Haricot Bean and Mushroom Gratin for Babies, Toddlers and Adults

This is a yummy meal in itself or could be a great side dish for Christmas dinner (with the handy benefit of having something which feels like a main dish should a vegetarian arrive.)

I would think it would scale up pretty well but I would keep it fairly shallow in the baking dish to avoid it being too runny.

Haricot Bean and Mushroom Gratin - serves 1 toddler and 1 adult with vegetables on the side

Ingredients

6 medium sized mushrooms, cut into a thick slice
Spray oil
3/4 tin of haricot beans, drained (in retrospect I should have scaled this up to use a whole tin so feel free to do so, that would make more sense!)
1 very low salt chicken stock cube, e.g. Kallo low salt or Heinz baby
1-2 cloves of garlic, chopped finely
1 tsp Fresh Thyme, chopped
1 tsp Fresh Rosemary, chopped
3 tbsp Double Cream
25g Grana Padano, Parmesan (or use vintage vegetarian cheddar if you're a non meat eater)

Method

Preheat the oven to 200oC, 400F.

Fry the mushrooms in the spray oil until colouring up well.  Add the garlic and soften slightly.  Take off the heat.  Mix the stock cube with 1-2 tbsp boiling water (enough to dissolve it, use a whisk if you need to), add the cream to the stock and then add to the mushrooms with the rosemary and thyme.  Tip in the haricot beans then pour into a baking dish in a shallow layer.

Grate the cheese on top and bake in a preheated oven for approx 30 mins or until bubbling throughout and golden on top.

Allow to cool until at a safe temperature for your baby before serving.  Would be great for babies who have a pincer grip, just check the beans are soft enough.   Needs a touch of salt for adults.

Falafels for Babies, Toddlers and the Whole Family

This is genuinely a whole family recipe.  If I don't say so myself, I'm really impressed with myself for these and it's all completely my invention.

Falafels - makes approx 8-10 (more if you make them smaller) 

Ingredients


1 onion, finely chopped
1 clove of garlic, finely chopped
Spray oil
1 small courgette (zucchini), grated
1 tin of cooked chickpeas (garbanzo beans), drained (240g drained weight)
Small handful of coriander (cilantro)
1/4 tsp hot chilli sauce (I used Encona West Indian Hot Pepper sauce, not authentic but my favourite) - optional if making for babies
1/2 tsp sweet paprika (ie not the spicy kind)
2 dsp cornflour
Olive oil for brushing

Method

Saute the onion and garlic in some spray oil or a little olive oil until softened.  Add the grated courgette and cook until it's shrunk back a bit (driving off the moisture.)  Allow to cool.

Add the drained chickpeas, coriander, sauce if using (I did and my 18 month old loved them), paprika and two thirds of the onion mixture to a food processor.  Process well, it won't go completely smooth.  Tip out into a bowl and add in the remainder of the onions and the cornflour.  Shape into patties and put onto a lined baking tray slightly oiled and chill until ready to cook.

Preheat an oven to 200-220 oC.  Brush the tops of the falafel with oil and bake for 20-25 minutes.  Serve for babies or toddlers broken up slightly with strips of pitta bread or for adults serve in a pitta bread with tomato, cucumber or salad, mayo and extra chilli sauce.  Yum!

This would be great with babies doing baby led weaning.  You know your child better than I do so use your judgement with the spicing.  I know my son would have been fine with the garlic and paprika, I probably would have tried him with the chilli sauce because he's an adventurous sort.

Come to think of it, I'm planning to give him some keema curry from the freezer for tea.  This could be an interesting nappy day!!!

This has been submitted to the Diet Dessert Dogs linky!

Sugar Free Cheesecake for babies, toddlers and the whole family

Cheesecake with no added sugar?  Really?  Yep.  Bang on!  I've done it!  So this is a cheesecake which you can feel comfortable giving to your baby (if on textured food), toddler and the whole family without feeling (too) guilty.  There are variations below for very young babies too.  This is linked up here.

