A Six Month Old

That is right - it is my son's half birthday.  It is unbelievable that we have made it all in one piece.

A few nights ago I spent some time just looking at old pictures.  I do not think that I can truly call JT's newborn pictures old but I feel like it has been a very long time since I held my tiny little boy.  We have come a very long way from....

  

to this....

I am just a little teary-eyed with it all.

Bananas and Green Peas

Yesterday, I tried my hand at another baby food. Green Peas - because I like peas. Unfortunately, I do not have the time to pick out peas from a pod. So I ended up microwaving four single packages of Birds Eye Steamfresh Sweet Peas. I dumped the contents into the blender along with a splash of water.

It turned out to be just the right amount to fill up my baby food ice cube tray. The process was so fast that I forgot to even take a picture. I might continue using frozen veggies if it makes the process this easy.

But you said bananas too! Well, bananas need to be made same day. So we bought two bunches. I think I will start JT on them tomorrow since we finished up all the apples and sweet potatoes. The peas, now that they are frozen, will keep for at least another 3 weeks.

I am loving this food journey with John.

Exhaustion

The word that describes this past week. I was working on overdrive in preparation for that charity event. How I managed to keep my head screwed on straight is a miracle. I did not get home until the wee hours of the morning on Saturday and boy, I am not used to that. You would think all the sleep deprivation and dealing with JT would allow me to function but that was not the case. Wee morning hours are not for me. It seems I have a bedtime limit - midnight. Turning into a pumpkin is not fun.

I spent all of Saturday in pajamas trying to recover. It was the first time in months where I am pretty sure I did absolutely nothing- with the exception of mommy type things. There was even a pile of dishes left in the sink. It was thoroughly relaxing. I could really get used to not worrying about all the little household things.

Alas, today the dishes caught up with me. I felt the strong desire to clean. So bye bye growing piles of stuff, hello clean clothes, hello floor how nice to see you again. I guess being lazy went right out the window. How do I maintain the relaxing calm feeling of Saturday yet still manage to get my to-do list done? If you have the answer, please share.

Brief Hiatus

I am not sure how many people read my blog. I am actually quite sad that I have not been more consistent on writing over the past couple of weeks. I am also a bit mad that I have not tried a new slow cook recipe in quite a while.

Or maybe it all just seems like a long time between posting because I have been frantically working on all things technical for a charity event tomorrow - or well as frantically as a momma can with a hysterical almost 6 month old.

I guess it is just disappointment. I was doing so well and I got neglectful. But I intend on rectifying this situation shortly. It will just have to wait another day or so.

Cookbook

I can finally say it - my cookbook is completed.  I will not say it is finished because I am constantly on the lookout for new recipes.  But my recipe format and system of organization is finally in use.  By logging all my recipes in MacGourmet - I know that I currently have 73 recipes that I have made, we have enjoyed, and I plan to keep in rotation.  I am excited to grow that number whenever I can.

As for the filing system - all the recipes are being housed in a magnetic closure binder with two recipes to a page protector.  I purchased these colorful Avery Big Tab Folder Dividers.  One side of the folder holds potential new recipes that I have found and the other side holds recipes I have tried, liked, and have reformatted.  I really like my new system.  Only thing that makes me sad - is the pathetic white binder it is all in.  For now though, it works and it makes finding my favorite recipes a heck of a lot easier.

Sweet Potatoes

Earlier this week, JT had his first real food - apples.  The faces he made were quite hilarious.  I actually wished I had video taped his response instead of trying to get still pictures of it.

It has been 5 days with no allergic reaction to the apples.  So, I feel it is safe to move on to the sweet potatoes I had prepared.  This time I was ready - I got out my little flipvideo hd video camera to capture JT's response.

I suppose the reaction is not nearly as shocking as the apples.  The sweet potatoes were nice and sweet but not even close to the apples on the sweetness scale.  Since they (potatoes) are not very juicy like apples, I had to offer a bottle of water along with this meal.  JT did very well with it.

Mental note - if we ever have another child, I think it would be better to start with sweet potatoes first.  Then move to the apples.  No, there are no thoughts of adding another to the brood.  JT is more than a handful for me.

