Spice, spice baby

Yes. I'm still here. And no. I haven't been stuck in Atlanta traffic all this time.
I will blame the lapse in transitioning and starting a new job because that's sounds better than laziness.
But don't lose heart; I've been doing a lot of feeding Josie — an activity that now includes more spices.
I've always been a gal who likes to mix it up. I've perked up butternut squash bisque with allspice and zinged plain, old steamed vegetables with a little smoked paprika. I ain't scared.
Yet, I was kind of shy when it came to whether I should spice Josie's food and with what. I wasn't quite sure what would agree with her, what she'd like, what would be too much to handle and what might just turn her into a werewolf. Fortunately, the latter hasn't happened...yet.
She likes sweet potatoes baked with a mix of ground cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves or scrambled eggs with a dash of dried oregano. She's a spunky chick like her momma. She's done well with spicier cuisines, as well: Indian, Ethopian and Thai. (Perhaps because I ate so much of it while pregnant and nursing.)
I'm not sure when I got comfortable with the notion of spicin' up Josie's meals. Perhaps, it happened when I just got too tired of making separate meals for her and decreed she'd eat the same thing as us.
Now, I don't put A LOT of spice in her food. I probably hold back a little more on seasoning than I normally would, and I stay away from the hot stuff. But all in all, she's been pro-spice.
Truth be told, she's been doing a little experimenting of her own:

(Warning: This video contains scenes of extreme cuteness, heightened by chubby legs and hiccups.)

Here are some links that I found helpful, too, during my quest to suss out the skinny on spices:
- http://www.wholesomebabyfood.com/tipspices.htm
- http://www.babycenter.com.my/baby/startingsolids/spicesinbabyfoodexpert/
- http://www.livestrong.com/article/153972-what-herbs-spices-can-be-added-to-baby-foods/
- http://www.wholesomebabyfood.com/tipcurry.htm

Weekend recipe: split pea soup (AND GIVEAWAY)

Sorry this is long overdue, but when you're unemployed it can be hard to sort the weekday from the weekend.
I kid, of course. I'm spending as much time chasing after a toddler and applying for jobs, as I would at a regular 9-to-5. I'm also cooking again. Hooray!
It's kind of weird whipping up a meal in unfamiliar environs. We're living temporarily with my father-in-law, who is a wonderful, wise, witty man and a steadfast patriarch. But he is not a cook.
In fact, his rule of measure is that he won't make anything that takes longer than seven minutes — start to finish.
And with my regular arsenal cookware in storage, I'm a bit fumbly. But I broke in my culinary habitat with a big pot of split pea soup. It always makes me feel at home.
Plus, the weather in Atlanta was awful. Our first week was cold and cold and just plain cold. Perfect soup weather.
So, I will share my recipe for warmth with, y'all.
AND, get yourself a little Christmas. How does this sound: a $35 promotional shopping code at CSN Stores (an online emporium of more than 200 Web sites where you can find furniture, kitchen ware, leather messenger bags, baby gear and all kinds of stuff )?
Comment below and let me know what soup warms your wintry cockles. I'll select one comment randomly and announce the winner on Friday. That's Christmas Eve, y'all.)

Split pea soup
Time
About an hour and a half
Ingredients and Equipment
- 1 pound bag dried split green peas
- 2 cloves of garlic, minced
- 2 carrots, peeled and diced
- 2 14-oz cans chicken broth
- 4 cups of water
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- salt and pepper
- 1 teaspoon ground dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon ground dried sage
- 1 teaspoon paprika (not hot)
- 1 package turkey kielbasa (optional)
- soup pot
Directions
- Saute the carrots and garlic in olive oil in the bottom of the soup pot until tender
- Rinse split peas and add to pot. Then pour in chicken broth and water.
- Turn up heat to a boil and then lower to a simmer.
- Add salt and pepper to taste. Add spices.
- Simmer for about an hour, stirring occasionally. Peas should become very tender and nearly melt.
- Slice turkey kielbasa and heat in a saute pan until browned and add to soup.
This stuff is even better the next day. And there will be a next day because this recipe makes a lot.

