After our wildly successful trip a couple of weeks ago to the Beaverton Farmer's Market where, compared to other farmer's markets in town that happen to be located next to a city university and are filled with, ugh, "foodies", double-wide strollers and people who seem to have no clue as to how to navigate their overfed bodies in public, all was uncrowded and delicious. I mentioned in my post about said visit that a whole bunch of fresh produce from that visit was going to feed the insatiable appetite of C-boy, whose hunger knows no bounds and who has yet to meet anything on a serving utensil that doesn't meet his standards of deliciousness.So far, nine months in (3+ months on solids)
we have yet to buy any jarred baby food. So, not only is he loving what we're shoving in his piehole, we're also saving a shitload of money by making our own. Too much hassle, you say? I say are you too damn lazy to fill a pan with a skim of water to steam various ingredients and pop them in the blender? If you answered yes, then I can only assume your child's favorite toy is the remote control to your TV which is never turned off. So to help you all who need to regain the respect of your children...and their pediatrician...and for god's sake yourselves...here's all you do.....*** *** *** *** ***
Baby Food
First off, before I give you the "complicated" recipe for infantile home cooking using a steamer basket and blender, I have to admit to using an egregiously, embarrassingly overpriced and unnecessary gadget called a Beaba steamer/blender (pictured above, filled with beautiful peaches from Baird Family Orchards). Why would I spend too much money on such a thing when I have a perfectly usable steamer basket and even a Cuisinart mini-processor? Two reasons: 1-I'm a gadget whore. If it goes in the kitchen (and better yet plugs in!), I'm probably likely to buy it; 2-It is really fucking convenient and easy to clean/use, and I am lazy in my own way. So, with that out of the way....
method:
1-Cut up whatever you think your precious reason-for-living might like, such as squash, apples, pears, zucchini, etc., into 1"-2" pieces and place in your steamer basket...you do have a steamer basket, right? If not they're about five bucks at the store. If you can't afford that, and you can with all the $$ you'll be saving on baby food...then I'm picturing your baby rolling around naked because he has no clothes to wear, and soiling himself and everything around him because he obviously also has no diapers. You can also dump frozen organic peas and other veggies right out of the bag into the steamer.
2-Fill the bottom of whatever pan you steam food in....again, you do have a pan for steaming food, right?...with a 1/4" of water. Place steamer basket into aforementioned pan. Cover pan. Place on stovetop. Turn burner to high. Don't forget to place the pan on the burner you just turned on...man, do I have to tell you everything? Steam food until very soft (and yes, you will want it softer than you like it unless you have a proclivity for gumming your food from lack of childhood dental care). Carefully remove steamer basket from pan (this shit is HOT, 'yo) and place contents in blender. Purée food in blender until very smooth. When food cools, feed child results. I told you it was easy, didn't I??
NOTE: Okay, maybe you don't have a blender. But you do have forks, right? If you answered no to that question, perhaps you should rethink this whole "raising a child" thing. If you answered yes, take the fork and mash the hell out of the steamed food, which as I said above should be very soft, until it is smooth with no lumps.
That's my boy!!
