• Pick up coffee beans at Red Rock (Friendo Blendo – the best!)
• Purchase several gallons of milk
• Figure out what to serve pastry or coffee cake-wise – bake or buy
• Gather nametags, sign-up sheets and other informational materials
• Last minute clean up of house!!!

Following the AM coffee, I am teaching a baby food making class to 8 women. I offered this class for auction at the Heritage Home Gala, “Sipping for Diamonds”, last year and now it’s time to dust off my baby food making skills (it’s been at least 10 years) and prep for the event. My current ‘to do’ list includes:

• Get cellophane bags at Michael’s to wrap goodie bags (copy of my book + Boudreaux’s butt paste)
• Defrost homemade chicken stock
• Buy and peel sweet potatoes, carrots, etc. for demo
• Gather olive oil, pepper grinder and Cuisinart to take with me
• Create cute baby food labels for participants
• Print out copies of baby food making instructions
• Purchase lunch stuff at Trader Joe’s for Dane and Tate (as they will be making the own hot lunches tomorrow)
• Write reminder note about bringing camera bag (!)
• Etc (don’t know what this means right now…)

Here’s hoping I pull it all together in the next 8-9 hours… wish me luck!

‘dabble in the art of making baby food’

[from “dirt&sunshine: random thoughts on the art of raising children”]

It takes a little bit of time to cook and freeze a month’s supply of baby food, but once you do this you will see how much your baby prefers ‘real food’ (especially if you’re eating it too).

The way I like to make baby food is very simple.  Cut up vegetables (carrots, sweet potatoes, squash, etc.) into small pieces, add a cup or two of organic chicken broth, drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil and grind some fresh black pepper to taste.  Bake everything at about 350 degrees until tender (perhaps half an hour or so).  Use a food processor, blender or hand mill to mash the vegetables into a smooth consistency.  Then put single servings into two-ounce plastic cups, cover, label and freeze.  After getting through the allergy-testing phase of individually-cooked vegetables, you may combine them in the same baking dish to save time (which has the added benefit of creating more sophisticated flavors).

To me, freshly ground black pepper is the magic ingredient in baby food; it wakes up vegetables and introduces children to more complex tastes.  Other spices can and should be added, too, according to your culinary preferences.  The bottom line is:  make it interesting enough that you would want to eat it!

Fruits may be prepared in the oven as well, (omitting chicken broth, olive oil and pepper).  You may also boil them on the stove using plain water.  Try not to remove the skin as it provides essential nutrients.

As a final word, I recommend making your baby’s food increasingly ‘adult’ as you go along.  When our boys were old enough to eat dairy products, we grated fresh Parmeggiano-Reggiano cheese on their baby pasta pearls (pastina in Italy).  Now, it’s a constant staple in their diets and they still love eating baby pasta!

We visited Maine, New York and Connecticut in June for Tate’s ‘Golden Birthday’ trip. In our family, we make a special celebration out of your birthdate and age being the same (last year, Dane turned 12 on the 12th and was able to choose our vacation destination – Greece). We decided to celebrate Tate’s birthday trip early for several reasons: 1) his actual Golden Birthday will also be his 30th – we figure he will have a blowout birthday bash with his friends instead, 2) Paul had very limited vacation days (the downside of taking a new job at a start-up) and 3) Tate’s biggest wish was to go to Maine and eat lobster twice a day (what can I say?).

Since domestic trips are easier time-wise, we opted for an East Coast vacation this year (look for posts on our culinary adventures in NYC in the next few days). After a whirlwind tour of our favorite New York restaurants, we visited friends in Ridgefield, CT, for a few days then drove to the coast of Maine. If you haven’t been to Boothbay Harbor, I highly encourage you to consider it. Beautiful, unspoiled forests, miles of rugged coastline, delicious Maine lobster and lazy days sailing, antiquing or sightseeing all await.

We stayed at the best place in town, Topside Inn (www.topsideinn.com), owned and operated by our good friends, Brian and Ed. Perched high on a hill, the inn is a former sea captain’s home and dates back to the 16th or 17th century. B&E have lovingly restored the entire property and it is the perfect place to relax, not to mention eat. Ed’s breakfasts are legendary and the local restaurant scene recently got a big boost with the addition of The Bistro, a tapas-style culinary hodgepodge of all that is delicious (seriously, we did not have a plate that was less than excellent the three consecutive days we went there). If you want more information about the area, the Inn or the Coastal Gardens, please email me (kathy@dirtandsunshine.com).