The cunning idea is to use wheatgerm rather than biscuits which saves a lot of sugar.  Surprisingly if you've never used wheatgerm it is subtly sweet anyway.  Definitely an adequate substitute in my mind. My husband (used to my white chocolate cheesecake) was slightly less convinced.
Cheesecake for Babies and Toddlers - serves 4 adults / 6-8 toddlers

Ingredients

2 Dessert / Eating apples
80g Dried Apricots
Splash of boiling water
40g Unsalted butter
60g Wheatgerm
200g Full fat soft cheese

Method

Peel and core the apples and cut into chunks.  Put into a saucepan.  Chop the apricots into quarters and add to the pan with the water.  Boil for 5-10 minutes or until the apple is softened.  Puree in a blender with as little of the water as you can get away with until really smooth.

If your baby is just weaning, this is a great puree to give either on it's own or mixed with yoghurt; alternatively mix with soft cheese as below.  The puree (on its own) freezes well too.

Allow the puree to cool.

Melt the butter and add the wheatgerm and mix well.  Put into individual flan cases or ramekins or press into a ring on a plate.  Chill until ready to continue.

Mix approx 150-200g of the puree with the soft cheese (to your taste).  Whisk well to get rid of lumps.  Pour onto the chilled wheatgerm 'biscuit' base and chill for a couple of hours before serving.

Keeps for 24 hours in the fridge.

Sugar free wheatgerm and oat biscuits for babies and toddlers

I've been struggling for a sugar free biscuit for some time.  This almost gets there.  It's not really sweet but passed the test with my son.  He's already eaten all of his tea and his pudding and saw these on the cooling rack.  He pointed to them so I gave him one.  3 biscuits later...

My only reservation is they are really crumbly so I will experiment with reducing the amount of wheatgerm and increasing the amount of flour which should improve the structure.  That said, they hold together a little better when cool and my son coped with them.  They'd be pretty awesome with cheese actually.

Wheatgerm and oat biscuits for babies and toddlers makes 20-30

Ingredients

50g Plain Flour
150g Wheatgerm
50g Porridge Oats
100g Unsalted butter
1 Egg yolk

Method

Preheat the oven to 180oC.  Prepare two baking trays by lining them with non stick baking paper.

Mix the flour, wheatgerm and oats in a bowl.  Add the butter and rub in until it resembles coarse breadcrumbs.  Add the yolk and knead in the bowl until it comes together.

Roll the dough out on a floured surface (it will crack a little).   Cut out the biscuits in the shape of your choice.  I used a hexagon to avoid waste!

Put onto the baking trays and bake in the oven for 12-15 mins or until browning at the edges.  Allow to cool a little on the trays then put onto a cooling rack.

Poached Pears for Babies and Toddlers

You know how it is, you've not had time to go to the shop, the fruitbowl is looking a little unexciting, there are virtually no grapes left, there is no yoghurt in the fridge and the pears are hard as bullets.

Well, here's an idea for something different to feed your little one for pudding.  It comes out beautifully soft for babies just starting on lumps but with the spice there's a lovely flavour to it too.  Any leftovers are great served as below with the syrup or would be tasty put into a crumble.

Poached Pears for Babies and Toddlers - serves 2 toddlers if they have an appetite like mine(!)

Ingredients

2 unripe pears
300ml unsweetened grape juice
half - 1 tsp cinnamon (I used 1 tsp which was fine for my little one but might be a bit much if you're not a cinnamon fan) or use a cinnamon stick
Cream to serve (optional)

Method

Peel the pears, using a potato peeler works well for this, halve them along the length and scoop out the cores.

Put the pears into the base of a slow cooker, pour over the grape juice and spice.

Cook on high for 2-3 hours or until softened to your liking.

For toddlers, just cut up the pieces and allow to feed with a spoon.  For babies, cut up into smaller pieces or mash depending on your baby's developmental stage.

For adults you could take out the pears and then boil the juice hard in a saucepan until it goes syrupy (it will thicken as it cools).  Serve with the syrup and cream.

Rum and Apple Bread and Butter Pudding (Just for Adults!)

I came up with this recipe when we had some staling bread.  It made me think; why don't we value bread anymore?  It used to be that every household would have a left over bread recipe.  We have bread and butter pudding, bread pudding, stuffing, rarebit, Italy has panzanella and ribollita the French have croutons and pan perdu.

