Biscuits in the oven, gonna watch ’em rise

I’m not much of a baker.  My cookies are often black on the bottom and fluffy things tend to come out pretty flat.  In my opinion, cooking is an art, and baking is a science, and I’m much better at art in the kitchen.  Go figure, since I got great marks in chemistry class way back in high school.

However, in the effort to get A to eat more at the table, I’m trying my hand at baking.  Specifically, the Cheese and Broccoli Muffins from this site:

Cheese and Broccoli Muffins

6 cooked broccoli florets, chopped
6 grape/cherry tomatoes, chopped
4 oz (1 cup) grated Cheddar cheese
8 oz (2 cups) self rising flour (or – to reduce salt levels – use all purpose/plain flour plus 3 level tsp baking powder)
6 fl oz (3/4 cup) milk – use whole milk, or breastmilk/formula if you prefer
3 tbsp olive oil
1 egg, beaten

Pre-heat the oven to 375 deg F, 180 deg C.
In a bowl, mix together the flour, cheese and chopped broccoli.
Add the chopped tomatoes, milk, oil and egg and blend thoroughly.
Grease a 12 hole muffin tin and spoon in the batter.
Bake for 25 to 35 mins until golden.

Please note that these muffins will be fairly dense and moist.

The batter was stiff but easy to work with

Letting the muffins cool. They look tasty!

I went with the formula option since A isn’t on whole milk just yet & I didn’t have any breastmilk pumped. I also only had whole wheat flour, so added the baking powder and crossed my fingers.  I tested them at 25 minutes and they were dry in the middle, so I took them out to cool.

Success! There were a few crumbs left over, but A ate most of a muffin. Woo hoo! They weren’t quite as moist as I was expecting, but A seemed happy enough to eat one so we’ll call that a win.

All that remains is a few crumbs and a baby heading towards a food coma. 🙂

Puree? No way!

It seems that darling little A is less and less willing to eat purees these days.  She seems to only be interested in foods that she can put into her mouth with her own two hands.  If a spoon approaches her mouth now, she grabs for it & pulls the contents off.  She then either tries to put it in her mouth, or rubs it on the high chair tray and then in her hair.  While I applaud this little bit of independence, it leaves me wondering two things: What do I do with the meticulously-portioned cubes of frozen veggie purees in the freezer, and what on earth do I feed a ten-month-old to ensure she’s getting a balanced meal??

I know that “Food before one is just for fun,” but I also want her to try lots of flavours and get used to different types of foods.  Hubby is a picky eater, and I want her to have an open-minded palate.  Some hits so far include apple slices softened in the microwave, a grilled cheese cut into small pieces, French toast with banana blended into the mix, and well-cooked cauliflower.  Some misses include chicken meatballs (fun to tear apart, not so much to eat), mushy carrots (she liked them pureed), and cooked peas with the skin pulled off (possibly just too small).

This leaves me on the hunt for recipes appropriate for a ten-month-old with only her two lower incisors for chewing.  There are resources for baby-led weaning online, so that’s where I’ll start.  Have you gone through this with your little ones?  What foods did your independent eater enjoy?

“A” is for “All over my face.” Sweet potato, back when purees were cool.