New goal: Try Takis.

Personally, I prefer Jalapeno Cheetos to Hot Cheetos. But what are these Takis you speak of?

Baby Nibbles

Now, now.  Calm down.  This is still a food blog, and one that's not morphing into a parenting blog.  But a few weeks ago my baby started snacking -- you certainly can't call the tiny amount that gets into his mouth a meal -- so I thought I'd share.

His first exploratory tastes were of: lemon juice, avocado, guacamole, salsa, cheese grits (in Louisville, KY), and plain yogurt.

His first playful bites were of: a lime wedge, pureed carrots with a little Hungarian sweet paprika (turns out he's not so into purees), mashed potato and peas (and then I stopped making purees), pear (quarters with a finger-hold notch cut out of each side), Gala apple (peeled and served like the pear), cinnamon apple oatmeal, pasta, cucumber, sweet pickle, steamed broccoli, CSA grapes (in a mesh feeder), and scrambled eggs.

He's getting better at: bread.  I'll end this post with a video of my own Cookie gumming down (though he's got two teeth in there!) unsalted butter on toast fingers.  He's also had French toast, waffle, and toasted baguette slices with cream cheese.

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Snacky Easter! (A Photo Essay)

A magical, Mexican beast.

(photo by Dan)

You know you're in the presence of some kind of creative genius when he takes the dragon his aunt (not me) has made out of tortilla dough (which they give kids to play with at Uncle Julio's in Dallas) and tortilla chips...


(photo by Dan)

...and sticks a shrimp on its head. The question is, what do we call this creature he has made?

Menu Curation: First Birthday

(photo by Dan)

My best baby friend is one! I met up with her and some other admirers in the park Wednesday night to celebrate. I thought I could tempt her with some snacks, so I toted blueberries, healthy crispy rice cupcakes, gelled-juice jigglers, and homemade soft pretzels.

Hero seemed happy I was there. My menu wasn't such a hit, though.

• Blueberries (which at other times she has adored) got smushed between thumb and forefinger, then rejected. A plus: she loved smushing them.
  
• We'll speak more of the disastrous crisped rice cakes when I post this week's CSA wrapup. Though Hero actually did eat some, they were a mess.
  
• The jello didn't interest her at all, texturally speaking. She just shook her head at me. [Aside: I went home and absent-mindedly stuck the jello in the freezer, creating something amazing.]

It's not like the girl didn't have anything to eat. Her mom and grandma made a delicious carrot cake, which Hero really enjoyed. She also tried and seemed to like bites of my soft pretzels. We adults loved them even more, and they didn't last the evening. You might want to make some yourself.





Soft Pretzels
Recipe from The Petit Appetit Cookbook: Easy, Organic Recipes to Nurture Your Baby and Toddler by Lisa Barnes
Makes 48 2-3 inch pretzels

This recipe is milk free, nut free, and vegetarian. 2 pretzels have 80 calories, if you're interested. It's a good to make with older kids who can roll and shape dough, paint on egg, or sprinkle salt!

1 1/2 c. warm water
2 packages active dry yeast
2 T. sugar
1 tsp. salt
2 eggs
2 c. whole wheat pastry flour
2 c. unbleached all-purpose flour
coarse salt, poppy seeds, or sesame seeds for sprinkling

Preheat oven to 425 F. I used a baking sheet with a silicone mat, but you could also use parchment paper on the baking sheet.

Put the yeast in a large bowl with the warm water. Stir until yeast is dissolved. Add the sugar, salt, flours, and one of the eggs. Stir with a fork to combine into a dough. Turn out onto a floury surface and knead until it is elastic (maybe 2-3 minutes), adding a little more flour if it's very sticky.

Tear off small pieces of the dough and roll into any shape you want (classic pretzels, circles, hearts, twists). You know what would be cute? Xs and Os -- they stand for "hugs and kisses" AND you can play edible tic-tac-toe!

Place an inch or two apart on your baking sheet. Brush with the second egg (beaten) and sprinkle with whatever you want to sprinkle them with.

Bake 8-12 minutes, or until golden brown. Serve with your favorite mustard.

Frankly, it's the yeast of my worries.

Speaking of doughnuts, Paul sent me the link to this video (edited and introduced to the internet by Everything is Terrible). I am confused by carpenters wearing doughnut hardhats, but I do support the trend of millinery couture with food attached. However, I can only assume that the proselytizing pastries cooked up in the Wonder Oven are never consumed. I don't think it would be very Christian to eat sentient baked goods with eyeballs and religious beliefs.

As a side note, I don't like to see such obviously enforced swaying-to-music in kiddie videos. But it's alarmingly common.

Carrots want to go to the party.

Dan made coconut ginger carrots (recipe here) from my favorite vegetable dish cookbook -- Mollie Katzen's The Vegetable Dishes I Can't Live Without. This book has never let us down. Each recipe we try from it is a new adventure in flavor.




Yo! Gabba Gabba - Party In My Tummy from Sundrak on Vimeo.