We seem to have forgotten this thrift though!  Why?  Bread and butter pudding is probably more often consumed from a ready meal packet than made from scratch.  How strange a dish to use up old bread is now specifically bought in a plastic dish from a factory miles away.  Somewhat ironic!

Anyway, the point is it's easy and tasty to make yourself.  I've suggested a slightly whacky combination of dried apple and rum which might not be to your taste but if you want something more conventional, switch it for brandy and raisins.

Rum and Apple Bread and Butter Pudding - serves 2 adults

Ingredients

50g Dried Apple
1 tbsp Dark rum
80ml Full fat milk
2 tbsp Double cream
1 Large egg
40g Light brown sugar, I used light muscovado
a few pinches of cinnamon (see method)
1 tsp Vanilla extract
100g Staling bread
25g Approx of softened, salted butter
A couple of pinches of demerara sugar

Method

You will need two small ramekins (not tiny ones though, you want some pudding!!!)

Put the apple in a bowl with the rum and soak for a couple of hours.

Cut the bread into small triangles or squares to fit your ramekins and butter on one side.  Lightly butter the inside of each ramekin then put a layer of bread in, butter side up, followed by one quarter of the apple, a pinch of cinnamon, then the bread, then apple and cinnamon, finishing with a layer of bread.  Repeat with the other ramekin.

Make the custard by heating the cream and milk together in a jug in the microwave for 60-90 seconds until starting to boil.  While it's heating crack the egg into another jug and whisk with the sugar and vanilla.  Allow a few seconds for the bubbling to stop then slowly whisk in the milk and cream into the egg / sugar mixture whisking all of the time until it's all added.

Pour the custard into each ramekin.  If the custard doesn't all fit in, wait a few seconds as you may find it does once some of it has been absorbed into the bread.

Leave for 30 mins for the custard to soak a bit more into the bread and preheat the oven to 180oC.  Sprinkle with demerara and bake in a bain marie (a baking dish with boiling water added) for 20 minutes at 180oC or until crusty on top and set underneath.

Serve with cream.  It's a warming cuddle of a pudding.

Slow Cooker Risotto for Babies, Toddlers and Adults

It may have been a few days since I've posted but don't think I've not been busy!

I've been meaning to cook risotto for my son since he was on soft lumps but had never got round to it.  I tried risi e bisi which was nice but lacked some creaminess.  Part of it is all that standing and stirring; completely impractical for a toddler.  Anyway, I'd heard it was possible to cook risotto in a slow cooker and seeing as I have a kitchen crush for mine, I thought I'd give it a go (but I might need a new slow cooker for Christmas Santa.... hint, hint.)

Anyway, the results were good.  A little too soft on the rice; I'm sure you can see from the photo it's overcooked but it was so almost there.  I'm definitely doing it again.  If you think about it, the timings would work out pretty well for a meal to prepare while you're doing bedtime too.  I'd heat up the stock before bath then just stick the rice in just as I'm going upstairs to do milk and story time and by the time I'm back downstairs, there's the chance to whip up a salad and do some washing up and it would be ready.  Genius!

Slow Cooker Butternut Squash for Babies, Toddlers and Adults.  Suitable for babies from the soft lump stage onwards and sticky so baby led weaners would like it too.  Makes plenty enough for one adult and one toddler.

Ingredients

300-350ml hot stock - see below tips on how to make your own or use a very low salt stock cube if you must (but read on)
2 cloves of garlic, chopped finely
1 onion, chopped finely
1 dsp approx of olive oil
200g butternut squash (peeled weight), chopped into a fine dice
100g arborio rice
35g parmesan, grana padano or vintage cheddar (if vegetarian)

Method

Update:  I have corrected the cooking time below and reduced the stock quantity because on cooking it again and not wanting to overcook it, I found it was a little wet.  There are some tips on saving it though further down.

Gently fry the onion and garlic in the olive oil until softened.  Add the stock, onion, garlic and butternut squash into the slow cooker and heat on high for approx 30 mins until simmering.

Add in the rice and cook for 25-30 mins, stirring once or until the rice is cooked but still has a small amount of resistance without being chalky.  Add more stock or water during the cooking time if it needs it.

