big knife.

I hand him the potatoes and he plops them in the bowl, just like that.

Ready, aim and shoot!

We were very excited that he we can (mostly) trust him not to fall off of the chair.

Cooking requires lots of encouragement and kisses.

It was so much fun we decided to do the same today:

Note the concentration.

And the healthy sampling habits!

We look forward to what you create next, Chef Isaac.

Happy Birthday & Banana Cake Recipe

Isaac's made the BIG ONE!

We had his party yesterday at the playground across the street. It was really fun!
Possible thunder-showers ensured we had the park to ourselves, the play gym was a lovely mingling backdrop, and Isaac got to show off his climbing up the slide skills. We ended with him almost falling asleep in the swing. 

I especially loved it when we all sang him happy birthday. He looked so surprised and tickled that everyone had suddenly broken into song. He broke into a big grin. That made my day, and his too, hopefully!

I made a banana cake because banana was Isaac's very first food, and remains his true food-love.

Gone in about 30 seconds!

The cake was good, like seriously, crazily goo-ood!.
The recipe is from the Joy of Cooking, with a few changes on my part. Thank you Joy!

(Birthday) Banana Cake!

Butter and flour a 9" springform cake pan, preheat oven to 350 deg.

In a cuisinart or blender mix together:
2 very ripe large bananas (I used 3 medium ones)
2 Tbs. sour cream

Add:
2 large eggs
2 tsp. lemon zest
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla

Beat on low speed in a separate bowl for 30 sec.:
2 cups cake flour (make sure you actually use cake flour!  I think that was the secret to the delightful crumb!)
3/4 c. + 2 tbs sugar (I used less than 1/2 a cup and it was still plenty sweet)
3/4 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp salt (I used less)

Add 1/2 the banana mixture with:
10 Tbs soft butter

Beat on low until the dry ingredients are softened, then on med for 20 sec.  Add the rest of the banana mixture in 2 batches, beating for 20 sec. after each time you add it.

Pour into the prepared pan and smooth the top.  Bake for 30 - 40 minutes, let cool for 10 minutes, slide a thin knife around the edge, and voila!

Or, almost voila! If its a birthday cake for a 1 year old and you want to have frosting, but not frosting loaded with refined sugar, try this cool icing, adapted from the Sivananda Yoga Cookbook:

Milk and Maple Frosting:

Into your mixer add and blend:

1 stick (1/2 cup) softened butter, unsalted
1 cup whole milk powder, minus 2 Tbs. (you can find this at Indian, Middle Eastern, or Health food grocery stores)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/3 cup maple syrup

You will find that it is ever so slightly granular from the whole milk powder, but when eaten with the cake it just tastes delicious, and not too sweet.

The little man's first piece of cake ever in his whole 1 year old life!

He was very focused.

He only looks perturbed here because that was the last bite.

I want more cake!

A New Dining Method

Wearing your dinner is way more fun than just eating it!

Polka dots!

And his legs! A mini topographical map of eggs and rice, dotted with bits of mushy onion and pepper.
Just delicious!

Eating the Alphabet

The wondrous omi gave us this Eating the Alphabet book.
Jeremy pronounced it "a crazy vegetarian manifesto of food", but now agrees that the fruits and vegetables are painted artistically and beautifully and are a good influence on Isaac.  The pictures have inspired us to try Kohlrabi (very yummy, like inside a broccoli stalk, but in a bizzare looking package), and to look up Xigua (baby Chinese watermelon!)
Out of appreciation, health, and taste sensation, we are doing our best to do as the book advises.

Corn!

Plum!

Watermelon! (a delicious orange variety, with Mike)

Yum!