Friday, May 11, 2007

Baby Food - part 2: steamed, + Oliver eats out

Ready for some more baby-food making fun? Well I'll be brief. Most green things I prefer to steam instead of bake or boil. (Beans, Asparagus, Peas, Brussel Sprouts, and for baby food purposes even spinach) I like the flavor better that way. But really, whatever gets it soft enough to blend into mush is acceptable.

So, here's some fresh green-beans. First I give them a good rinse in the colander, then I snap off the ends and any discolored parts. I place them in a large pot with a steamer basket in the bottom. I fill the pot with water, just until water starts to peek above the basket, then put the lid on. Then I put the pot over medium heat and forget about it while I clean up my kitchen and try earnestly to convince Sir O that the garbage can is not a cool place to hang out.
I let the beans steam for a lot longer than I would if I were going to eat them. I prefer my beans tender-crisp, whereas you really want them fairly limp for baby food. I think I let these steam for over 30 minutes. Then return to the colander to drain and cool. Once they are touchable, start hucking handfuls into the food processor.
Freeze in ice-cube trays per usual. Beans tend to yield significantly less per batch than sweet potatoes (considering the volume you begin with). I only filled 1 1/2 ice cube trays.
Freeze thoroughly, run backside of ice cube tray under hot-water for easy release. Heating for baby-consumption is the same as for sweet potatoes, 1 min on 1/2 power, then 5 second intervals (stirring between them) on full power until no more frozen chunks appear. Good eats.
Slightly off-topic. Sir O went out to eat with us tonight for the first time in months. He was a riot. You could tell this kid skipped a nap today because he was wired. I failed to quite capture it on video, but he and another baby in the restaurant seemed to be having a shriek-a-thon. He would be ho-humming along and then out of nowhere his eyes would get huge and he'd start doing the high-pitched baby noises with great gusto. Good thing it was a noisy-type joint, or we'd have been embarrassed instead of entertained. We brought him home and he was all tired-cuddly and went to bed without even a tiny struggle. He can be so sweet he breaks my heart sometimes.


6 comments:

samunwritten said...

Awww...the little baby bird, head tipped back, squealing for more straw is adorable.

Deena said...

What the heck is a steamer basket? I'm a complete moron when it comes to stuff like this...do I really need one? Thanks for part 2.

aLi said...

Wow, I love the composition in the picture with the frozen green goolash. haha, I don't even know what composition is, but I love the picture. "What a lovely pile of green glop" said in a sing song voice.
Maybe I'm being silly... oh, it's past my bedtime, that's why I love that one picture.

hairyshoefairy said...

You're a gem! I love these little tutorials! Thanks, Em!

Angela said...

Rob is completely impressed with the beauty of your pictures. Who knew green beans and steamer baskets could be so elegent?

tracy m said...

Em, you've totally inspired me to feed Abby better food. Er, just as soon as I'm done moving...

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