ScottyG and some random thoughts

[ScottyG]

We've been lucky with the fruit, local farmers selling bushels of slightly damaged fruits at the market that we grabbed up earlier in the year. We got a HUGE basket of peaches for 10 bucks, and made enough peach puree to see our daughter until she eats with us at the table. A few other nice things like that. One local farmer, we asked if she had any pesticide-free apples we could use for baby food. She said not with her, but she could bring some the next week. So I got them from her a week later, and she refused payment, saying "it's for the baby, so no paying." Very sweet lady, and sweet apples for the little one!

I just posted the pears recipe, but honestly everything's pretty much the same. Take food item. Peel it (before or after cooking, depending on item) and cook it (microwave or stovetop or oven, depending on item). Puree in blender, pass through strainer, freeze into cubes. Done.

I bought some stew beef to try making baby beef stew out of this week... never tried meat for her, but I think I'll do about the same. Cook beef and carrots and peas maybe in some water until tender, puree and freeze. I get all my recipes (and then modify them for my needs) from a free website with lots of good baby food info:

http://www.wholesomebabyfood.com/

It's really got too much information, and it's poorly organized, and always gives you a few different ways to try cooking things. But it's a very good resource, and hey! Free! No buying cookbooks or anything.

 

[Henrietta23]

Spent all day with the baby today while the wife was working hard... but the weather was really cruddy (cold, rain, a bit of hail, a lot of wind) so we just stayed indoors and rolled around on the floor all day, pausing occasionally for some bouncing in the Johnny Jump-Up, or some getting in the front-carrier to do some laundry. She's just so much fun right now.

Today, she started discovering that she doesn't have to be the only one doing silly things all day... no, she can make ME do silly things too. So she, in the middle of a goofy peekaboo session, held the blanket up to my face, and laughed hysterically. Also, I usually give her the spoon to play with at the end of her meals. She loves to play with it, and I figure she's getting practice holding it. So after about 5 minutes of chewing on the spoon, she held it out to my face, and when I bit it, she giggled up a storm. So much fun!

Otherwise, an uneventful day. Made a surprisingly delicious salad out of random things around the house: some lettuce I bought on "manager's special" (read: getting old but still okay) at the store, topped with some pickled beets I made a few weeks ago, some sliced green tomatoes, some carrot, and roasted sunflower seeds. Plus sesame ginger dressing. Had no idea if it would be good, but it was delicious! I've never really used green tomatoes before, but a local farmer was selling some last week, and they were pretty much the only vegetable at the farm market, so I grabbed them. Yay!

And I'm about to go make some more pears for the baby. In the interest of not getting too caught up in this journal thing, and in case anybody else wants to make baby food (it's so easy, really), I'll post the recipe in the food section.

Oh cool! I love it when their brains develop and you can actually see it happen! I don't often miss those baby days, but I did a little after reading this. Gotta tell you though, it just gets better and better! But you have to enjoy the journey too.

 

[Henrietta23]

We've been lucky with the fruit, local farmers selling bushels of slightly damaged fruits at the market that we grabbed up earlier in the year. We got a HUGE basket of peaches for 10 bucks, and made enough peach puree to see our daughter until she eats with us at the table. A few other nice things like that. One local farmer, we asked if she had any pesticide-free apples we could use for baby food. She said not with her, but she could bring some the next week. So I got them from her a week later, and she refused payment, saying "it's for the baby, so no paying." Very sweet lady, and sweet apples for the little one!

I just posted the pears recipe, but honestly everything's pretty much the same. Take food item. Peel it (before or after cooking, depending on item) and cook it (microwave or stovetop or oven, depending on item). Puree in blender, pass through strainer, freeze into cubes. Done.

I bought some stew beef to try making baby beef stew out of this week... never tried meat for her, but I think I'll do about the same. Cook beef and carrots and peas maybe in some water until tender, puree and freeze. I get all my recipes (and then modify them for my needs) from a free website with lots of good baby food info:

http://www.wholesomebabyfood.com/

It's really got too much information, and it's poorly organized, and always gives you a few different ways to try cooking things. But it's a very good resource, and hey! Free! No buying cookbooks or anything.

You're a smart guy; you'll figure it out! I had a few books from the library and one I got as a shower gift from the only friend who could understand why I'd even want to make my own baby food.

 

[ScottyG]

Somebody gave me a baby food cookbook. And all the recipes were, like:

"Cook vegetable. Blend. Serve."

And I thought, seriously? A cookbook for this? I can figure that out myself. It's got one ingredient.

 

[Henrietta23]

Somebody gave me a baby food cookbook. And all the recipes were, like:

"Cook vegetable. Blend. Serve."

And I thought, seriously? A cookbook for this? I can figure that out myself. It's got one ingredient.

That pretty much sums it up, doesn't it? The books usually go beyond the early stages and mix a few ingredients and add a little texture. I needed ideas for that but that's another story for my own thread.

 

[FarmerChick]

An article I read said to make easy money part time was to write a How To booklet. Your knowledge, written down, like "How To Prepare Natural Baby Foods" and market it. Said you could do real well.

Hmm..something to think about! With all we know about SS we could all be authors!

 

[patandchickens]

When mine were in the babyfood stage I just restricted our adult menu (well most of the time) to things that could be smashed through a wire strainer with the back of a spoon, after being finely minced in the case of meat. I always figured I *ought* to do Scotty's thing and make big batches in the food mill to store in the freezer, but never seemed to get round to it

I tell you what, though, when each kid was between the ages of 6 months and about 11 months or so, I sure did start to miss pizza, stromboli, pot roast, and other nonbabyfoodizeable stuff <g>

Pat

 

[ScottyG]

On a non-baby note, I have this commission to write a big piece of choral music for 5 choirs to perform in a giant cathedral at a "winter concert" thing. And I got kind of carried away writing it and made it too long. I sent it to the conductor anyway, hoping he'd be happy with extra music. But he was like, "looks great, but we seriously need it to be shorter." So now, I have to take this new baby (not my actual baby, my creative baby) and cut it to pieces and make a mini-version. Boo. I was hoping I could sweet-talk him into it.

In other news, my baby (actual baby) just went to bed 2 hours after she usually does because this baby, who normally requires great deals of coaxing to take naps? Well, she randomly fell asleep on my wife's shoulder this afternoon and slept for 2 hours. So bedtime was hard. Babies are so awesomely unpredictable. Anyone who tells you life with a baby is boring hasn't spent very long with one.

 

[ScottyG]

I have SO much work to do, and no time to do it. ARGH. I'm using these few hours after the baby goes to bed to get all my work done, but it's piling up on me! I have 30 papers to grade! I have 2 huge assignments to correct! I have a 500-page book to read by next Tuesday! And no time to do any of it! My wife is WAY busier than I am, and so I totally give her precedence in getting things done... but I'm getting a bit worried. Urgh.

And, I know, the obvious: then why are you posting here? I can't help myself!

 

[poppycat]

Glad I'm not the only procrastinator here. There's some work I should be doing too....