BABY-FRIENDLY CURRY

Billie bites' latest challenge is to create food that the baby can feed herself, or at least attempt to feed herself while mamma spoons the rest of the meal into her open mouth. Don't get me wrong - Billie LOVES her food. There is no force-feeding going on here. In fact, Billie loved this simple yet eagerly-devoured-by-all vegetarian curry so much that she forgot she (mostly) wasn't feeding herself.

However, as Billie increasingly asserts her independence and desire to prove she can eat all by herself thanks very much, more and more ingenious feeding methods are sought. She has her own spoon to clench and bang on the table when dinner appears to be late. At breakfast she has a segment of mandarin or orange to suck and chomp on between mouthfuls of porridge (also useful to get that vitamin C necessary to absorb the iron from her millet/rice cereal). But the last few days we have seen such staunch attempts to grab the spoon from my hands that more food is going on the floor than down her throat.

So, enter the curry. Chunks of vegetable and tofu Billie could feel personally responsible for, while enthusiastically gulping back many spoons of the curry and rice blend I placed in her mouth.


COCONUT, TOMATO AND PUMPKIN CURRY

What makes this a baby-friendly curry? NO CHILI, and only a little salt. Serve with brown rice. 

1 onion, finely chopped

3 large cloves garlic, finely chopped

3 Tablespoons olive oil

1 can tomatoes, chopped

1 can coconut cream (pref. organic)

1 Tablespoon ground cumin

1 Tablespoon ground coriander

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1 teaspoon turmeric

2 large carrots, sliced into rounds

1/8 pumpkin, chopped into bite-sized pieces

1 head broccoli, cut into florets and stalks into chunks

1/2 teaspoon salt

small block of tofu (optional)

 Heat oil in large heavy pot. Saute onion and garlic until soft. Add spices and tomatoes (including juice), salt and coconut cream. Slowly bring to boil and immediately turn down to low simmer.  Leave lid on, stirring occasionally. Add carrots, and 10 mins later add pumpkin. Wait another ten minutes before adding broccoli.

Prepare the tofu, if using. Cut into small cubes and either fry in oil in hot pan until golden, or just throw into curry with broccoli to cook. I did a bit of both, sprinkling the fried pieces on top of the curry when serving.

Meanwhile, place 1 1/2 cups brown rice in small pot with 3 cups cold water. Bring to boil with lid on, then immediately turn down to low simmer. Leave lid on and DO NOT stir. Check after 20 mins and when water absorbed or almost absorbed, remove from heat and serve with curry.

To serve to baby, blend a portion of curry and rice until as pureed as needed. Reserve a few pieces of vegetable (esp pumpkin) and serve alongside mush. Billie managed a bit of straight rice tonight, but I'm not sure how well digested it will be...

Homemade Curry Powder

Muffins on Cockatoo Island

I've swapped sunny England for rainy Sydney (yes, you read that correctly) to come and visit my friend Sarah. She's suffering from a touch of RSI at the moment so I've been given the keys to the blog in order to share some of the new heights of culinary expertise lucky Billie has been getting her newly-arrived incisors into.                             

I'm happy to report that it's all true, by the way - Sarah really does spend a lot of time creating delicious new dishes and Billie tries all of them. I was greeted last night by a massive helping of chili and a slice of steaming cornbread (officially my new favourite thing) which cut through my jet lag nicely. This morning I found Ms. Allely making her own muesli, using exotic ingredients like coconut oil to transform oats and nuts into a sweet, toasted treat served with yoghurt and freshly sliced apple. While she crunched up nuts and melted honey, I attempted to feed Billie and Billie attempted to cover me, the table, the floor and herself in porridge, while still somehow managing to remain adorable.

The best recipe so far has been feta and spinach muffins, which were thrown together in oh, y'know, half an hour, and taken with us on a visit the Sydney Biennale on Cockatoo Island. Most of them were hoovered up by the time we made it onto the ferry, but we managed to save a few for when we actually felt we deserved lunch.

Sarah has just whispered 'shall I make us a little desert?' so I'd better sign off in order not to miss the next exciting eating event.

Emma Rubach (Billie Bites British Correspondent and chief taster - apart from Billie and Miles that is.)

SPINACH AND FETA MUFFINS

Here's a basic muffin recipe adapted from one emailed to me by Hannah while I was in the midst of a pregnancy induced muffin-making frenzy. You can add sweet or savory flavours, what ever you fancy, to this very versatile recipe. 

100 g self-raising plain flour 

120 g self-raising wholemeal flour 

Two eggs, beaten

 3/4 cup milk 

1/2 cup vegetable oil 

200g feta, crumbled into small pieces about the size of your little fingernail.

Small bunch of chopped spinach (about two big handfuls) 

Grease, with butter, 12 muffin tins; preheat oven to 220 c. Sieve flour into a large bowl, add dry ingredients, in this case the spinach and cheese. In a small bowl, mix the eggs, milk and oil together (and any wet ingredients if you're using them - tomatoes, berries, what have you). Make a well in the dry ingredients and quickly but gently mix in the wet ingredients. Immediately spoon into the baking tins and place in the centre of the oven. Check after 15 minutes and remove when lightly browned on top. Up end onto a wire rack and eat while warm or pack for a picnic.

CORN, COURGETTE AND CHEDDAR MUFFINS

As requested by Cara, simply add two cups of grated courgette (three small courgettes) one cup of grated cheddar, the kernals of one corn cob to the above recipe.

RHUBARB PEAR AND GINGER MUFFINS

One pear chopped finely, two cups finely sliced rhubarb, half a tablespoon of fresh grated ginger, a tea-spoon of ground ginger and half a cup of sugar.