Add in the cheese and stir.

Serve in bowls topped with parsley if liked.  You could change it up a bit with different vegetables or shredded cooked chicken etc.

If the risotto is a bit too wet, scoop it out using a slotted spoon, add a little extra cheese to each bowl and season (for adults only).

Yum!

Anyway, my comments on stock.  I do think chicken stock works best here and home made chicken stock especially.  This is because gelatine cooks out into the liquid which is part of the mouthfeel of a good risotto or a good chicken soup.  This cannot be replicated by stock cubes and unfortunately not by vegetable stock either.  That said, a good home made vegetable stock will still be better than a stock cube for this.

Regular readers will now I'm not a person who is afraid of a stock cube or two either but a risotto is a celebration of stock, so it's worth the effort.

Incidentally, if you have a slow cooker, and presumably you have if you've read this far, you can make stock in one very easily.  I just took a load of bones from chicken thighs after making the vietnamese chicken salad and wing tips from chicken wings, bunged them in the slow cooker with some boiling water and simmered for approx 3 hours.  Sieve.  Minimal effort from me and made from things which would have gone in the bin anyway.

If you like this recipe, give my risi e bisi recipe a go.  Similar to risotto but much less effort.

On a different subject, I'm pretty excited, my blog has been chosen to be part of a blog carnival!  This is something new to me as an inexperienced blogger!  Yay!

Cottage Pie for Babies and Toddlers - VERY easy!

I proudly proclaimed the BEST COTTAGE PIE EVER the other day.  Well this comes close and is a bit of a cheat because it's more assembly than cooking.  Apologies for the photo; potato topped pies seem incredibly difficult to look pretty and I refuse to top them with a face made out of peas and carrots.  Ah what the hey!  It tastes nice!

The reason why recipes have been a little thin on the ground this weekend is my son's not well and he's off his food.  He had a temperature of 39.2 yesterday which was frightening.  Fortunately things seem to be getting better.  Unfortunately as he's now a toddler and he's been feeling rotten he seems to have discovered the "No" word when it comes to food.

So, as ever and as with the nursing strike, my theory is you tempt rather than force.  I know eating would make him feel better but he doesn't and I don't want to upset him more than he is upset.  Likewise, having a very upset boy who wants to be cuddled (whether you're walking around cooking or not) does not make for complicated recipe preparation, so I grabbed a small pot of bolognaise from the freezer and an extra jacket potato I cooked at lunchtime and this is what I came up with.  Yes, simple but blimey it was tasty!  He loved it!  It was his best meal he'd had for two days and that my friends is a very valuable recipe indeed!

Why on earth did I not think of this before?

If you would like my bolognaise recipe, just click on the link in the ingredients.

Cottage Pie for Older Babies and Toddlers - Serves 1 toddler


Ingredients

1 Toddler sized portion of Bolognaise, defrosted if frozen
1 small jacket potato (cooked) or the equivalent amount of mashed potato
A small splash of full cream milk
Approx 1 tbsp grated cheddar

Method

Preheat the oven to 200oC, 400F.

Scoop out the flesh from the jacket potato and mash using a ricer or a potato masher (but I've said it before, ricers are fab and cheap.  Buy one!)  Mix the mash with a little milk.

Get a smallish ramekin and put the bolognaise sauce in the bottom of the dish.

Top with the mashed potato and then the cheese, bake in a preheated oven for 20-25 mins.

Done!  Serve with finger vegetables of your choice.

I keep thinking this is such a good idea!  I mean, my son goes to bed at 7 so I often eat after he's in bed.  This can mean teatimes are a little 'same-y', (he eats a lot of pasta.)  This was moments in preparation, the result seemed like more effort than it was and he really appreciated it.

If you have a potato left over and don't fancy this recipe, why not try bubble and squeak, salmon and spinach fish cakes or potato pancakes?

Banana and coconut mini muffins for babies and toddlers

Hmm.  What do you do when you come up with a recipe which is 'ok' not perfection?  Well, in the spirit of nothing being perfect in Mummy World, I've posted it anyway.