A cupcake by any other name

...is a mess.
Today is my daughter's first birthday.
HOLY CRAP! WHAT?! (Sorry, I just read the second line out loud.)
I told Chris I wouldn't make a big deal out of it. She's not going to remember it. I said for months there will be better times for blowout bashes. I swore no to-dos.
I lied. Eh. At least I talked a good game.
She's going to have a party at day care tomorrow. (Today will start at the pediatrician's for another round of vaccines. Happy birthday! But we'll sweeten the day with a trip to our regular Indian joint so she can visit all her fans)
I have ordered a dozen vanilla cupcakes with LIGHT PINK icing. Good golly, I sure hope my request to tone down the icing color transmitted.
The bakery manager was pleasant and polite enough, but I'm willing to wager he doesn't have kids. He was slow on the reasoning that less food dye is OK. I believe I showed great restraint in not reciting the What Goes In, Must Come Out speech.
Truth is, it all felt a bit silly. I had my heart set on making Josie's first birthday cake. It was going to be a low-sugar carrot cake with cream cheese frosting. In my head it was beautiful and delicious.
But with the impending move and the fact that Rosie, my lovely KitchenAid mixer, is packed away, I gave in to sanity and ordered from the store. (Also, my vanity would have insured that I would be crest fallen when Josie and her classmates took their first bites, anticipating total glucose overload and instead finding wheat germ and no processed sugar, and cried.)
[Can I just add, too, that there is tremendous mommy peer pressure from the day care set. I also made nine goodie packages for Josie's class. They're adorable blue pails stuffed with a bath toy, wash cloth and individual-sized package of apple puffs. Yep. Party favors for infants.
But let's be real. I'm competing with the other moms who have sent home sippy cups filled with animal crackers or tiny board books inside Chinese take out style boxes. Have I mentioned they're infants?! Whoever started this is either obsessed with Martha Stewart, rich, nutso or all of the above. But then, what does that make me for continuing it?]
On Friday, we are completing the first leg of our move to Atlanta, stopping in Birmingham and staying the night with my parents. Of course, the proud, first-time grands have already planned out a Josie-focused menu with banana pudding for dessert.
So despite my best intentions, I have given into mommy peer pressure and baby sugar lust.
Bring out the cupcakes and the cameras, I say! Bring on the sugar! Bring out the crumbs and the icing smeared hair and the mess!

Some days, she just ain't havin' it

Like today. I made a great dinner while I convinced her to play with pots and pans and wooden spoons. Turkey meatloaf with all kinds of veggies tucked inside. And mashed sweet potatoes, parboiled first in orange juice. I made this dinner because it's tasty and it's something everyone can eat, no special steps.
But poor Pooter was worn out. She's battling a slight seasonal cold and fell asleep in my arms while we waited on the meatloaf to finish baking and for Daddy to get home. I couldn't bring myself to wake her, not even after Daddy had arrived and the meatloaf was done.
When she finally roused from her nap, dinner was served. But as I stated, Josie's response was pretty much, "Nuh-uh."
Behold:

I'm baaaaack!