I think I will be taking more videos in the future.  JT is doing a lot more squirming so regular still shots are becoming more difficult.  Enjoy your weekend!

An Apple A Day...

Haha, is not what I follow.  Unlike his awful mother, JT will be experiencing a full range of fruits and vegetables.  I want him to get a healthy start and what better way than with apples!

This past Monday (Presidents Day) we embarked on this wonderful food journey.  For the past two weeks, we were enjoying our rice cereal prior to our lunchtime (noon) feeding.  On Monday, we pushed the cereal to right before our breakfast bottle - how apropos?  Cereal for breakfast.  For lunch, we dived right in to our first "real" food - the homemade apples.  I warmed up two apple "ice cubes" which is equivalent to about an ounce and a half of apples.

John was not a big fan during this first try.  The apples were good in my *I don't eat fruits* opinion but he has never had anything so sweet before.  So I get his misgivings.  We are now on to day 3 of apples and JT seems to be enjoying a heck of a lot more.  Can't wait to try something new later this week!

Homemade Baby Foods

Haha!  A crossover label post!  Cooking and JT together.  Insanity!

So, I spent part of this wonderfully long weekend trying my hand at homemade baby food. The first thing I needed to do was determine what would be good to try.  I had ordered a couple of books from Amazon and they all came to same general consensus.  All had apples, sweet potatoes, bananas, and peas as good first foods.

So it was off to the grocery store to pick up what I could find.  Now, I will be totally honest.  I feel weird in the produce section.  Stick me in the pasta/soup aisle and I am snug as a bug in a rug.  Produce though - weird.

It probably comes from a long standing aversion to fruits and vegetables.  I do not like the texture of many fruits and vegetables.  It has taken me a very long time to become okay with things like - broccoli, sweet potatoes, even beans.  Notice I did not mention any fruits - I still can not do fruits.  Fruit juice, I can barely stomach.  Fruits are a scary animal.

So I felt like a fish out of water in the produce section, picking out food that I can barely stomach but know would be the best things for my little boy.  I picked up a bunch of apples, a very large sweet potato, and some bananas (although I think the bananas may be eaten by the hubby before I get to smushing them up).

So I got to cooking my baby food.  I started with the apples.  I initially intended to steam all the fruits and veggies.  When it came right down to it, the microwave is here for a reason.  I just popped the apples (golden delicious) in for a few minutes until they became tender.  I then stuck them in my blender along with about a 1/4 cup of water.  Hit puree and let the blender do it's work.  In fact, I didn't even leave it on that long.  I have found that JT loves his cereal to be on the considerably lumpy side - so the apples were a bit lumpy.  Three apples were enough to fill my special baby food ice cube trays.

I cleaned everything to prevent cross contamination and got started on the sweet potato.  Ugh!  The directions said to peel and chop the little son of a gun.  Never again.  Sweet potatoes are tubers that do not like being cut.  If John really enjoys it, I will probably try to cook it skin and all in the microwave, then scoop out the yummy insides while it is still hot.  I added about 3/4 a cup of water to the blender for the sweet potato puree.

Don't they look so pretty.  I am impressed with how easy it is.  You just need a little bit of time and patience.  Voila!  I have baby food for the next week or so.  Hopefully JT will enjoy them.

Next up - pears, peas, bananas, avocados, and carrots!

Valentine's Day Dinner

Yesterday, was the big day of LOVE!  To be honest, the hubby and I do not go all out on this "holiday".  He got me flowers and a little gift -

Oooo, Roses!

And I told him that I would make a yummy fantastic dinner and dessert.  I did not tell him until he came home yesterday that the recipe for dinner was totally new.  So we might be up a creek without a paddle if I messed this up royally.  Luckily, I was not disappointed.  I actually tried out the Crockin' Girls prescribed recipe for this very occasion.

