Food update

Finally, a little bit of variation from the tomato-only diet!

I was re-reading my book on baby led weaning and it suggested that egg whites don't necessarily have to be introduced after a year.  The wording was something like "some feel egg whites should be introduced when the baby is at least 8 months old, but others feel egg whites can be introduced at 6 months."  Well, either way, Michael is almost 9 months, so I went for it today and I'll check for reactions over the next few days.  (He hasn't had a reaction to anything yet -- egg yolks, tomatoes or other citrus, meat, dairy, grains -- thank God!  Makes life easier.)

Here's the improvised recipe I used to make a "baby-friendly" frittata.  I didn't actually measure anything, so all the non-discrete quantities are estimates (or "to taste").

• one quarter-pound of grass-fed, cooked, crumbled ground bison
• 1 small organic kale leaf, chopped
• 3 cherry tomatoes, diced
• 3 T. diced onion
• 2 tsp. organic ghee
• 3 pastured eggs
• 1 T. Italian seasoning blend
• 1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
• 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
• 1 tsp. dried chives

1. Add the first five ingredients to a 6-inch cast-iron skillet and saute over a low heat until the kale is slightly wilted and tomatoes are lightly cooked.
2. Beat the eggs together with the spices.  Pour into skillet (still on a low-to-medium heat) and cover skillet with some aluminum foil.
3. When the frittata is mostly "set" except for a runny top, put under the broiler.  Watch carefully so egg doesn't burn.

I really liked this recipe because it's so easily modified for whatever is in the fridge.  You could add bell peppers, fresh herbs, mushrooms, different meats, etc.  I also went for a more Italian style -- next time I might try Indian spices.  If I were just making it for myself, I would add some shredded cheese after step 1, covering the meat/veggie mix.  Right now I only have the pre-shredded stuff in my fridge that has starchy fillers and mold inhibitors, which I don't mind eating myself but don't want to give to Michael.  (I have given him block cheese before, which he generally likes.)

But more importantly, Michael really seemed to like the frittata!  It was a lot easier for him to pick up than just crumbled ground beef or a hard-boiled egg yolk, plus I think it is just plain tastier.  He had fun squishing rectangular strips of frittata in his hand, but he actually did gobble down some of it and his face lit up and he went for more.

Oh, and I mentioned using my 6-inch cast-iron skillet.  I also browned the ground bison in my "new" 9-inch skillet, a 1950s Griswold #7 I bought off of eBay.  I had Ben scour off the previous seasoning with steel wool (who knows, it could've been used to collect car grease) and I reseasoned it with four coats, and today was my first test of the skillet.  I love it so far -- it's much, much lighter than the Lodge skillets (it's about as heavy as my 6-inch!), plus it has a nice finished (ground down) cooking surface.  

Church Anecdote

We've been attending St. Louis, King of France parish the last few weeks on the other side of Austin, mostly because Teresa and her family go there.  It seems like a friendly, active parish.

We were in the cry room on Sunday, and I put on my nursing shawl and fed Michael.  Up to that point, he and the girl sitting next to us had been entertaining each other.  She was probably around 5 years old.  Curiosity struck her, so she lifted up the shawl to find Michael.  Her mother scolded her, and she explained "But I wanted to see the baby!"  Her mom told her the baby was eating, and she looked flabbergasted and asked "... eating WHAT?"  (I didn't hear the explanation!)

Michael and his Grampas!

Mom hopes if I wear this shirt enough, I'll believe it!

Grandpa Schmid came over the weekend for a pleasant visit.  Michael liked Gramps, but by the time we remembered to get a video, Michael was in a bad mood.

Thank you, Ben, for capturing me being stymied by a can of spray olive oil.

New Mom Group

Today, Michael and I went to a Catholic Mom's Group that Ben's college friend, Teresa, told us about.  I met a bunch of lovely mommies and am looking forward to making some new friends for myself and for Michael! They are a very active group of Catholic homeschooling families in the Austin area, and a few of them live near us and in the neighborhoods where we are looking to buy a home.

They meet at a different park every week.  Michael swung in a swing for the very first time (and I didn't bring my camera!).  I was actually kind of alarmed because he was catatonic while I swung him.  I thought he might be asleep (his eyes were shielded with sunglasses) but he wasn't.  He just looked and acted like he was asleep in the swing, kind of leaning against the corner of the baby swing, but his eyes were open.  I was concerned he was getting too hot so I took him out.  We had to leave after about an hour and a half because he was getting flushed and refused to nurse/hydrate himself.

Food:  I've been offering lots of veggies (as well as meats, though less frequently), and except for tomatoes, he is uninterested.  I stopped eating salads with my raw leafy greens since babies need to have their veggies cooked.  My current favorite method for preparing greens is to saute some onion and garlic and whatever else I have lying around (zucchini, carrot, sweet potato) in a cast-iron skillet until fairly soft (no oil or liquid needed in the cast-iron*), add some greens (and tomatoes, if around), about a tablespoon of balsamic vinegar, and some appropriate seasoning (I use Trader Joe's "21 Seasoning Salute").  Sometimes I toss in some crumbled ground meat.  I then offer Michael everything in the skillet, and he picks only the tomatoes.