Miss me? My man and I got back today from a well-deserved respite in Lucea, Jamaica. (Sighhh...) Originally, the getaway was timed to celebrate my upcoming birthday, but we ended up NEEDING it. We're planning a move to another state, trying to sell our house in — shall we say — a not-so-good market and moving on to other jobs (I still have to find mine, gulp!). Plus we have a cruising, hungry, teething, adorable despot running our household.
It was my first time away from the baby for more than one night. I woke up the first morning feeling...uh, what's the word...rested? I hadn't said that in so long my lips almost forgot how to form the sounds.
My parents kept Josie for the five days we were abroad. They're still so in love with grandchild No.1 that they still think of babysitting as a pleasure and a privilege. Shhhhh...let us let them keep thinking that as long as possible.
And, yeah, I was nervous leaving my lamb for so long even though she was staying with the people who raised me (I mean, I turned out OK, right? RIGHT!?). And, yeah, everything went well. And, yeah, somethings they didn't do as well as Mommy and Daddy. But dang it if somethings they didn't do better  — namely getting Josie to eat more table food.
Whenever I spoke to my parents on the phone my questions always went in this order: How is she sleeping? What is she eating?
I let them feed Josie. I sent her with snacks and formula, but her main meals came from them. Looking back on it, I think that's the ultimate sign of trust.
Here's what I learned from my elders:
1. Parboil sweet potatoes in natural orange juice and mash. The OJ gives them a little sweetness but is way healthier than brown sugar or marshmallows, and it also adds vitamin C.
2. Make real oatmeal. At 11 months, Josie can handle the real stuff, which I imagine also tastes better than the pasty, high-polished baby oatmeal we've been giving her.
3. Fresh pineapple cores (you know the fibrous, hard, throw-away centers of the fresh-cut pineapple in the produce section) make excellent teethers. Baby can scrape some off just a little of the sweet, tart fleshy fruit but can't bite chunks big enough to choke on.
4.  Puree cooked vegetables and hide them in meatloaf and meatballs, a strategy also known as the sneak. My dad made Josie a turkey loaf and she LOVED it.
5. All babies love mashed potatoes. 'Nuf said.
And, as a side note, here's what I learned in Jamaica:
1. You can eat callaloo for breakfast. And it's gooooood.
2. Never go against Canadians (in drinking games) when integrity is on the line.
3. Food really does taste better when your toes are buried in sand.
4. Chicken patties! Chicken patties! Chicken patties!
5. Feral cats love jerk chicken.

Weekend recipe: apple cranberry jiggle

No, that's not Chris' pet name for me. Though, it wouldn't be the worst he's come up with.
It's my (belated, again) recipe that blends a distinct flavor of the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday with gelatin, a wiggly fun food.
Ever since I decided to be a super adult and cook my own Thanksgiving a handful of years back, I've been making the cranberry sauce from scratch. Dear goddess of the harvest, it is the easiest recipe on earth...that involves cranberries. And it is super delicious. I can't look at the canned stuff the same.
Bonus! This is a recipe that can be used by adults as well as kids, or kids of all ages, or all immature adults.
Apple Cranberry Jiggle
Psstttt...hey y'all adults...I bet if you add extra powdered gelatin and a couple or dozen shots of vodka, this would make a great holiday shooter. Just sayin'... I mean, who doesn't feel like they need a drink during family holidays?

Time
15 minutes to prep and cook; must chill overnight
Ingredients and Equipment
This is going to be a two-parter. The first recipe is for the cranberry sauce, from which you'll strain off some juice to then make the jiggle. Adults get a delicious relish and babies get a fruity snack.
For the cranberry sauce, you'll need:
- 1 12-oz package of fresh cranberries (so available right now in the produce section of your grocery store; please do not use canned)
- 1 cup of unsweetened apple juice (like Motts for Tots or the natural stuff)
- 1/2 cup of sugar
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- 8 whole cloves (optional)
- sauce pan

For the jiggle, you'll need:
- 1/4 cup water (room temp is fine)
- 1 1/4-oz packet OR 1 tablespoon of plain gelatin (may be a little hard to find; check the baking aisle of your grocery store)
- 1 and 1/2 cups unsweetened apple juice
- 1/4 cup of strained cranberry sauce (just the liquid)
- sauce pan
- bowl
- sieve or other strainer
- 8-inch baking pan
- plastic wrap
Directions
To make the cranberry sauce:
- Add cranberries and 1 cup of apple juice to a sauce pan over medium heat.
- Mix in sugar and add cinnamon sticks and cloves.
- Bring to a simmer. Allow it to cook covered — though stir occasionally — until the berries have popped and softened and the mixture thickens into a syrupy stew.
- Remove from heat.

Magic

To make the jiggle:
- Mix the gelatin and water in a bowl.
- Once the cranberry sauce has cooled, ladle a portion into a sieve over a bowl and mash down to force out liquid. Strain 1/4 cup. (You can then add the mashed berry mixture back in with the rest of the cranberry sauce and store in the fridge.)

- Pour the cranberry sauce and 1 and 1/2 cups of apple juice into a sauce pan and bring to a boil. Then, remove from heat.

- Add the juices to the gelatin in the bowl and stir until the gelatin is fully dissolved.