Slow Cooker Tilapia with Garlic Cream Sauce and Asparagus

Ingredients:

½ cup mayonnaise
1 ½ tbsp. garlic, minced
¼ cup parmesan cheese
4 - 6 tbsp. lemon juice
½ - 1 tbsp. Italian seasoning
4 - 6 tilapia filets, thawed or frozen
1 bundle asparagus
4 - 6 foil, about 12 inches in length
1 box wild rice, cooked

Steps:

1. Mix the mayonnaise, garlic, parmesan cheese, lemon juice, and Italian seasoning together in a bowl.

2. You will need a piece of foil per filet. Divide the asparagus into equal amounts per fish.

3. Place a spoonful of cream sauce onto the foil packet. Place the fish filet on top. Put another spoonful of sauce on top of the filet. Then place the asparagus on top of the filet.

4. Fold the sides of the foil over the fish, and then the ends of the foil to form a packet. The fish and asparagus should be completely wrapped in foil.

5. Place the packets in the slow cook stacked on top of each other. Cover and cook on HIGH for 2 hours if fish is thawed or HIGH for 3 hours if fish is frozen. Serve over rice.

The Final Product:

My recipe is slightly different from the Crockin' Girls original, in that I added our family favorite Penzey's Italian Herb Mix to the Sauce.  I tasted the sauce before creating my packets and it just needed a little something extra.  My fish was starting to thaw, so I put it on HIGH for 2 and a half hours.  What I found, when I opened the slow cooker up, was the packets on the bottom were a bit more well done that I would have liked.  So next time, I think I will rotate the packets at the halfway mark for more even cooking.

And for dessert, I chose to make some Zeppoles.  I whipped out the deep fryer, some peanut oil, and mixed the dough ingredients about 15 minutes before we were going to sit down to eat.  This way the dough could rise while we were enjoying our meal.  The recipe for the Zeppoles comes the fantastic Sopranos Family Cookbook. 

Zeppoles

Ingredients:

1 cup water, warm
1 tsp. active dry yeast
1 tbsp. sugar
2 cups flour
1 tsp. salt
peanut oil
confectioners' sugar

Steps:

1. Sprinkle the yeast and sugar over the water in a measuring cup. Stir until the yeast dissolves.

2. In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour and salt. Add the yeast mixture and stir until well blended. Cover with plastic wrap. Let rise in a warm place for 1 1/2 hours.

3. Pour about 2 inches of oil into a deep heavy saucepan or deep fryer. Heat the oil until the temperature reachers 375 on a deep-frying thermometer, or a drop of dough slipped into the oil sizzles and turns brown in 1 minute.

4. Drop the dough by tablespoons into the hot oil. Do not crowd the pan. Cook the zeppole until golden brown and puffed, about 2 minutes. Remove the zeppole with a slotted spoon and drain them briefly on paper towels. Repeat with remaining dough.

5. Put the zeppole in a paper bag, add the confectioners' sugar, and shake them well until coated. Serve immediately.

The Final Product:

I didn't realize until yesterday that it had been over 2 years since I made zeppoles.  They were fantastic.  They always take me back to New Jersey and church fairs or state fairs or...you know, really any fair.  They are not the same as elephant ears or funnel cakes.  They are .... oh goodness, just YUMMY!  And yes, between the hubby and I, we devoured all of those zeppoles.  This is just one of those recipes I am so glad I learned how to make - it transports me back home wherever we happen to be stationed.

So all in all, we had a nice Valentine's Day evening in.  It makes me all warm and fuzzy inside when you look across the table and see

the two loves of your life.  I wouldn't have it any other way.

Mr. Grabby Hands

About two weeks ago, I started noticing that John was beginning to use his hands a lot more.  Using his hands for things other than sucking on his thumbs.  Unfortunately, regular pictures do not capture this so well.  So here is a bit of a video dump of my now, Mr. Grabby Hands!  (I tried to put these in chronological order - so you can see how adept he has become.)

John is starting to talk to the guy in the mirror and way his hands at the little lamb.

This was one of the first experiences in the Exersaucer!

Toys can go in mouths too!

John is trying to reach for his orange Tigger teether.

Trying out his Bumbo seat while Silvio watches.

Shaking his rattle but wishing it fit in his mouth.

Last one, JT doing an interpretive dance with his teething keys.

Hope you all are enjoying your Valentine's Day!