These cherries now languish – crushed, mutilated, and wholly untouched – in our freezer.
Somewhere between buying thirty-six cloth diapers for Sunshine and committing to what our local Target calls ‘natural feeding’ (because some people consider ‘breast’ a terrible word) I heard about the wonders of making your own baby food. The magazine article claimed it was Easy! Wholesome! Cheap! Fun! And Totally Not Messy At All! Since I’m into cheap fun, I went for it.
It was not the first time I’ve been lied to by a magazine.
There were hints from the start that life would be easier if I simply opened up a jar of Gerber and shoveled it into Sunshine’s mouth. For one thing, Gerber doesn’t require a blender. But I’m a stay-at-home-mom now, so I feel an obligation to get my inner housewife on. Most of the time that means I toss laundry into the washer a few times a week, make dinner when I feel like it, and sweep the floor on a semi-regular basis. Otherwise, it’s all Sunshine, all the time. Still, girlie and I were lurking about the house anyway, so why not?
The peas came first. I lovingly cut open the bag (because, no, I was not going to hand-shell three hundred sugar snaps, no matter how much I love my daughter), dumped the frozen contents into our electric steamer, and set the timer. Now all I had to do was grind them into baby-safe mush. Easy. I poured a mountain of veggies into the blender, tapped the puree button, and waited for the magic. The engine whirred ineffectually, a burning smell tinged the air, and smoke curled out from under the base. Okay. Fine. Next button. More power. Still, those blades would not move. Hot pea juice fogged up the inside. Sunshine fussed. The Mother of the Year acceptance speech I’d been composing in my head dissolved.
A quick consultation with my father – who’d never made baby food in his life, but does have a knack for dealing with mean machinery – solved the problem. A little water, a little stirring, a little more water…a lot more water. With a groan, the blender finally complied, grinding the peas into an unappetizing neon green sludge.
Giddy with accomplishment, I slid Sunshine into her high chair and served up a big old glop of the stuff. Which, of course, she refused to eat. (Because, you know, who wouldn’t love warm pea mush for lunch?) Undeterred, I spooned the rest into three ice cub trays and froze them in baby-sized portions, as per the instructions in the magazine article, two cook books, and seven websites I had, by now, read on the subject.
Carrots came next, chopped and steamed and blended with a bucket of water, then chilled into little orange cubes. I dished up a mound of the sticky slop. Ick face ensued.
I was desperate for a victory, so when she ate the yams I sent a silent “Take that!” to Gerber and planned my next feat. Luckily, the end-of-summer trees were heavy with fruit. I peeled, sliced, and simmered apples. I halved and roasted hand-picked peaches and apricots, then slipped off the skins. I removed the seeds from so many grape-sized plums that my thumbs hurt for days. And every bit went into our now-compliant blender.
On occasion I trot out one of the cubes, let it melt, and dish it up. Sunshine still likes her peas round and her carrots chopped, but she’ll take a taste if I pretend I don’t care. As for the rest? Wholesome, cheap, and, if you’re fourteen months old, rather tasty.
This was an adorable post:) I used cloth diapers with my daughter and still have them (she’s 4, but I just can’t let go of them LOL). THanks for visiting my blog today:)
Good for you for cooking homemade food for Sunshine. You definitely have more patience than I would.
Ah, amazing! (Although I feel a little like schlub-mother now.) Yeah – Gerber, disposables, and I didn’t breast feed. I had a reason for that, but…well, not a story I love to share. But, my only girl is 13, healthy, and taller than me! So, I guess I didn’t do too bad. 🙂
Thanks for the bday wishes today. Sixteen Candles still makes me laugh, too!
@Marcia – LOL! Yeah, we tried mixing several different veggies/fruits too. Didn’t work so well. The most I got away with was thickening the apricots and zucchini with a little powdered rice cereal.
@Katherine – Thank you! And, yes, I’ve definitely become wary of magazines. The biggest liars are the ones that boast ‘easy’ diets.
@Becky – It’s funny how much our babies can tell us, even before they say a word, isn’t it? Of course, it’s better if the telling doesn’t include bodily fluids…As for self-feeding what we eat, too, we’ve been doing that a lot lately. Sunshine wouldn’t touch bananas in any form – until she started begging for bits when we were eating some.
@Lindsay – I understand not wanting to let go of your cloth diapers. They’re wonderful, aren’t they? And once you’ve invested that much money in your stash, you don’t want to get rid of it just in case…
@Dru – I don’t know about patience, since your quilting definitely takes that. 🙂
@Donea Lee – Ack! It wasn’t my intention to make anyone feel bad. I just have a guilt complex, plus I’m cheap, hence the homemade baby food, cloth diapers, and breastfeeding.
I made my own baby food with my first child. But only with my first child. 🙂 I think you’re a first-rate mother!!
I was THE same way when my little one was littlier.
I tried making my own baby food too but when she gagged and almost choked I freaked out and stopped it until she was closer to one years old. Then I bought some mommy and me cookbooks and found some great transition recipes that I still make today. 🙂
Good for you! I imagined myself doing this, but never really carved out the time. Those summer fruit cubes sound perfect for smoothies!
Good for you! I had good intentions, but never got around to one-upping Gerber. The summer fruit cubes sound like they’d be great for smoothies!
Gah! Told me there was an error… Sorry for posting twice!
@Barrie – Well, thank you! You seem like an excellent mother, too. From your blog posts, your kids seem amazing.
@Jennifer – That sounds like a good strategy. Sunshine gagged a few times, and it terrified me. I think she’s used to solids now, but it took a bit.
@Alyssa – That is a FANTASTIC idea! I never thought about using the frozen fruit cubes for smoothies or a fun summer snack for myself. I might have to give that a try. Perhaps the cherries can finally get used. (I think they were too sour for Sunshine, but blended with a little ice cream or vanilla yogurt or sweeter fruit? Yum!)