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𝓗𝓾𝓷𝓰𝓻𝔂 𝓑𝓪𝓶𝓫𝓲𝓷𝓪
It’s been an incredible 6 1/2 months; fortified by the love and support of my wonderful partner and primarily revolving around our vibrant wee honey bee! Watching Adira grow and develop is by far our favourite pleasure.
We have loved doing little photoshoots with her as to document her progress, above are a few of these photos.
Below are some baby food recipes for new Mommy’s who want to make their own purees rather than buying store bought. I found it hard to find neat recipes for our tiny gourmet that were interesting after doing the standard initiations of pureed apple, baby porridge and the rest.
Tried and tested- Adira says they pass the raspberries test- ie: they stay in the mouth rather than other places eh little munchkin ;) aand the first one- ‘Thai- style Fruit Pudding’ is bloody great for all of us- deliver to a parfait glass and top with vanilla mascarpone and a sprig of mint. Bless.
Bon Appetit!
Tropical Thai-style Fruit Pudding
Ingredients:
1 mango
2 bananas
1/2 cup coconut milk
1 Tbsp. brown sugar (omit if you’d prefer refined sugar free)
1 tsp. lime juice
Preparation:
Peel, core and chop mango into chunks. Peel and slice banana into chunks. Over medium heat, pour coconut milk into a medium-sized saucepan. With a wooden spoon, stir in brown sugar and lime juice. Add mango and banana. Cook for 3 minutes. Pour the mixture into a blender and puree to a smooth texture. Pour the fruit pudding into your freezer cube trays, cover and freeze until ready to use.
Serving:
Defrosted pudding cubes taste great alone, but try these options for variety:
Add fruit pudding to oatmeal for a great tasting start to the day.
Add a few cubes of fruit pudding to pancake batter to make Thai-inspired pancakes
Add mashed brown rice to create a fruity rice pudding
Toss 2-3 frozen cubes, 2 ice cubes and splash of fruit juice or milk in a blender for a frothy fruit smoothie.
Ginger Pear Delight
Ingredients:
4-6 Pears
1/8 tsp vanilla
1/8 tsp ground ginger
Preparation:
Wash the pears. Peel skin and remove the core. Cut the fruit into 1-inch chunks or slices.
Microwave Method: Place the pears in a microwave-safe dish. Sprinkle the pears with vanilla and ground ginger. Cover with a lid. Cook on HIGH for 5 minutes. Let stand for 5 minutes. The fruit is done if a fork slides easily into it or it can be mashed easily. Place the fruit and 2-4 Tbsp. of the cooking juice into a blender or food processor. Stove Method: Pour 1 cup of water in a large saucepan. Set a steamer basket in the saucepan. Place the pear pieces in the steamer basket. Sprinkle the pears with vanilla and ground ginger. Cover the saucepan and place on a stove burner. Set the burner temperature to HIGH and bring the water to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 5 minutes. Let stand for 5 minutes. The fruit is done if a fork slides easily into it or it can be mashed easily. Place the fruit and 2 to 4 Tbsp. of cooking juice into a blender or food processor.
Puree the pears in the blender or food processor to a smooth texture. At least once during the puree process, stop the appliance and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula.
Pour or spoon the pureed pears into ice cube trays and cover them. Put them in the freezer for 8 to 10 hours or overnight.
Write “PEARS” and the date on a freezer storage bag. Remove the baby food trays from the freezer and quickly run hot water over the back of the tray. Twist the tray to pop the pear cubes out and into the freezer storage bag. Place the storage bag in the freezer.
Baby Borscht Puree
Ingredients:
3 beets, peeled
1 apple, peeled
1 potato, peeled
1½ cups water or low-sodium chicken/ vege broth
Preparation:
Chop beets, apple and potato into 1-inch cubes and place them in medium saucepan. Add water or chicken broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 20 minutes, until vegetables are fork tender. Remove from heat and let the mixture cool a few minutes. Pour the mixture into a blender or food processor and puree to a smooth texture. Pour the Baby Borscht into your ice cube trays, cover and freeze until ready to use.
Serving:
Defrost borscht cubes and stir in a little plain yogurt for a creamy texture. Serve warm or cool
Shitake & Edamame Puree
Introducing Umami
Edamame and Shitake mushrooms are two very common ingredients in Japanese cooking. Edamame (pronounced ed-ah-MAH-may) are little green gems – packed with protein and loads of nutrients. Including Shitake mushrooms in this puree is a great way to introduce your baby to the distinctive taste of umami.
