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.