I am not saying this does not have room for improvement; it does, it's just a little on the savoury side for what was intended to be a sweet muffin.  The texture is great though.  So if you wanted to sneak on a little icing, I don't think that would be unreasonable!  Perhaps as well if you use a proper turning black kind of banana that might up the sweetness a little.  Anyway, pumpkin likes which either says he's ok with a more 'savoury' tasting sweet thing or he has to put up with my cooking a lot!

Well, perhaps I open up this recipe to you good people?  I'm reluctant to go down the dried fruit route this time for some reason but I'd be interested in your ideas.

Banana and Coconut Mini Muffins for Babies and Toddlers - makes 24 small muffins


Ingredients

175g unsalted butter or margarine, melted and allowed to cool a little
130g (approx) ripe banana, mashed
2 eggs
75g desiccated coconut (unsweetened)
150g SR flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla extract

Method

Preheat the oven to 180oC.

Mix the butter, eggs and banana using an electric whisk until well combined.

Add all of the dry ingredients and mix until just combined.  This forms quite a wet batter (hence the trails on my pan).  Probably best to pour from a jug into a greased muffin tray.

Bake for 15 mins approx or until springing back when given a poke.

If you like this, you might like some of my other muffin recipes like Cheese and Onion or Apple and Sultana.

Bubble and Squeak for Babies and Toddlers

Readers outside the UK will no doubt have absolutely no idea what I'm talking about.  Bubble and squeak is a traditional English recipe for using up leftover vegetables.  Potatoes must be included and cabbage or brussel sprouts are traditional but from then on it's up to you.  Use any left over or freshly cooked vegetables you like!

This would be great for baby led weaners I reckon.

My mum always cooks this 'loose' so not in a cake like I've done so a bit more like a hash.  Cooking it that way means you can include new potatoes rather than mash.  She also always includes bacon.  I haven't here so the dish would be suitable for vegetarians and also so I wouldn't be concerned about salt content but a little bacon or ham does taste nice.  Just cook bacon until fully cooked and crisp before adding to the mix; use the bacon-y fat to cook the cakes in!  Yum!

Bubble and Squeak for Babies, Toddlers and Adults - Serves 1 toddler, 1 adult, (change quantities to meet your needs!)

Ingredients

Two jacket potatoes, cooked and cooled (or use the equivalent of boiled potatoes)
7 or 8 Cooked Brussel Sprouts (or use a similar amount of cooked cabbage, kale or whatever you like)
A good knob of unsalted butter
A couple of tbsp plain flour
Eggs (optional)

Method

Scoop out the soft inside from the potatoes (or use boiled potatoes).  Chop one of them up into smallish cubes and pass the other through a ricer (or mash it well).

Slice the sprouts into thin slices.  combine the potatoes and sprouts in a bowl and form into two 'cakes'. The thicker you make them, the longer they will take to cook and you'll probably have to finish them in the oven.  Dust the outside with flour and chill until ready to cook them.

If your cakes are quite thick, preheat the oven to 200oC.  Heat the butter in a frying pan and then fry gently for 5 mins or so on each side or until lovely and brown.  If they're still not hot in the middle, put them into the oven for 10-20 minutes or until hot through.

If you prefer you can skip making these into cakes and fry the mix like a hash, allowing it to brown and then stirring the browned portions back in.  This would be a good way to serve it for babies on soft lumps and more textured foods.

Serve on their own or poach an egg by putting some boiling water into a saucepan.  Put it on a low heat (barely a bubble).  Crack the egg into a bowl.  Swirl the water and then add the egg into the centre.  Cook for 3 mins or so until the white is fully cooked and the yolk is just starting to cook around the outside.  Serve on top of the bubble and squeak (for 12 months plus only as the yolk will still be runny!)

Allow to cool until cool enough for your child to eat.  Add seasoning at the table for adults.  Yum!

Variations:  Add bacon, ham, cheese, substitute some of the chopped potato for chopped cooked parsnip.  Add herbs if you're feeling particularly fancy!

This would be ideal Boxing day breakfast fare.

Sugar Free Banana Bread for Babies

This is a tasty yet sweet treat without any added sugar.  Great for using up bananas which are getting a bit black in the fruit bowl; in fact it's better to use them as they will be sweeter.  I'm quite pleased with this.  Although it doesn't use as many bananas as some banana loaf recipes, it's a much lighter recipe for it.