- Pour the mixture into the baking pan, cover with plastic wrap (careful not to let the wrap touch the top of the mixture) and place in the refrigerator to chill overnight.

- Once the gelatin has set, cut into postage stamp-sized squares and serve.

My grandma's old bake ware still works

Quick warning: This jiggle is such a pretty color, but less pretty once you realize how easily it stains clothes. Thus, bibs are a must...maybe for the adults, too, especially if there's vodka involved.

Weekend recipe: back to basics

First off, an apology. Sorry this weekend recipe is late. I'm not a fan of tardiness (Thanks Kim Zolciak for making that word hip). I'm also not a fan of tummy bugs, and this bug was mean and nasty. Let's just say I was in no shape to write, much less think, about food.
But after swigging some Pedialyte and balling up on the couch for 36 hours, I'm on the mend. And I'm ready to talk baby food makin'. Let's get it on.
When I decided to make Josie's food, I knew I wanted her first bite to be something nutritious, gentle and sweet but not too sugary. So I picked sweet potato.
Whatever you pick, making purees is actually pretty easy, is cheaper than buying premade, doesn't require any special kitchen appliances (as long as you have, pots and pans and a blender or food processor) and takes less time than slapping on sweats and shoes and driving to the grocery store.
Back to basics
Here's the basic recipe for any single fruit or veggie puree. For first stage food, the texture should be similar to cream. Once baby has been introduced to a variety and has moved on to stage two, you are free to mix and match as you please. Also, if you find yourself lacking ideas, go peruse the baby food aisles.
Time
30 minutes or less
Ingredients and Equipment
Here's where you have options. I'm lucky enough to have access to a farmers market from summer to mid-fall, and I really enjoyed picking out produce that was in season. I knew it was fresh and flavorful. But truth be told, I found some frozen vegetables worked just as well. I never used canned because of the high salt content and general not-fresh flavor.
I've listed some of our favorite fruits and vegetables, though feel free to run wild.
- Fresh vegetable: Sweet potatoes, butternut squash, carrots, broccoli
- Frozen vegetable: sweet peas, green beans, lima beans, spinach
- Fresh fruits: peaches, mango, apple, blueberries, pears (fruits such as bananas and avocados can be pureed and served raw)
- Frozen fruits: peaches, mango, blueberries, cherries
- Steamer pot, stew pot, oven or microwave
- blender or food processor
- sieve (optional)
Directions
Again, more options when it comes to cooking methods.
- Wash all fruits and vegetables and remove any peels, skins, rinds or seeds. Then, cut into manageable pieces.
- Steaming: great for squash, carrots, broccoli. Place pieces in a slotted or colander like basket over boiling water, cover and cook until tender.
- Baking: great for sweet potatoes, yams or any kind of potato. (In a hurry? Just prick some holes in the skin with a fork, pop in the microwave and nuke until the flesh is tender. Cut in half and scoop out.)
- Stewing: great for any fruit or frozen vegetables. Add a little water to the pot and simmer until tender.
You see, tender is the optimal condition here.
- Puree: Place the fruit or vegetable in a blender or food processor. Thin with breastmilk, formula or cooking liquid and blend until smooth.
- Strain: This is really only necessary for stringy or fibrous vegetables and fruits (green beans, mango, sweet peas)
- Store: Pour purees into ice cube trays and allow them to freeze overnight. Pop out the cubes (pre-portioned; about a tablespoon each) into a plastic freezer bag, label and keep up to a month.
Ta da! Now get on it, y'all!

War and peas

As I mentioned the other day, I've got some leftover baby food issues. Namely the cubes of frozen purees sitting idly in Ziplock bags, beckoning me to thaw them or at least build a colorful igloo.
Every time I open the freezer door for some ice cream or a veggie burger patty, there they are. Reminding me of the energy and ingredients I put into making them. Shaming me for the waste.
No more, I say! This is war.
I conquered the leftover butternut squash and sweet potatoes in a spicy bisque on Tuesday. On Wednesday, I nearly conquered the sweet peas.
One of Josie's favorites right now is cheesy tomato (and chicken) pasta. So if she likes that, who's to say she won't like cheesy peasy chicken pasta?

