feeding claire » veg

More Broccoli and Cheese, Please

season — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 20:59:08 +0000

For some reason I never would have thought that Claire would like broccoli but, boy, does she ever. She’ll eat it plain or a little spruced up like in the picture above (yes, I know, often pureed baby food does not look appetizing to us grown-ups; but, the picture doesn’t do it justice: it’s bright, it’s green, it looks vibrant). This is one of my favorite meals to make for Claire because it’s so jam-packed with goodness. I usually take two broccoli cubes, one cauliflower cube, and then grate some cheddar cheese on top (where it melts into gooey deliciousness). This ends up being a lot of food for one little person; but, Claire – being the Bear that she is – gobbles it all up.

Broccoli food cubes are super simple to make. I usually use the broccoli crowns that are readily available in my supermarket. I trim off some of the stem and leaves (but not too much, broccoli is full of flavor). Then I steam it as I would if I were going to eat it. It’s almost as simple as 1-2-3:

1. Trim (and I cut into smaller bits for easier steaming).

2. Steam until tender.

3. Puree.

Okay, there are a few more things involved; but not too much. Just add some water as the broccoli is pureeing to your desired texture and you’re done.

The cauliflower I make the exact same way. I use cauliflower often as what I call a ‘filler’ veg. Cauliflower is good on it’s own but not always. Sometimes I use it to add a little extra something to veg, like broccoli or carrots. It gives it a nice depth. (Yeah, I just used ‘depth’ when talking about baby food.)

At the Market

season — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 02:37:22 +0000

Spring seems to have finally arrived in Philadelphia, so I decided to take advantage of the nice weather and head out to my local market. I live in just about the heart of South Philly, which means my market is the Italian Market – a large outdoor market that spans for many, many blocks along South 9th Street. It’s predominately (and historically) Italian – obviously – but it’s expanding southward with an influx of Mexican and Asian vendors. It’s a great mix of cultures, food, and people.

We were starting to run low on Claire’s food cubes and it was time to stock up on fresh veg and fruit. It’s easy to come to the market and stock up on groceries without spending a lot of money. At least compared to my local supermarket, where the produce is overpriced and there are aisles and aisles of food ‘products’ (but to be fair, the employees are nice and I can walk(!) there from my house).

Here is just one stand that had both veg (above) and fruit (below). Each block has at least one or two vendors that sell a variety of produce.

Here is a picture of my favorite fruit stand. The fruit always looks good and presented beautifully. This vendor is one of the few that tries to display his fruit. This day, I bought three pounds of apples for $2.

It was time to make another meat cube for Claire and I decided I should try my hand at making some beef for her. We are not typically a meat-eating family (despite our love of just about all things pork – by the way, if you’re at the Italian Market, take a step off of 9th St. onto Christian to Fiorella’s, where the sausage is so fresh they don’t refrigerate it!…but now I’m on a tangent); I thought I’d give beef a go for Claire – and make some for us as well. My butcher was kind enough to let me snap some pictures while he worked.

Claire and I had a great time at the market. It’s a great place for her to people watch and see all kinds of new things. Now that the weather is warmer, she enjoys the trip a lot more. I just have to work on limiting how much I buy since I have to carry it all home.

Leeks, Potatoes, Carrots…and Peas!

season — Sat, 21 Mar 2009 13:17:45 +0000

Claire has not been a big fan of peas. I’m not sure I blame her. It took a long time for me to open up to the wonderful world of sweet peas and, even then, I like them best when mixed with other veg. (Try sauteing some shallots and mushrooms in butter and then add peas and corn and you have a sweet veg medley.) So I decided to give peas another go with the help of some other veg that I know she likes: potatoes and carrots.

I started out with some leeks, which I find to be a beautiful veg: the way the green fades into white.

So, everything gets a good chop and then into the pot it goes with a little chicken stock.After about 10 minutes you add some peas (I used frozen – and, yes, you can refreeze them).

Simmer for another 5-6 minutes and it’s ready for the food pro.

It’s hard to tell from this picture, but this puree was delicious – like a potato velvet soup. I ate the remainder for lunch!