Banana Bread for Babies, Toddlers and Adults - makes one large loaf

Ingredients

160g Banana, mashed (approx 1 and a half large, or two small)
75ml Oil
100ml Milk
2 eggs
250g SR flour
1/2 tsp Mixed spice or Pumpkin pie spice
1/2 tsp Cinnamon
150g Sultanas
1 tsp Vanilla Extract

Method

Preheat the oven to 175oC.  Grease a silicone loaf tin or line and grease a regular loaf tin.

Whisk with an electric or manual whisk the banana, oil, milk and eggs until they are combined and creamy.  Add in the remaining ingredients and mix well.  Pour into the prepared loaf tin and bake for 45-50 minutes or until cooked.

Allow to cool slightly before slicing.

If you like this, you'll love the no added sugar date cake recipe.  If anything it's sweeter but there's still no added sugar and you'd never guess from the taste!

If you've liked what you've read, please vote for me in the Britmums Brilliance in Blogging (BIB) awards in the "Tasty" category.  All of the shortlisted nominees are here and the voting form is here.

Also it must be awards season because I'm going for a MAD blog award too.  Please nominate here for any applicable categories if you feel so inclined!  (You don't need to nominate in every category if you don't want to.)

Creamy Mustard Chicken for Babies and Toddlers

I'm thinking older babies here, the ones on finger foods and larger lumps.  I'm tempted to suggest an adventurous palate to cope with the garlic and mustard but my son was eating some very surprising things at that age.  I remember him eating some porchetta style pork belly stuffed with garlic and herbs which my sister had made at his first birthday party and loving it.  Perhaps sometimes we're not adventurous enough with our kids?

Creamy Mustard Chicken for Babies and Toddlers - serves 2 toddler portions with side dishes (see below)

Ingredients

1 large chicken breast
1 dsp olive oil
1 clove of garlic, crushed
Approx 50 ml boiling water (a big splash, plus more if needed)
2 tbsp double cream
1 tsp dijon mustard
1 tsp fresh parsley, chopped

Method

Heat the oil in a frying pan.  Chop up the chicken into small pieces and put in the pan with the garlic.  Cook until releasing the aromas.  Add in the mustard, cream and water and cook gently until the chicken is cooked through.  Add extra water if needed to loosen during the cooking process.

Take off the heat and mix through the parsley.

Serve with rice, potatoes, noodles or vegetables (one carbohydrate and at least one other vegetable would be a good idea nutritionally.)

This freezes ok, just add a splash of milk or cream before reheating in the microwave as otherwise it can be a little dry.

Baked Glazed Gammon

I'm not suggesting this for little kids (although without the glaze you could use a little bit of the ham in recipes if you are careful about the day's salt content) but this falls into the category of "bung in the oven while you're sorting out bedtime" and it's a 3 ingredient recipe which tastes like so much more.

It's great for Christmas and also great cold (a lifesaver when you have a very little baby and never eat hot food!)

Glazed Gammon - serves 4 adults (or 2 adults with plenty of leftovers)

Ingredients

1 boneless gammon / ham joint, approx 750g
1 tbsp dijon mustard
1 tbsp soft brown sugar (I used molasses sugar)

Method

Preheat your oven to 190oC.

Check when buying your gammon that the butcher or packaging does not say to soak it.  Take their advice if needed.

Remove any string / netting etc holding the gammon together.  Use a sharp knife to remove the rind leaving some of the fat.  Score the fat into diamond shapes.

Mix the mustard and sugar in a bowl.

Put the mustard mix onto the gammon.

Wrap loosely in foil tenting over the glaze.

When ready to cook, bake for 30 mins per 500g plus 30 mins (or check the packaging / ask your butcher for advice) so mine took 1 hour 15 mins.

For the last 15 minutes, open the foil slightly at the top to allow it to crisp slightly.

Rest for 10-15 minutes and carve.  You can serve with the juices in the foil (although they are very sweet and salty) or with mustard.

This is great with some sprouts with lemon and black pepper

Swede and Carrot Puree for Babies, Toddlers and Adults

Puree?  For adults?  Toddlers too?  Are you mad?!

