Poblano Corn Pudding

I suppose this recipe isn't really in keeping with the alleged theme of my blog, as many kids wouldn't eat these spicy chiles. You could adapt the recipe and use a milder chile (though poblanos are pretty mild) or a regular bell pepper. The non-pepper bits of this were loved by our baby.

Thanks so much to my sister for the suggestion of this recipe. She made it for a book club and for Christmas dinner w/her boyfriend's family; I made it for husband's work party and a New Year's Eve party. Adapted from epicurious.com.

*4 poblano chiles
*4 cups frozen corn kernels, thawed (or fresh, in season), divided
*4 large eggs (I've made this w/egg substitute and it's fine)
*1 cup unsalted butter, melted, cooled slightly
*1 1/2 tsp salt
*2 large pinches baking powder (1/4 tsp or so)
*2 cups light sour cream
*1 cup masa (corn tortilla mix)
*3 oz prosciutto or Serrano ham, diced (optional)
*2 cups grated smoked cheddar

-Place chiles on baking sheet under preheated boiler. Watching carefully, broil until blackened, turning so each side is done. Remove and place in brown paper bag; roll top to seal and allow to steam for 15 minutes.
-Carefully peel charred skin from chiles. Remove stem and seeds. I used plastic bags on my hands the second time doing this, as the first time the chile oil was very difficult to remove (not a great thing when you have a nursing baby). Dice chiles and set aside.

-Preheat oven to 350. Butter a 9x13" dish.
-Combine 3 cups of the corn, eggs, butter, salt, and baking powder in a blender; blend until smooth. Place in large bowl and add masa, sour cream, ham, cheddar, chiles, and remaining corn. Stir to blend and spoon into baking dish.
-Bake for 40-45 minutes, until golden and puffy.

Spinach Apple Salad with Candied Almonds

This is a perennial family favorite, and a standard to take to potlucks. It is always well-received. It's easy, and the flavors are a good way to introduce kids to spinach (it's fairly sweet, the dressing isn't too strongly flavored, and kids usually are very happy about apple slices). The almonds are delicious, and any leftover would be great on ice cream. Theoretically, that is, as I've never had any left over. This is taken from Bon Appetit, with a few small adaptations. In my experience, if you make the full amount of dressing, you'll have way too much for one bag of spinach (unless you like your salad swimming in dressing). I'd either save the dressing to have salad again the next night, or cut the dressing in half. You can make the almonds and dressing in advance; slice apples and toss all together at the last minute.
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1/4 cup minced onion
3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
3 tablespoons white wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon paprika
3 tablespoons sugar (divided)
1/2 cup olive oil

1 1/2 tablespoons butter
3/4 cup blanched slivered almonds (about 3 ounces)

1 10- ounce bag ready-to-use spinach leaves
2 medium-size apples, cored, thinly sliced

Combine onion, cider vinegar, white wine vinegar, paprika in small bowl. Mix in 2 tablespoons sugar. Gradually whisk in olive oil. Season dressing to taste with salt and pepper. (Note: I usually do this in my food processor-chopping the onion in the bowl then adding the other ingredients without cleaning out the bowl, finally drizzling the olive oil through the tube. You want the onion very finely chopped).

Melt butter in heavy large skillet over medium heat. Add almonds. Stir until almonds begin to color, about 2 minutes. Sprinkle remaining 1 tablespoon sugar over. Stir until sugar melts and begins to turn golden, about 2 minutes longer. Transfer almonds to bowl and cool. (Dressing and almonds can be prepared 4 hours ahead. Cover separately and let stand at room temperature.)

Combine spinach and apples in large bowl. Toss with enough dressing to coat. Mix in almonds. Serve salad, passing any remaining dressing separately.

Classic Corn bread

I love this. It's simple, it's fast (I timed it tonight, and not rushing at all, with a fussy baby in tow, I had it mixed and ready to go by the time the oven was hot). My husband likes it with chopped jalapenos mixed in; I prefer it with butter and honey, and Mary (the 9 year old) likes it best plain. It works very well in an 8"x8" Pyrex pan, but oh, if you're lucky enough to have a cast iron cornbread pan then it will be even more beautifully crisp and golden.

This recipe came from an old Good Housekeeping cookbook, that seems to be no longer in print. I've made some adjustments. It has less sugar than the most common cornbread recipes, and uses butter instead of vegetable oil (always an improvement). It doesn't keep more than a day, but it almost never hangs around that long, anyway.

