Everybody’s gotta eat, and little ones are in special need of nutrients from fresh, local produce. These easy do-it-yourself baby food recipes by Amy Maltzan will make your baby drool (more than usual) and have you sneaking spoonfuls, too.
Garden Vegetable Trio
A handful of green beans, ends trimmed (you could also use a mixture of green, purple and yellow wax beans!)
2 zucchini and/or yellow summer squash
2 carrots
Chop all vegetables into 1-inch pieces, and place in a saucepan. Add enough water to cover the vegetables and cook until tender. Remove vegetables, reserving some of the cooking liquid. Pulse or purée the vegetables in a food processor or blender, leaving a little texture or adding a little cooking water to thin.
Divide vegetables among a clean ice cube tray, and freeze cubes for later use.
Mashed Carrots with Parsley
Everyone knows how nutritious carrots are, but parsley is a nutritional powerhouse in its own right, loaded with vitamins A and C, iron and antioxidants.
3 carrots, peeled and chopped
A small handful of parsley leaves, finely chopped
Place carrots in a steamer and steam until tender. Mash with a fork and stir in the chopped parsley, or purée the cooked carrots with the parsley in a food processor or blender, adding a little of the cooking water to thin.
Divide carrots among a clean ice cube tray, and freeze cubes for later use.
Baked Stone Fruit Compote
This compote, while great on its own, is also delicious stirred into oatmeal or yogurt. Baking the fruit enhances the sweetness naturally
2 peaches
2 plums
2 apricots
Halve the fruit and place it, cut side down, in a pan filled with 1 inch of water. Bake at 400º until soft and tender, then slip off the peels and remove the pits. Reserve a little of the cooking water for thinning out the compote as desired.
Mash the fruit with a fork, or purée to the desired consistency in a food processor or blender, adding a little of the cooking water to thin.
Divide compote among a clean ice cube tray, and freeze cubes for later use.
These recipes originally appeared in our Summer 2010 issue.
Photo courtesy of flikr.