Well possibly but this puree recipe is neither the cause nor the symptom.

It might sound strange to make a puree for adult or toddler food but if you look at Michelin star cooking, they use purees all the time.  Why I hear you ask?  (Ok, well I didn't hear you, I really am quite sane, honest, I'm imagining you asking.)  Well the reason is pureeing gives you a different experience; it combines the flavours within the puree, intensifies them somehow and also acts as a 'sauce' for other foods on the plate.  Trust me, if you just boiled some swede and put it in front of me there had better be a lot of other exciting things in there to make it taste a bit nicer; pureed with carrot?  Well it just kind of works.  I've tried it mashed.  Nope.  Pureed all the way for me but if you prefer you could mash it; if you really must.

If it feels too much like babyfood, well then either just feed it to your baby or be poncy and put a blob on the plate and drag a spoon through it.  Maybe balance a seared scallop on top?  Or get out a squeezy bottle or something!  Face it, you eat mashed potato and don't feel like it's babyfood and this is much better.

Carrot and Swede Puree - serves 2 adults or will make a lot of portions for a baby depending on age.  Freezes well.  For babies, freeze in a silicone ice cube tray then empty into freezer bags when frozen solid.)

Ingredients

1 largeish carrot (approx 120g)
Approx 160g swede
Approx 25g butter (unsalted for babies)

Method

Boil the carrots and swede for 20 minutes.  Sounds like a long time but it does make for a smoother puree.  Use a slotted spoon to put into a jug and then add the butter.  Use a stick blender to puree adding some of the cooking water as needed (I used about 1dsp).  I suggest using a stick blender because it's easier to make a thicker puree using this than a traditional blender.

Serve!  Can make in advance and reheat in the microwave.  Great with drier foods which don't already have a sauce, for example, sausages, grilled or roasted meats etc.

Roasted Courgette Chips for Babies and Toddlers

Courgette (Zucchini) is one of those vegetables which sneaks into my cooking more as a bulking and 'secret vegetable' rather than a star in its own right.  I'm not sure how this situation came about and it's even more annoying because I love growing courgettes and generally have had some real success with them.  There is something so beautiful about them, especially the yellow and 'ball' varieties.

So, here is an attempt to make courgette the star.  I think this is something I will cook in future for adults too.  The little one thought it was ok, gave it a go, had a couple and then moved onto something else.  I can only imagine his little unimpressed face had I given him a boiled courgette!  Bleurgh!

Courgette (Zucchini) Chips (Fries) for Babies and Toddlers - serves 2

Ingredients

Half a large or one small courgette (zucchini)
20-25g grated parmesan, grana padano or vegetarian alternative
1 egg
1 tbsp plain flour
Salt and pepper (omit for babies and toddlers)
Spray oil

Method

Preheat the oven to 220oC, 430oF

Cut the courgette into 5cm (2 inch) lengths.  Cut again into sticks no more than 1cm (1/4 inch) wide so they look like fries.

Break the egg and whisk it a little to break up the yolk.

Grate the cheese and put into a plastic food bag with the flour; mix well.

Line a baking tin with non stick baking paper.

This is where it gets messy.  Dip the sticks into the egg then into the cheese mixture giving them a good shake.  Put onto the baking tray and season if not using for babies or toddlers.

Spray with some spray oil and bake for 12-15 mins or until browned and soft in the middle.

Pa Amb Tomaquet for Toddlers and Adults

If you're not familiar with the name, let me explain.  This would be lofty to call this a 'dish' but it's kind of a way of serving bread in Catalonia (Spain) which is absolutely delicious and fantastic with good Spanish ham or cured meats.

This is typical of Spanish cooking.  Take good bread, good tomatoes, good olive oil and make something which elevates all of them.

There's no reason not to give this to your toddler, just leave the salt out and it's fairly similar to a garlic / tomato bread which is the kind of stuff my toddler loves.  Oh and you must have good bread.  I'm lucky that I have a friend who made some sourdough bread yesterday and this is the kind of dish for using up slightly stale bread and sourdough has that fantastically chewy crust.  Before the days of using enzymes, preservatives and improvers in bread, there were hundreds of recipes around the world for using stale bread because bread would stale quickly.  These thrifty dishes are generally pretty good in their own right.

