Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Blended

My blender got a work out this weekend. I was on a roll making stuff out of the borderline questionable produce on the counter and in the fridge. I’ve always been pretty good about either using or freezing the overripe bananas. I want to get better at finding things to do with the other fruits and vegetables before they just have to be tossed.

First I used up the pumpkin puree I had made for the Bundle at Halloween. I’m not sure why she didn’t like it. She likes squash. She likes zucchini. But she definitely did not like pumpkin. Her brother has been getting some serious mileage out of the fact that he ate an entire pumpkin when he was on baby food his first Halloween. I had pumpkin in the freezer for ages and he ate every last bit. Anyway, I also had a bunch of baby carrots way past their prime so I made pumpkin and carrot and ginger (leftover from Mr. b’s fad diet earlier this fall) soup and it was simply divine. Definitely going into my regular rotation. Really easy and utterly delicious.

I had another giant zucchini on the counter that our neighbors gave me and unlike the first one they had passed on, I had just zero inspiration for what to do with it. So it kept sitting there. Finally I realized I had to use it so I just made puree. Ronnie liked it the last time I pureed the leftover zucchini after I made bread and I figure hey, I can always make carrot and zucchini soup, right? HA!

My aunt recently sent me this article - featuring a picture of her granddaughter, my cousin’s daughter - so I’ve been thinking about baby food for a while. I’m not really a baby food making machine. I don’t have any philosophy behind doing it. I’m not trying to control the food my child intakes. I don’t have to work around any allergies or dietary restrictions. I’m definitely not brainwashed by the hippie organic bullshit. (Because I hate the bastardization of that word. We are all carbon based life forms. Period.) I don’t necessarily think it saves *that* much money, though it certain saves some. Mostly I do it for two reasons: 1) I like to cook and so it scratches that itch if I don’t have time for a big fancy meal and 2) I can introduce Ronnie to foods that aren’t available from Gerber.

But that doesn’t really explain the third puree I made this weekend. We had a half a sack of bulk dried apricots (again, left over from the mister’s weird diet fad) and they weren’t really getting eaten and were taking up space in the cupboard. So even though I can buy baby food apricots, I decided this was the best thing do to with them. I boiled them up to rehydrate them and then blended them and then I fell in love. Seriously. The frickin’ best tasting thing ever to come out of that blender. I want to have puree of dried apricots in my fridge at all times. I think it could possibly be the most versatile food product of all time. It would make a great sauce for pork. It would make a great ice cream topping. It’s delicious just plain as it. It would be great in a jelly roll. Or a pin wheel. Or a tart. I can’t stop thinking of ways to use it.

And of course after all that industry I ordered pizza for supper.

7 comments:

lap said...

Hee! I just think you are thrifty and don't like waste, which is commendable too. I bet the apricots tasted great, rehydrated I imagine they had a denser flavor..

I always want to try to make pumpkin butter, but I am too lazy to do it alone I think..maybe next year...

belsum said...

I think you may actually be onto something there. I have always found myself to be most attracted to the middle tennent of Reduce-Reuse-Recycle. Or at least that's how I explain the boxes and boxes of fabrics and old clothes waiting to be harvested for their buttons, trim, zippers, and whatnot!

Meghan said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Meghan said...

This article made me think of you when you mentioned your daughter sleeping a lot during the day - thought I would pass it on..

http://www.mother-2-mother.com/reversecycling.htm

Also a question for you, I know you mention both breastfeeding and bottle feeding - currently I am only breastfeeding but my husband really wants me to start pumping so that he can feed the baby from time to time, I am having a much harder time accepting this than I thought I would and am scared it will affect the nursing relationship I have with my son - did you have success when you did both?

belsum said...

Fantastic article – thanks meghan! I do definitely need to get to bed earlier…but I’m glad to know there’s a defined thing and it’s likely due to me working. Very interesting.

As far as getting your husband involved in feeding, I can only emphatically say Do It!!! I’m guessing you are either still on maternity leave or are a stay at home mom since you haven’t had to provide food for your baby while you’re away. If you’re pumping you absolutely should let daddy have a turn. In my experience with my daughter there has been no issue switching from breast to bottle and back again. Nipple Nazis will use fear tactics to scare you about so-called nipple confusion but babies are smarter than people give them credit for. They are homo sapiens after all! My daughter definitely prefers to eat boobie but she has no problem with either breast milk or formula from a bottle. I noticed with both her, and my son when I was still trying to nurse him, that they seem to do better when their father or another male gives them the bottle rather than me or a female relative. I suspect they’re thinking, “Hey! Make with the boobs lady! I can smell milk down there!” Obviously I don’t know how easy it is at daycare but since they both have been fed while I’m at work, and I’m not there to distract the feeding process, it seems to be going just fine.

This is getting a little long but I think it’s important to remember that babies need to bond with both parents. It’s so easy for a nursing mother to do it because of nursing. Fathers end up getting the short end of the stick (in this one instance – hello male/female double standards!) and I think that’s why it often seems like it can take a much longer time for them to develop a relationship with their children. Waiting until the kids can play and interact more than just holding and cuddling. But to get back to your main worry: no, bottle feeding has not adversely affected my relationship with my baby in any way. She grins broadly when she sees me come home; she reaches for me from the arms of whoever is holding her or tries to crawl up my pant leg. Since she is nearly 9 months old already, and I figure I’ll be weaning her in a few months, I’ve been trying to just carry her and hang out with her when I first get home at night instead of popping a boob in her mouth straight away. But I do sit with her and just nurse for most of the evening post-dinner. It’s wonderful to be able to have that experience but it’s also wonderful to know that she’s fine if I go out with the girls after work.

Meghan said...

Thanks so much for the positive words about sharing the feedings! Its so true - everywhere you turn people are going on and on about nipple confusion, etc! Yes I am still on mat leave, my son is 2 months and when I go back in March my husband will then be off for another 6 months. I had already planned to pump for when I go back to work - regardless I just really needed to hear someone say that it wasn't an issue for them - thank you!

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