Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Monday, July 19, 2010
Sacrifices
Yes, there are certain things I cannot do any longer but I am done morning the loss of my independence. I have learned to look at life with a new approach. I am starting to really focus on tradeoffs. For the past month, I have been dying to bake again and get my hands dirty in the kitchen. While I am no fan of coming home and preparing dinner every night, I do LOVE to bake. I love baking breads, muffins, cakes etc. With this little one, it has been difficult to stop and enjoy those things I once loved with so many other things I could be doing. Things like dusting, vacuuming, organizing, mopping etc etc. Yesterday I finally decided that for the sake of mental health, I was going to have to bake in the middle of disarray. I prepared some delicious baby veggie soup for Taj and then I dusted off my kitchenaid mixer. I baked the tastiest little doughnut muffins and all the while, my carpet was covered with a thin layer of dog hair and there were piles of laundry in the dining room.
It is hard getting used to the idea that I might never be the housekeeper that my mother was. That more often than not, if you stop by my house, there will probably be a few tumbleweeds of dog hair rolling around and some dishes in the sink. I have finally let go of this notion that every Saturday morning should be spent cleaning. Now, I certainly don't intend for my house to be filthy all of the time, but it feels great to entertain the idea that on some days, among the chaos, we can still laugh, love, and BAKE!
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
The Beaba Babycook
This weekend I had the opportunity to experiment with my Beaba Babycook. 
Saturday started with a trip to the Vincennes Farmer's Market. I purchased two butternut squash, tomatoes, and a jar of Papa Ed's Pepper Butter.During Taj's first morning nap, I cut up the squash into tiny cubes and commenced to steaming and then pureeing in the Babycook. In retrospect, I wish I had just cooked the squash by roasting it in the oven as cleaning and cubing the butternut squash took a good 15-20 minutes and these days, i don't have that much time to spare. In any case, the steaming process took about 15 minutes. I then pureed by adding back my cooking water and pulsing for quite a while. The squash babyfood is good, although it is pretty thick and starchy. It seems best served with some extra water before warming and a nice thin fruit.
Two batches of squash later, I opened my "Cooking for Baby" cookbook. I then, set out to make Taj a fan of zucchini.
While I am still a bit skeptical about the zucchini, the cookbook states that zucchini is a perfect "first food" because of its mild and tender flesh. It also added that the skin would provide great nutrional value. I cleaned (throughly) two zucchini and then cubed them and let my Babycook do its work. The result was a beautiful rich, green puree. I tasted it and frankly, the flavor was very strong but tasty - especially when paired with my third and final babyfood project of the day....
ORANGES AND BANANAS!
This was my most successful attempt of the day. .
Friday, July 09, 2010
Come with me and you'll be
In a world of pure imagination
Take a look and you'll see
Into your imagination
We'll begin with a spin
Trav'ling in the world of my creation
What we'll see will defy
Explanation
If you want to view paradise
Simply look around and view it
Anything you want to, do it
Want to change the world, there's nothing to it
There is no life I know
To compare with pure imagination
Living there, you'll be free
If you truly wish to be
If you want to view paradise
Simply look around and view it
Anything you want to, do it
Want to change the world, there's nothing to it
There is no life I know
To compare with pure imagination
Living there, you'll be free
If you truly wish to be
Blog Content
A couple of friends have asked me if my blog, formerly all about crafting, sewing, handbags, and other random "stuff" is going to turn into a blog about baby "stuff". The answer to that question is yes and no. Now that I have a baby in my life it is hard not to write about the good and bad "stuff" you find when catering to the needs of a growing child. With that said, I don't intend to leave out the good and bad stuff that apply to big girls and boys either. So don't turn me off just yet.
Ella's Organic Baby Food
Why did this conventional farm girl go for this expensive ORGANIC baby food?
Here is my justification.
1. I had a coupon and free shipping.
2. I was bored with the standard Gerber and Beech Nut varieties.
4. I have not had the time yet to break out my super dee duper Beaba Baby Food Maker and after reading the reviews of this baby food, I figured it was the closest thing to fresh, homemade baby food I could find.
After using the baby food, here is my review.
Positive
1. The baby food tastes very, very fresh - you can tell there are absolutely no additives (water, sugar, etc).
2. The packaging is pretty awesome, no baby food on my fingers etc. Reminds me of my capri-sun days.
3. The flavors I have tried so far taste yummy and I have not been able to find baby food in stage one that include fruits and veggies like blueberries, pumpkin, and parsnips in many other brands.
Negative
1. When I buy a food called Sweet Potatoes, Apples, Pumpkin, and Blueberries - I expect that the first ingredient with the largest percentage would be sweet potatoes - NOT SO MUCH - it is apples. In fact, over half of the make up is apples, with sweet potatoes only being 23%.You will find that with several of their varieties, a fruit is the first ingredient. I think that is a bit misleading.
NO WONDER THEY TASTE SO GOOD!
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