If I have any bread left over, I think this one is getting frozen as breadcrumbs.  Imagine chicken nuggets made with sourdough bread!  Or is that just taking the 'junk recipe made with good ingredients' just a bit too far?

I wish I had the time to devote to a sour.  Maybe as my son grows up a little I will but treating a pot of yeasty goodness like an additional child feels a bit wrong when my son is still so little!

Pa Amb Tomaquet (tomato bread) - serves 1 adult, easily increased

Ingredients

Some good bread
1 ripe tomato
2 tsp of good quality extra virgin olive oil
1 garlic clove, peeled
Coarse sea salt (miss out for toddlers or babies)

Method

Slice two slices of bread per adult.

Take the garlic and gently rub over the bread slices.  It might seem strange but it does give a subtle garlic flavour.

You can serve this completely cold but I like to take the slices of bread and put them into a dry pan and toast quickly either side over a high heat.

Take off the heat, slice the tomato in half and squeeze and rub over the bread slices.  Pour a tsp of olive oil over each slice and top with a sprinkling of salt (if using).

Eat on its own (ideal with some good Estrella Dam if you're an adult) or you could even use to make possibly the best sandwich in the world with some Spanish Serrano ham.  Delicious.

Savoury Welsh Cakes for Babies and Toddlers

Why on earth did I not think of this before?  A welsh cake is a bit like a scone but cooked on a frying pan (well traditionally it would have been cooked on a griddle but that confuses people because I don't mean a ridged griddle pan, a griddle is flat without sides.  My mum is the only person I know who has one.)  I suspect they could be cooked directly onto an Aga plate but I don't have one and I suspect very few of my readers have an Aga either.

Welsh cakes are normally made with sultanas and sugar but there's no real reason why not to use the inspiration for a savoury snack.  Also they're quick to make and as in this case, I've used an ingredient which would normally be discarded so they can be pretty thrifty too, especially as you're cooking on a hob and so not using all that energy to heat up an oven.

If you use a small cutter, you can get loads.  I used a diamond shaped cutter which was probably approx 3 cm (1.25 inches) long which also has the benefit of being able to cut closer together without waste (unlike a round cutter).

Anyone who is offended at my use of the term 'welsh cake' for something which is clearly a way removed from the traditional recipe; I do apologise and I would also like to point out the use of red, white and green in the ingredients ;o)

I think this has potential for more savoury and sweet options.  I will experiment and let you know...

Savoury Broccoli and Red Onion Welsh Cakes for Babies and Toddlers makes 30+ depending on the size of your cutter

Ingredients

1 small red onion, finely chopped
60g broccoli stalk, grated
Spray oil or additional oil or butter
225g (8oz) SR flour
75g (3oz) unsalted butter
75g (3oz) mature cheddar
1 tsp dijon mustard
1 tbsp full fat greek yoghurt
1 egg
A few sprigs of parsley

Method

Fry the onion and grated broccoli in the spray oil or butter until softened.  Allow to cool.

Rub the butter into the flour until it resembles breadcrumbs.  Add the onion and broccoli, cheese and chopped parsley and mix.  Add in the mustard, yoghurt and egg and bring together into a dough.  Roll out on a floured surface until just over half a cm thick (quarter of an inch).  Heat a non stick pan on a hob and then cut the dough into pieces.  For babies just getting used to finger foods, it might be a good idea to cut into sticks.

Cook a few 'cakes' in the pan at a time at a medium to low heat until they have formed a good crust on one side (takes a couple of minutes) and turn over.  You'll find they will puff up a little when they cook, check they're fully cooked.  Turn out onto a plate and continue cooking the remainder.

Serve the same day (allow to cool a little until safe but great when still warm) or freeze then defrost from frozen in a microwave.

Obviously keep an eye on salt content if giving to a young baby but if you consider that I made 36 I think and still had a little dough left over, the amount of sodium from the raising agent in the flour and the cheese will be pretty low per 'cake'.

I'm definitely going to have a go at sugar free sweet welsh cakes so I'll keep you posted.