* I used to saute everything in olive oil, but I worry about overheating it now since it's extra virgin olive oil.  EVOO has a low smoke point, and as soon as any fat hits it's smoke point it's unhealthy to consume.  And I don't know of any healthy cooking oils with a higher smoke point.  I had been using cooking wine or broth to saute in a non-stick skillet, but I'm not sure if boiling liquids in a cast-iron skillet is "okay"?  Luckily, the cast-iron doesn't really need anything, especially if you saute onions first, which give off a lot of their own moisture.

Motor development progress, and grocery stores

Michael hasn't been too keen on solids the last few days, but we made a little progress today in his motor development.

Though not expertly performing yet, Michael managed for the first time to pick up a couple of beans and get them into his mouth (a black and a kidney -- not string/green).  I also spooned some yogurt onto his little spoons and handed it to him, and he properly took the handle and spooned it into his mouth a couple of times.  He seems to understand the concept of how a spoon works, even if he doesn't execute it correctly most of the time!  I've been trying to "help" him by guiding the spoon towards his mouth (though I don't put it in his mouth).  After doing that a few times, I stopped guiding the spoon and just handed it to him, and occasionally he got it right.

Although Michael has been rejecting most of the solids I've offered him, he has been getting into red stuff -- watermelon and cooked tomatoes.  He is a tomato fiend!  I sliced the little cherry tomatoes in half and lightly cooked them, and he sucks the juice and pulp.

I recently discovered that cast iron skillets are awesome for caramelizing onions so I've been making batches of caramelized onions and refrigerating them for toppings (they go on everything).  We have a little 6-inch skillet that is good for single servings and cornbread, and a big 14-inch skillet that I've started using for one-pot meals.  I really want to get a 9-inch skillet for pies and quiches, but it's an uncommon size.  I've been researching cast iron skillets and now I want an old Griswold or Wagner skillet, since they are machine-ground and have a beautiful, smooth surface.  I guess the ones from Erie, PA are the highest-quality.  It's hard to tell though what number corresponds closest to a standard 9-inch pie pan -- I think a number 7?  I've been checking eBay but hesitating to buy one without getting to look at it in person first.

Michael and I went to Sprouts today in my quest to fill the Trader Joe's void.  The super friendly sausage man gave me a free sample link of my choice of sausage when I told him it was my first trip to Sprouts.  I am excited about the sausages -- no nitrites/nitrates or preservatives or MSG, and freshly stuffed in the store, plus I could not find uncooked Andouille sausage anywhere in California.  I got some of that Andouille sausage (which I cooked tonight), sweet Italian sausage for Ben, and my sample link was some kind of cheesy Italian chicken sausage.  Texas definitely does meat better than California -- but not produce.

Sadly, my Andouille sausage had (human) hairs in it (not mine).  I ate it anyway.  :-(  In the battle between my OCD and my strong proclivity to not waste food, not wasting food won.

I also checked out Central Market over the weekend.  While both health-food stores had their perks, neither was an obvious place I could do all my shopping at, like I did at Trader Joe's.  TJ's had much, much cheaper staples (e.g. organic beans for half the price of Sprouts's) and even things I just can't find at these health-food stores (e.g. a good selection of frozen, organic veggies; no-frills tortillas and bread; organic, whole milk plain yogurt).  Plus I rarely found any objectionable ingredients in anything at TJ's (and never any trans fats), but I really have to vet out the products here more carefully because lots of items have preservatives, trans fats, nitrates, and other yucky stuff.  :-(

Still more natural foods stores to check out!  I haven't yet been to the flagship Whole Foods yet.  I suspect WF will be the closest thing to fill my TJ's niche, just more expensive.  There are also some natural foods places called Sunflower and Wheatsville that are worth a shot.

Eight months!

Michael and I arrived in Austin last Friday.  I've been extremely busy unpacking and organizing.  I only got to leave the apartment for about three minutes today to take out the recycling.

We had a great time in Wisconsin, visiting Gramma and Grampa and Uncle Dominic.  (I really miss having someone who can take care of Michael when I am trying to cook or want to go out and take a walk or whatever.  I also miss having help cleaning up the dishes and his messes!)  In the three weeks we were in Wisconsin, Michael perfected sitting up on his own indefinitely without wobbling over, and he went from two naps a day to just one.  (sigh)  He loved all the attention from my family!

Our visit also overlapped with his eight-month birthday!  These were taken on the 6th.

"Practicin' my spitball."

We were in the very last row on our flight to Texas.  It was just four seats across (with an aisle down the middle) and no one else was in the back row, which meant the area affected by Michael's screaming was cut by more than half.  He was a bit bored on the plane but fell asleep while I was swaying with him in the aisle, just in time for the turbulent landing.  He hated the car ride though from San Antonio to Austin!  Too much car seat for one little boy.

We went to a Farmer's Market on Saturday.  Texas Farmer's Markets have far less produce and far more meat and animal products than in California (or Wisconsin).  I picked up some really old, nearly rotting chard (won't make that mistake again) and tomatoes and zucchini (both of which were alright), some grass-fed beef, organic eggs from pastured chickens, kombucha tea, and strawberry cream cheese.  It was a neat, eclectic selection of vendors.  Unfortunately, it looks like I'm going to have to do most of my produce shopping in grocery stores again.  How unhip!

People here have Texas accents, shockingly.  This will be the first place I've ever lived where the locals have accents.  ;-)