Ingredients:
1/2 cup Shitake mushrooms, stems removed
1 Tbsp. Olive oil
2 cups Shelled Edamame
¾ – 1 cup Water
1 tsp. Soy sauce, optional
Preparation:
Bring 6 cups of water to boil in a stock pot. Add Edamame and cook for 4 minutes. Drain Edamame in a colander and place them in a blender or food processor. In a small sauté pan, heat oil over medium heat, add mushrooms and cook for 2-3 minutes. Add the mushrooms, soy sauce and ¾ cup of water to the Edamame in the blender. Process until the mixture is a smooth puree. If needed, add additional water.
Spoon the puree into ice cube trays, cover and freeze until ready to use. Serve as a vegetable dish for your baby’s meal with mashed brown rice, meats or fish.
Bambina’s Beef Mince With Kumera
Ingredients:
300 to 450g lean beef mince
1 cup peeled, grated kumera (sweet potato)
400g peeled, grated apple
1 cup water
Preparation:
Put mince, apple and kumera into a saucepan. Add water and bring slowly the boil.
Simmer gently for about 35 minutes, stirring often, until reduced and thick but still moist.
Puree to a smooth consistency.
VOILA! Quick, easy and ten times better than what comes out of those Tetra packs ;)
New Bits & Tasty Bits
Spring Kai
Cooking, history, heritage, relationships, sharing, artisan & local producers and trades(wo)men, farming, agriculture, animals and the environment; the circles of life, sustainability and the effects of consumption have been principles, themes and foundations I have grown up with since I was a wee one. My family had a lifestyle property out of the city where we had animals, extensive gardens and produced an abundant variety of vegetables and produce and got all elbows and gummies in, and the majority of properties I have lived in I have been a part of cultivating gardens. My childhood friend's family owned a good chunk of Arapawa Island and another bay called Green Bay in the Marlborough Sounds; places we would fly and boat to for weekends and extended breaks- here too, even as grasshoppers we were all hands to deck and active in being independent and self reliant. From very early on in my life my experiences combined with an adventurous disposition cemented a love for relationships and cycles; how to live with nature, time, each other and the commitment and integrity it takes to nurture, develop and sustain associations. Plus we learnt first hand the rewards pushing out of our comfort zones could bring us. My memories are filled with glorious experiences out in our land, in every condition while learning diverse skills and partaking in the building blocks of what it means to support ourselves, others and the community.
'Organic', 'sustainable', 'ethically minded' these are all phrases fashionably promoted in modern society. 'Coined' perhaps being a more appropriate term, because often now they are used to cash in on others; pull heart strings with a little social and emotional blackmail and tout the 'correct' way to live & consume. My family, and those we know did it well before anything was fashionable because they love living like that and because they genuinely like to help out, do their bit & fix things.
Conscious consuming seems to have got really uptight all of a sudden. It's all good going and buying those free range chook eggs and organic beef- but have you stopped and thought about what your stress levels are like doing this? I mean- it's fabbo helping the animals/ environment but the human getting it needs to be happy also. I watch so many people running around like blue ass flies, afraid to admit they're totally overloaded, afraid to say that they'd rather not be so 'busy' and keeping up appearances when they are totally run ragged. You know that free range meat- well they are farming it so the animal is happy, because less stress means tender produce and a better all round product & system.
... um... human, you are no different. Don't you deserve to be a tender product of a beautiful system?
Labels often aren't what they seem- people getting on and doing things with the right motivations don't shout from the rooftops- it's part of their DNA. The biggest sharers often have next to nothing; the richest often have no cachinga, the wisest little 'formal' education, the most beautiful are not models, and the ugliest are sometimes the most aesthetically pleasing. The biggest movers & shakers don't do it with noise, pandemonium or back patting and the most powerful are often not in positions with titles. I learnt simple things from the land and Mother Nature's rules that have traveled with me into everything I do: Live with dignity; help each other out ;)
I'm an organic free range human who adores nothing more than to create cuisine for myself and my loved ones. This year being on the hop has meant I craved and required easy wholesome solutions to dinners and quick answers to my desires for resourcefulness with a dash of creativity smacked in. I had never really considered sharing photos on Insta of what I chuck together perhaps because they aren't like my fancy presentations for parties and get togethers, but after a friend popped over and commented how much she loved them, I continued to do so- and really enjoyed it.
Plus this is what I love and reward myself with in real time- no preening. Real food ❤ reaaaally easy (jezzus Gordon R watch out! lol)
More daylight hours, warm temperatures and party season starting requires tasty solutions. Here's the recipes that match up with those tempting photos I posted that ya'll kindly shared your appreciation for. Ennnjjoy.
Yum!- hope you have fun! P.S. Here's an active link for the plaiting video :)
𝒞𝓊𝓇𝓇𝑒𝓃𝓉𝓁𝓎 𝓁𝑜𝒸𝒶𝓉𝑒𝒹 𝒾𝓃:
𝓙𝓪𝓹𝓪𝓷 | 2014
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