WordPress

You can now find and bread at andbread.wordpress.com. Hope to see you there!

Homemade Baby Food!

Last year for Christmas my husband gave me a baby cookbook. I have been waiting patiently for nearly a year now for the chance to use it. Last month (with the go ahead from our pediatrician) Lyla had her first taste of rice cereal and because she has now masted that skill, the time has come for her to move on to her first vegetable.

After pouring over the baby cookbook, I finally settled on zucchini as her first veggie. This was insanely easy to make. I followed the directions exactly as the book stated and judging by her empty bowl, I am pretty sure Lyla was pleased with the results.

Start off by washing and cutting 3 zucchinis into 1 inch thick pieces. Place the zucchini into a steamer filled with an inch of water and cover.

Steam the zucchini for about 9 minutes or until very tender.

Transfer zucchini to a food processor and blend until completely smooth.

And done! Wait about 30 minutes or so to allow the puree to come to room temperature before serving or storing. 

I spent plenty of time researching proper storing and freezing methods so that her food will be kept as healthy and fresh as possible. I found that food will keep (in an air tight container) for 3 days in the refrigerator or for up to 3 months in the freezer. To freeze, I first let the puree cool, then divided it up into ice cube trays. I put the trays in the freezer until the food had hardened and then transferred the cubes to a freezer-weight plastic bag which I labeled with the date and type of food. I thought this would be the best practice as I make more and more food.

A few things to note: although more expensive, I bought (and plan to always buy when possible) organic zucchini. I do not want Lyla to ingest pesticides or any other unnatural products. Especially when making purees that include the skin, such as zucchini, it is even more important to go organic. Also, some vegetables will require you to add additional liquids when pureeing (such as breast milk or water). Zucchini is a water heavy veggie and therefore did not need any additional liquid.

The zucchini puree was so easy to make and Lyla loved it! She ate her first bowl in what has to be record timing.

Next up, sweet potato puree for my sweet baby girl! Who would have thought making baby food would be so much fun?!

A Year of Firsts

This is the year of many firsts for Lyla. I remember shortly after she was born, the nurses kept telling us to look for her first wet diaper. When they saw that yellow line on her newborn Pampers turn to blue they celebrated and then celebrated some more. Since then, each day has brought many other firsts, and all are constant reminders of how quickly my little girl is growing up.

She had her first car ride.

Followed by her first night at home, her first restaurant experience, her first round of visitors and her first mass.

In July she celebrated her first 4th of July, went on her first walk, met her cousin Sophia for the first time and had her first bath.

In August, she had her first play date, her first party and her first round of shots. (That was one first that was not so much fun.)

In September she went on her first plane ride, visited Pittsburgh and Kansas City for the first time, went to her first wedding, spent the night at Grandma's for the first time, met her Kratofil cousins for the first time, slept in her own room for the first time and watched her first football game (one in which her Uncle John dominated).

In October she went on her first road trip to Notre Dame, rolled over for the first time, picked out her very first pumpkin and celebrated her first Halloween.

As you can see, she was not pleased with the group shot.

And last week, she had her first bowl of rice cereal.

She was no pro. I am pretty sure she got more on herself then in her stomach, but that's fine for now. We are just in the practice stage anyway. But this first felt like a big first. I experienced the same feeling that I had when I packed up her newborn clothes: proud of my little girl for growing, and learning and doing so very well, but sad that my teeny, tiny 6 lb 10 oz baby is no more. 

I know that this first will lead to another first and that with each passing day she will grow bigger and stronger. She is rolling for now, but in no time she will be crawling, then walking, then running. I get emails about where your baby should be in terms of development each week. It tells new moms  what they should be working on with their little ones and how they should be progressing. Last week it said that at 20 weeks old Lyla should be rolling one direction, be able to lift her head when on her stomach, laugh out loud, and reach for an object. I felt an overwhelming sense of pride when I realized that not only can Lyla do all of those things, but she is dominating them. She rolls not just one direction, but both. She has been able to lift her head and hold herself up on her arms for almost two months now. She's been laughing for weeks and not only does she reach for an object, she rolls towards it, picks it up and then rolls back to where she was. My little girl is kicking butt and taking names and I am one proud mama.

With my pride though, comes nostalgia. I have loved watching Lyla learn and develop with each passing day, but time is flying and I am afraid I will blink my eyes and she'll be going to Kindergarten. (I am thinking that my husband should start preparing himself now for that day. Pretty sure I am going to be a mess.)

As these days fly by and Lyla grows bigger, I keep telling myself to cherish these times. To pause and memorize specific moments so that I will never forget. To not wish away the present, but live in the "now." And this past weekend when Lyla's Fischer aunts came to visit, I did my very best to do just that. As she laughed and played with her aunts,  I sat back and watched, trying to freeze frame each smile, each look, each moment of love. She may not stay teeny and tiny forever, but she'll always be my little girl and I want to remember every precious moment, every first. 

Lyla wanted to make a very special meal for her aunts' visit. She requested, flank steak with mushrooms, roasted coriander, chickpea and lime rice (recipe below), greek salad, bread and for dessert, peanut butter and chocolate shortbread bars (recipe below). 

Marinated the steak over night.

The mushrooms!

Greek Salad with feta, cherry tomatoes and olive dressing.

Roasted Coriander, Chickpea and Lime Rice (recipe from McCormick):

Bring 1/2 cup of jasmine rice, a bit of sea salt and 1 cup of water to a boil. Reduce heat and cook on low for 18 minutes.