1 cup flour
3/4 cup cornmeal, preferably yellow
2 TBS sugar
1 tsp salt
1 TBS baking powder
1/3 cup butter, melted
2/3 cup milk
1 egg, beaten

*Heat oven to 425. Grease an 8"x8" pan or cast iron cornbread mold.
*Mix dry ingredients.
*Mix wet ingredients and pour into dry. Stir just until moistened, pour into pan.
*Bake 25 minutes (closer to 20 in cast iron).

Roasted Cauliflower with Garlic

This is a feeble attempt to counteract the death-dealing properties of the last recipe. I have to admit, though, that even though this dish is healthy, it's really, really good. And simple. And easy. It is the only cauliflower dish a friend of mine who hates cauliflower enjoys. Since the cauliflower cooks down so much, it's a very easy way to eat a lot of veggies in one serving. I like to do two cauliflower heads at once, so we can have it for dinner and have leftovers. My daughter, alas, is not a fan, but we keep trying.

*1 or 2 heads cauliflower, chopped into pretty small pieces (say 1/4-3/4 inches-but not a big deal-just chop it up)
*Lots of chopped garlic-the stuff in the jar is fine, though fresh is best. I'll use a tablespoon, at least
*Olive oil
*salt and freshly-ground pepper

Head oven to 375. Put cauliflower in a 9x13" dish. Add garlic. Drizzle with a tablespoon or two of olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Stir well. Place, uncovered, in oven. Cook until the cauliflower is a nice golden brown, stirring frequently to keep garlic from burning.

Thoughts about Baby Food and an Applesauce recipe

With my eldest daughter, I introduced baby food (rice cereal! yum yum) at 4 months and added regularly after that, sticking the the baby book schedule. I made some of my own baby food, but bought a lot, too, while continuing to breast feed.

This time around, we decided to wait for baby to hit six months, as she was happy with breast milk alone and we're trying to do anything we can to protect her from our family's bad history of skin and other allergies. (I should clarify that we are not allergic TO skin; rather, lots of excema and psoriasis issues. Being allergic to skin would be disturbing). So, right at six months, we ceremoniously introduce rice cereal, mixed with breast milk, to be greeted by tightly clamped lips and a turned away head. She was very interested in everything we were eating, just not in any of that baby food crap.

So we tried these, which I believe my sister, the occupational therapist, had sent: baby food mesh feeders. They are a fantastic idea-little mesh bags that you can put anything appropriate for baby (no marsala-soaked tiramisu or crack cocaine) and baby can suck and chew away and not risk choking. Our baby loves playing with them, but still really was more interested in really digging into people food. We tried things like bits of mashed banana, unsweetened applesauce, avocado, but she wasn't interested in doing anything but smear them around on her high chair (and may I just say that the highchair tray that goes in the dishwasher is the world's greatest invention. Next to reliable birth control. Though if birth control was perfectly reliable some of us, perhaps, might not need aforementioned high chair).

All of the sudden, she wants to eat everything. I've been bad and have let her have things that a good mom would wait for years to try, either because they are bad for her (cake batter ice cream!) or because they have mixed ingredients (lentil soup) and I know you're supposed to add things individually. Still, I'm trying hard to stick to my slow food goals for my baby, too, and we have avoided any prepared baby food. She'll tolerate avocado, loves to chew on a crust of bread or piece of pita, and really is happy gnawing on a slice of apple or asian pear. We've been drying the asian pear into rings (we have a box full) and those are fun for her as they are easy to hold. No teeth yet, so we don't worry much about her chewing off a piece of, say, apple, though we do watch very closely, of course.

Easiest recipe ever:
*unsweetened applesauce, store frozen into ice cubes. Either thaw individually for a serving, or put a frozen one in a mesh bag and let baby go to town. Messy, but makes for a happy teething baby. And, if you haven't tried before, applesauce is the easiest thing ever. Wash apples, slice into quarters-peel and core if you don't have a food mill, add a little water, and cook until they are really soft. If you have a food mill, run them through. If not, mash with a potato masher. Add sugar if you'd like, though not for a baby.

Applesauce variations:
Of course, you can add sugar, cinnamon, etc.
Add some horseradish and serve with pork.
IF your baby doesn't appreciate your applesauce cubes, throw into your next smoothie.