Baby food

Jack has been an adventurous little eater lately...partly because I've been an adventurous baby food chef. Jack's Auntie Megan bought me the Babea Cook (get it? ha!) baby food maker last year for Christmas, and man that thing gets a work out! And yes, Amy, you'll get it when your kiddo is ready for solids.

I love making baby food because it's cheaper than buying the jars, allows me to control what he's eating, and because of my hippiness, allows me to make sure that he's eating primarily organic. You don't need a fancy baby food maker though - a steamer basket and a blender works great! I love these for storing the food: http://babycubes.com/. Watch the site for sales, because I got all of mine for 75% off last year.

Jack's favorite "breakfast" seems to be apples with blueberries, with an occasional smashed banana mixed in. For lunch/dinner, he enjoys "Momma's Thanksgiving Feast" which is sweet potatoes, cranberries, apples, pears, turkey, peas, and carrots all steamed and blended together.

My newest creation is "Jackie Bear's Hell's Kitchen" meal. Troy worked for 3 or 4 seasons on Hell's Kitchen, and as you know if you watch the show, Chef Ramsey is all about his f$#king risotto!

Jack's baby risotto (recipe based on "Cooking for Baby" cookbook from Williams and Sonoma. Another rockstar gift from Megan!):
1/2 cup of Arborio rice
1 cup of no sodium added chix stock or water
little bit of olive oil
veggie of your choice (I used peas)
meat of your choice (I used organic chicken thighs. They were cheaper than breasts (hee hee) and have more flavor

Bring water to a boil and add rice. Remove from heat and let stand covered for 15 minutes, stirring once. Fluff with fork. In blender, mix veggie and chicken - add to rice. Will be good in the fridge for 3 days, or 3 months in the freezer. I add a bit of water before I serve it to J since it thickens up when cold.