Operation Soup

As a toddler, Lucas loved soup. Now he doesn't. So I'm attempting a clandestine operation - serving him all the elements of the soup with just a little broth (this amount to be increased over time), throwing in a well-loved ingredient if necessary (this time - tomatoes) and sprinkling it generously with cheese. Last night it was pasta e fagioli.

*I like to cook the pasta on the side. It keeps it more firm for the soup when it's added one bowl at a time and makes it easier to construct a non-soup soup for Lucas.

From "Giada's Family Dinners"

4 sprigs fresh thyme (I omitted)
1 large fresh rosemary sprig
1 bay leaf
1T olive oil
1T unsalted butter
1c chopped onion
3oz pancetta or bacon, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
5 3/4 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
2 (14.5oz) cans red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
(I used more discreet Great Northern beans)

A few handfuls Fresh, chopped spinach
(my addition, not in the recipe)

3/4 cup elbow macaroni (I prefer shells)
freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan (for sprinkling on top)

Wrap the herbs in a piece of cheesecloth and tie with kitchen twine. Heat the olive oil and butter in a large heavy saucepan over a medium flame. Add the onion, pancetta and garlic (I always wait to add the garlic a bit to make it doesn't burn.) Saute until the onion is tender, about 3 minutes. Add the broth, beans, and herb sachet. Cover and bring to a boil over high heat, then decrease the heat to medium and simmer til vegetables are very tender, about 10 min, Discard the sachet.

In a blender, puree 1 cup of the bean mixture til smooth then return the puree to the saucepan. (At this point, I threw in some fresh, chopped spinach.) Cover and return the soup to a boil over high heat. Add the macaroni, cover, and boil stirring occasionally until the macaroni is tender but still firm to the bite, about 8 minutes. Season the soup with pepper. Ladle the coup into bowls. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and drizzle with evoo.

Kick-Start

Okay. It's time I try to give this blog a kick-start and attempt to get some things posted in a more timely manner. It's been a busy summer, but now as the pool time and vacations wind down (now if only the heat would!) as we head toward fall, I know my desire to cook is going to go in the opposite direction and I will finally want to consider standing in front of that stove a bit more often.

To try to start things off, I have had a request for ideas for kids' school lunches. After awhile, the usual sandwich, fruit, and drink combo just does not cut it anymore. Kids desire variety just as much as we do, if not more. So if anyone out there with school-age children has some healthy, creative ideas for lunches, please do share!

There are two blogs I would like to share that both have really cute and appetizing ideas for the little ones: Vegan Lunch Box and Cooking for Monkeys. Though the creations on Vegan Lunch Box are, well, vegan, they could still be interspersed or taken piecemeal to adapt to an omnivore's diet. I especially recommend going back into her archives and reading some of her earlier posts. I have followed this blog for years at the advice of my dear friend, Kate. This blog alone made me want to have a kid just so I could pack lunches! Of course, now that I do have a kid, I am not sure how she finds the time to come up with all of these fantastic ideas, but it must be possible. The woman from Cooking for Monkeys has two children and goes to our church. She is a fantastic cook and also has some really great, healthy, super-cute lunchbox art.

Lovely Lentils

A friend of a friend posted this recipe (from Top 100 Baby Purees by Annabel Karmel) as a comment to one of my posts awhile back, and I thought it deserved a post of its own. I made this last week for Elsa, and even though she wasn't feeling well, she still ate a good portion of it. I went ahead and froze the rest in an ice cube tray for meals down the road.

One thing I have come to realize lately is that if the food I am trying to feed Elsa requires the use of a spoon or a fork, it helps tremendously if I give her a utensil to hold onto and attempt to use to feed herself. This skill is proving to take her some time (perhaps due to the fact that I am a neat freak and have had some trouble relinquishing total control over the food during mealtime in an attempt to avoid serious messes and, therefore, she has not had a ton of practice), but she does manage to get food into her mouth here and there. Regardless, I think it makes her feel a bit more involved in the process and more interested in her food. I am looking forward to when she is able to stand stably on a stepstool and actually help to prepare the food she eats.

Lovely Lentils

1/2 cup chopped onion
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
2 Tablespoons chopped celery
1 Tablespoon vegetable oil
1/4 cup split red lentils
1 medium sweet potato, peeled and chopped
1 3/4 cup reduced sodium chicken broth (you can also use water or half water/half broth)

Saute the onion, carrots, and celery in the vegetable oil for 5 minutes or until softened. Add the lentils and sweet potatoes and pour in the broth and/or water. Bring to a boil, turn down the heat, and simmer, covered, for 20 minutes. Puree in a blender. (You can also just mashed it with a potato masher and get a great consistency since the veggies and lentils are so soft after cooking.)

On Your Mark, Get Set, GO!

I present to you a guest post by my friend, Valerie, who lives in North Carolina, and is eight months pregnant with her third little boy.

When our son was about 2 1/2 years old, we wanted eating plain cooked broccoli (my husband's favorite choice for vegetables, thus a very frequent side dish at our home) to be a fun and enjoyable experience instead of coaxing and bribing.  So we started to have "broccoli races."  Everyone at the table gets a piece of broccoli on their fork, someone counts "1, 2, 3, GO!" and we all eat our broccoli at the same time.  When we're done eating, of course we display our open, empty mouths to the whole table.  The goal is for everyone at the table to finish, not necessarily to finish first.  My boys love this game and it turns any "blah" food into an exciting adventure.  We still use it for broccoli, but we also use it when we're learning to eat a new food.

Another game we play to make eating fun reveals the depraved mentality of our boys.  This game is called "Don't eat me!" and my son invented this game when he was almost 4 years old.  Sometimes our food talks.  It usually talks in a high pitched squeaky voice and says something like, "Please don't eat me!  Whatever you do, don't eat me!  Please!" At which point the boys gleefully take a bite of the food and laugh as the food screams "AHHHHHHhhhhhhh!"  The scream fades away as the food gets swallowed.   My boys, now ages 6 and 3 1/2, LOVE this game!

Note: Due to the high "giggle factor" in these games, it could pose a small choking hazard, so be attentive and chose foods that are appropriate to your child's chewing ability.  For example, don't play these games with a bowl full of grapes.