Category Archives: DIY

DIY Baby Food: Make Real Food for Someone You Love

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If you don’t have a baby of your own, don’t go anywhere.  This applies to you too. Because who doesn’t love to eat baby food sometimes?  I’m KIDDING.  But if you know someone with a baby, and want to do something nice for them, you could ask if they would like the gift of homemade baby food.  Parents are always busy and anyone who offers to lend a hand is doing a public service.  It takes a village, people.

I have always been confused about why people who care what they feed themselves buy jarred food for their babies.   Even if the label says organic happy super-healthy baby food, I can’t help but imagine that the fruits and vegetables that go into the puree are not the gorgeous specimens that would otherwise be gleaming in the produce aisle.  But maybe I’m just suspicious like that.  Plus, buying baby food is expensive and making it is cheap and easy.

Here’s the big recipe for DIY Baby Food: peel and steam or roast an organic fruit or vegetable.  Puree or mash it (older babies can eat chunkier foods).  Freeze solid in ice cube trays, then pop them out into a freezer bag for storage.

Some easy classics: carrots, peas, apples, pears, winter squash, peaches.  Find something that’s seasonal and delicious.  Babies learn to love real food through these early experiences.

Today my own baby enjoyed sharing bites of tofu and egg out of my spicy bowl of pad thai, so I am thinking the days of smushed-up baby food are close to over around here.  But if I can help out a friend, you can bet I’ll be making it again soon.

Everyone’s Doing It: Sweet, Salty, Savory Olive Oil Granola

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I have been reading Melissa Clark recipes as my bedtime stories this past month, and I was intrigued by a recipe she described for a granola made with olive oil.  Sweetness from brown sugar, earthy undertones from the olive oil, you understand why I bookmarked the page.  But you know that thing that happens sometimes, where you never heard of something and then once you learn about it you see it EVERYWHERE?  Turns out, suddenly there are variations on this recipe for olive oil granola all over the interwebs.

And tonight I learned why.  Because it’s good.  So good I could hardly stop stealing pinches off the tray–and that was before it was baked.  You might want to make it this weekend–if you can wait that long.

Of all the nearly-identical recipes, I started with this one, which was pretty much pared down to the essentials already, but I simplified it one step further by eliminating the coconut, which is not my thing.  If it’s yours, add a cup of coconut flakes to the recipe below.  Like most granola recipes, you can vary the nuts and seeds and/or add fruit to suit your taste.

Preheat your oven to 300 while you get a big bowl and mix 3 1/2 c. oats with 1 c. each of raw pumpkin seeds and raw sunflower seeds and 1 1/2 c. whole pecans.  Pour over 1/2 c. brown sugar, 1/2 c. olive oil, 3/4 c. maple syrup and 1 tsp. kosher salt and mix well.  Divide between two sheet pans and bake until nice and toasty, about 30 mins., switching the pans and stirring well every 10 minutes.  Let cool completely before storing in an airtight jar.

Eat by the handful from said jar.  Or, if you want to get fancy, you could put your handful of granola in a little bowl first.

 

 

 

p.s. As you may have guessed, this granola is not exactly health food.  If you’re looking for an everyday recipe with a lower proportion of sweetener and fat, you might like this Almond and Dried Cherry Granola recipe.