Cooking for Baby: January 2006 Archives
A few days ago, as I dished up Annie's shells and cheese (from a box) with added broccoli tops (from a frozen box), I thought, "I can do better, and in the same amount of time, too." I could cook dried pasta shells, or any easy-to-pick-up shape, then toss it with either cubed cheese or some ricotta, parmesan and pasta water and diced tomatoes, cooked veggies or cooked meat.
The New York Times magazine's food column addresses the issue this week, kind of. Why do parents who like good food give their kids prepackaged foods? I simply don't want to make two meals every night for dinner, so I want August to eat what we eat. Or rather, it seems like I want to be able to eat what I make for him. Without sacrificing my eating habits in the process. He's doing a pretty good job with adult food so far, but I've been steering clear of any kind of spice and any kind of nut.
One of my friends trekked to Flushing last weekend to buy some very fresh tofu, and she brought some home for me, too. I'm a bit of a tofu virgin, but I made this simple soup that August really loved. It has lots of vegetables diced up just the right size for him to pick up (so he had a bowl of the soup, and used his spoon to pick up a couple of pieces, but then he just mashed his hands right in).
I started with a small carton of vegetable broth (about 2 cups) then added a diced carrot and a couple of slices of fresh ginger. Boiled that for 5 minutes, then added a diced small zucchini. After 5 more minutes I added about 3/4 cup diced tofu (regular) and a couple handfuls of frozen peas (which August has an amazing ability of leaving uneaten). Heated that through and ate. I liked it, too.
Now what do I do with the rest of the tofu?
One of my friends trekked to Flushing last weekend to buy some very fresh tofu, and she brought some home for me, too. I'm a bit of a tofu virgin, but I made this simple soup that August really loved. It has lots of vegetables diced up just the right size for him to pick up (so he had a bowl of the soup, and used his spoon to pick up a couple of pieces, but then he just mashed his hands right in).
I started with a small carton of vegetable broth (about 2 cups) then added a diced carrot and a couple of slices of fresh ginger. Boiled that for 5 minutes, then added a diced small zucchini. After 5 more minutes I added about 3/4 cup diced tofu (regular) and a couple handfuls of frozen peas (which August has an amazing ability of leaving uneaten). Heated that through and ate. I liked it, too.
Now what do I do with the rest of the tofu?
Should he eat sausage? This was chicken-apple sausage without all those preservatives, so I don't think there's anything wrong with it. We gave him ham yesterday, too, which probably wasn't the greatest idea, with all that sodium. But man, do I have to eat only whole foods when I'm cooking for him? Maybe so.
I made it with pasta, one of his favorite things in the whole world. I actually used a whole-wheat penne because I've grown to want that texture, sometimes. It's just a completely different animal from regular pasta, the same way fresh pasta is just different from dried, a different beast. So while the pasta water was coming to a boil I diced and sauteed two sausages, then I added a sliced onion to that and sauteed it until all the slices were soft and brown. By then the pasta was in the water and I scooped a bit of the pasta cooking water into the pan with the sausage and onion, then put the lid on it to try to get the onions cooked even further. When the pasta was done I fished it out of the water with my slotted spoon and added it (and any water clinging to it) to the sausage and onions. Cooked a bit to meld the flavors. Todd and I ate ours with grated cheese on top. August had a hard time chewing the sausage, but part of the reason for that was he liked it so much he was getting his mouth too full of the sausage to actually chew - so out it comes. It's amazing what doesn't gross you out once you're a parent.
I made chocolate pudding for dessert. August would have a bite, scrunch up his face and kind of smack his tongue against the roof of his mouth, like he was mulling it over, then open his mouth for more.