I mean it is made of all the same ingredients, except I substitute sweet green peas for the tomato. It takes the same amount of time to make — No. Wait. Less time! You don't have to blanch and peel a tomato. It's a mini meal. And it has a cute name.

Next battle: green beans. I'm recruiting kitchen soldiers. Anyone want to strategize on how to take down the ranks of leftovers in my freezer?

When a life hands you baby food, make...soup?

Tuesday night I was scrubbing pots until nearly 10. Yeah, I party.
But I'm not telling y'all this to solicit sympathy. Rather, I'm going to brag on myself.
I'm writing a column for The Clarion-Ledger (the daily newspaper in Jackson, Miss.) about making baby food and why I do it to run on its Dining page. And so the pot washing was the result of making and photographing a butternut squash puree.
While the prospect of writing a first-person column — only my second ever for the newspaper — is exciting, I'm more proud of me for my little blip of Polish ingenuity.
You see, Josie's not eating purees any more. She loved 'em. But now she's on to bigger bites.
I'm a firm believer in waste not, want not. That meant I was stuck with a puree. To add insult, my freezer still has a few bags of various untouched, blended veggies. Frankly, I was feeling a bit outnumbered.
Good thing I was craving soup. Actually ever since posting on my friend Noodles' blog, I've been wanting a nice, hearty butternut squash bisque. The stars were aligning.
After steaming the squash and running it through a blender, after I'd demonstrated the recipe and the photos were captured, I dumped the whole shebang into a pot that I had seasoned with extra virgin olive oil, garlic and a generous amount of dried thyme, allspice, cinnamon, cumin, ginger and cayenne.
I added a little chicken broth and the rest of the pureed butternut squash and sweet potato baby food cubes from the freezer and presto! I had a spicy bisque.
No one at my table will have to know it was once baby food. Y'all CAN keep a secret, right?

Mommy's little baby loves cornbread, cornbread

My southern belle had a down home feast Sunday night. I'm talking pinto beans and cornbread, y'all.

And judging by her face and hands and shirt, she loved it.

Then again, it's hard not to love my husband's homemade cornbread. Just ask Josie.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RtkbHO7IDVI

And look! She has her Braves shirt on. It don't get more southern.

P.S. I did it! Pshew. I'm s-m-r-t.

Weekend recipe: baby quiche

The other day I was soliciting breakfast ideas for Josie after falling into a rut of cereal and fruit. Thanks to kind hearted readers, I am regaining my mojo. Josie thanks you, too.

One of the ideas that has gone over really well so far is from my coworker Lisa. She said to bake eggs in a muffin pan, like quiches. I tweaked the idea by adding cottage cheese, which Josie is crazy about.

These quiches won my heart because they are easy to make, easy to store and made with whole foods. Josie fell in love with their eggy, cheesy goodness.

Breakfast bachelor No.1, step up and introduce yourself.

Baby Quiche

(Does not contain real baby)

Time

15 minutes

Ingredients and Equipment

This recipe should yield six quiches.

- 6 egg yolks (save the whites for a healthy grown-ups' omelet)

- 1 heaping cup cottage cheese

- pinch of dried chives (optional)

- muffin pan

Directions

In a bowl, mix the egg yolks, cottage cheese and chives. Pour the mixture evenly into a muffin pan and bake at 375 degrees for about 5-10 minutes, until the tops are firm and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

(NOTE: I didn't use a nonstick muffin pan and discovered I should have sprayed the bottom with oil. Also, my muffin pan had 12 muffin cups. So, I poured a little water into the six empty cups so that the heat would be even. I think the water also added some steam and helped keep the quiches from drying out.)

Eat as I say, not as I do

Josie's meals so far today: A breakfast of homemade peaches with oatmeal, a lunch of homemade butternut squash and green beans and three 5-ounce bottles.

(I usually pack Josie's food for daycare, but Daddy did it last night because I was incapacitated with a migraine. Whooppeeee! But didn't he do a good job?)

Mommy's meals so far today: A frosted strawberry Poptart, a Chick-fil-A spicy chicken sandwich and a side salad. (Yeah! A vegimable!)

Sigh. Looks like someone needs to lead by example. At least, she didn't see me gobble up my lunch at my desk.