In a bowl combine 2 tablespoons of olive oil, 1 tablespoon of roasted ground coriander, 2 teaspoons of lime juice and 1/4 teaspoon of sea salt. Whisk together. Add in 1 cup of halved grape tomatoes, 1/3 cup of chopped cilantro and 1/4 cup of green onions.

Add 1 can of drained and rinsed chickpeas and the cooked rice. Toss together and serve!

Peanut Butter and Chocolate Shortbread bars (recipe from Fine Cooking):

First, to make the shortbread, finely chop 1/2 cup of unsalted peanuts. In a bowl combine 7 oz of unsalted, melted butter, 1/2 cup of sugar and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Stir in the peanuts and 9 1/2 oz of flour.

Once combined, place the mixture in a 9x13 sized pan, lined with foil. Press the dough flat into the bottom of the pan before pricking it all over with a fork.

Refrigerate for 30 minutes. Then bake the dough for 20 minutes at 325 degrees. Drop the oven temperature to 300 and bake for an additional 20 minutes. Let it cool completely.

To make the peanut butte filling, combine 1 cup of peanut butter and 3 oz of room temperature butter in a mixer. Add 3 oz of confectioners' sugar, 1 teaspoon of vanilla and 1 tablespoon of hot water. Mix until smooth. Add in another 3 oz of confectioners' sugar and another tablespoon of hot water. Mix until thick.

Spread the peanut butter mixture over the cooled crust.

In a small pot, bring 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons of heavy cream to a boil. Pour over 5 oz of chopped bittersweet chocolate.

Let it stand for 3 minutes before mixing.

Finally, spread the chocolate ganache over the peanut butter mixture. Let it rest for 3 hours or refrigerate until serving.

Enjoy!

The Pumpkin Patch

Having a kid means my husband and I have the perfect excuse to be kids ourselves. For example, when this movie trailer came out I am pretty sure we were both kicking ourselves, wishing that Lyla was a year older so that we could use her as our perfect excuse for two twenty-somethings to go to a children's movie.

But alas, we will just have to wait until it comes out on DVD and then as any reasonable adult would do, make it seem as if we are buying it for the little one. Seriously, who doesn't love Winnie the Pooh though?

Having a child of our own really does mean we get to to be kids again in a way. We get to relive all of our childhood memories with Lyla and watch her little face light up as she discovers the wonders of the world for herself. It tugs at my heart when I see her make a new discovery or realize something for the first time. She is so pleased with herself and her eyes fill with amazement. And yet I know, at 4 months old, she still has so much to learn and so much to discover.

Last weekend we drove out to Cedarburg to explore a pumpkin patch. We were all excited, especially the grown-up kids. I was a little nervous though, not sure if Lyla would have any idea of what was going on, afraid that she would be overwhelmed or bored and perhaps even decide that taking a nap would be the better option for her Sunday afternoon. But to my amazement she took it all in. She became alert as ever, looking around and reaching out to touch the pumpkins. I can only imagine that her little brain was rapidly firing off neurons trying desperately to figure it all out.

She smelled apples for the first time, although she was a little apprehensive.

She saw every sized pumpkin, both small and large, and was mesmerized by their bright orange appearance.

She made her way through the corn maze and didn't get lost, not even once.

She even flew through the sky.

After picking her pumpkin, stocking up on apples, visiting the little store at the far end of the patch and showing off her "Cutest in the Patch" pumpkin onesie, it was time to go. As we drove away, the car filled with freshly picked apples and the perfect carving pumpkins, Adam and I both agreed that the pumpkin patch seemed smaller then the ones we had been to as kids. We remembered fields beyond fields filled with bright orange pumpkins. Endless trees sagging from the weight of their fruit. Tractors and trailers and corn mazes that no one could find their way out of. And then mid-sentence we both realized it. This pumpkin patch was no smaller, we were just bigger. And I could only smile knowing that Lyla was creating her own memories, ones that included the world's largest and greatest pumpkin patch.

Dreaming of pumpkins.

Once we got home though, we had quite a few apples to work our way through. So When Lyla's Aunt Kathryn came to visit all the way from Minneapolis we thought what better to do than whip up some homemade applesauce and pumpkin cookies for our upcoming trip to Notre Dame.

We sliced and cored all the apples and placed them in a large pot with just enough water to cover the bottom of the pan.

We let the apples come to the slightest boil, before turing it down to simmer. We added just a touch of sugar and cinnamon before leaving the pot to work it's magic.

Every 30 minutes or so we would return, stir the apples, add a touch of cinnamon, brown sugar and white sugar, then cover it up again.

As the apples got softer, we began to mash them.

We then began our taste testing process. We would take a spoonful of the sauce and leave it on the counter to cool. This allowed the true taste to come through. Once we had tasted, we added cinnamon and sugar as needed.

Finally, after several hours of slow cooking, the applesauce was done! The only thing left to do was bake up a batch of pumpkin cookies with cinnamon chips and pack it all up for our trip to the Bend.

I am already looking forward to next fall, when we will take Lyla to pumpkin patch yet again. Hopefully by then she'll be running around or wobbling around herself and building on her memories of the world's biggest and greatest patch. And someday soon Lyla, you better believe, we will be watching Winnie the Pooh.

P.S. - Last night with the remaining apples, we made chili rubbed pork chops over cinnamon baked apples. If you'd like the recipe, just let me know!