Thursday's Thinking of Food

I have dipped my toe into the waters of making baby food...another venture that some said wouldn't last (like the cloth diapering--which we're still doing when he's not at daycare, btw)...and I love it!  There is nothing more satisfying than knowing exactly what is going into my child's body, and knowing that I prepared it.  

So far I have "made"-- and when I say made, all it entails is pureeing and sometimes steaming the veggies--peas and squash.  The peas were frozen organic peas and the squash is fresh squash just in from my CSA, Gruber Farms.  Gruber farms is out of St. George, SC and we have been really pleased with them.  My mom, sister and I are splitting a family share and we always have more than enough stuff to go around--we've gotten strawberries, yellow squash, zucchini, patty pan squash, kale, cabbage, green beans, peas, red potatoes, broccoli, amazing corn, turnips, beets, and more!

Here's what I did to make the baby food: 

Chop the squash into small pieces.

Bring water to a boil in a large sautee pan, add squash, cover and simmer until tender.

(It would probably be easier to simply steam the squash, but alas, I have no steamer basket-yet.)

Then, puree with a little of the pot water in a food processor.

My sister and I went in halfsies on a baby food making set last year--

the KidCo Baby Steps Natural Feeding System

Click here to see a video as seen on Martha Stewart's show about the KidCo system.

Food processor that came with the KidCo set--it also comes with a food mill, freezer trays, and serving dish--all for $60!

Spoon the squash out of the processor and into the freezer tray for storage, or into the serving dish if you want to feed baby immediately.

And here's a picture of the peas.  I didn't even cook the peas, I just defrosted them and pureed them.

So far, I really like the KidCo system.  There are a lot of other baby-food-making systems out there, and I have heard that the Baby Bullet is a good one, but I have no complaints about the KidCo thus far.

As a side note, while researching the KidCo website, I realized they also make the Go-Pod that we just purchased to take to the beach a few weeks ago--another affordable and really user-friendly baby item!

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Jones in his Go-Pod at Litchfield

I'll let you know how Jones likes his very first taste of squash and peas!

I want to get some more freezer trays/small containers to freeze and serve the baby food from--anyone have any suggestions on brands?

Happy almost-Friday!

XO

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Thursday's Thinking of Food

This week I have seen and read about two very odd and disgusting foods that I had to share:

1) Has anyone seen the new IHOP commercial for the cheesecake pancake stackers? In their own words, "Cinnamon Apple, Blueberry, Strawberry...Pancake Stackers are sweet & silky cheesecake layered between two buttermilk pancakes. Crowned with a choice of cool strawberries, blueberry or cinnamon apple compote & creamy whipped topping."

See the ridiculous commercial below:


2) I read this article from NPR's Morning Edition: Kit Kat Kaleidoscope: Far-Out Flavors from Japan. Yes, the flavors are as weird as the title tells: Soy Sauce, Cantaloupe, Raspberry Passion Fruit, and Corn...to name a few. NPR staffers actually taste-tested all of the flavors and their comments are priceless--click on the article link to read for yourself. One of my favorite comments is from Steve Inskeep himself, after trying the corn-flavored Kit Kat: "Creepy."

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And in other news...

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My CSA is making it's first delivery next Monday! Round River Farms promises a delivery of lettuce, spinach, collards, some swiss chard, green onions and some herbs. Woohoo! And, the e-mail from them added: "The snap peas have blooms on them, the broccoli plants are getting pretty big, radishes have been planted, so things are coming along and there will be more to add to the shares in time." Can't wait to show you pictures and solicit some new recipes for all these wonderful veggies!

Yesterday, from 2-7 pm, the Farmers Market at the Riverbanks Zoo and Botanical Garden re-opened. The market will be held every Wednesday through October. Each week from 2:30- 3:30 PM, Earth Fare will be at the market to perform a cooking demonstration. Next week, May 19th's, demonstration is "Strawberry Fields Salad."

And, don't forget the Farmers in the Forest, Forest Acres Farmer's Market, is also every Wednesday through October from 3-7 pm. It is located on the roof of Richland Mall.

What do you think of these weird/gross foods? Any local food news to share?

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My Weekend Plans

I am hoping for a weekend of warmth and sunshine because I have a plethora of outdoor plans:


1. All Local Farmer's Market tomorrow morning--the Garlic Man will be there, and I may have finally convinced my husband to try to eat only local, humanely grown meats, so we're stocking up! Click here to see the other vendors who will be at the market tomorrow.

2. Get in a quick run--still competing in The Hampton Hills Biggest Loser competition and we only have 4 weeks left! Down 19 lbs, but I still have a long way to go...the weather should be perfect for a run including the damn Garner's Ferry hill. If you live in Columbia, you know which one I mean--the one that starts in front of McDonald's and goes straight up for a mile until you get to the Target...(or seems to go straight up when you're running it anyway).

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3. Anti-confederate flag rally at the State House tomorrow 2-5 pm. Hosted by Aaron Johnson and Grant Robertson, candidates for mayor and city council, respectively, the event will include musical performances and special guests. If you're reading this thinking, "really, what harm does it do having the flag on the state house grounds?"...read this and this. Click here for more info on the rally.

Our garden last year--we planted waaay too many peppers!

They sure were pretty though--and tasty in salsa

4. And finally, to round out the weekend, James and I hope to till and plant our garden on Sunday! We are a bit late on some things, but we're going to plant anyway and see what happens. We'll be planting corn, strawberries, onions, lettuces, carrots, salsa peppers, tomatoes, and green beans. (Our CSA is going to be providing us with so much other stuff--we had to choose things to plant ourselves that they aren't growing). And our garlic that we planted in December is almost ready to harvest. Pictures of the garden and garlic to come this weekend.

What are your plans for the weekend?

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Thursday's Thinking of Food

Random Thursday Food-Related Tidbits:

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1. Food, Inc. got an Oscar nod last Sunday in the Best Documentary Feature category--it didn't win, but "it's an honor just to be nominated." If you haven't seen it, here's why you should.

2. Our local Earth Fare has a cool "Pantry Makeover" deal right now where they will take your un-healthy foods and give you healthy, organic options in return (for FREE!) "Trade in peanut butter with hydrogenated oil, soda with high fructose corn syrup (HFCS), cereal with HFCS, salad dressing with HFCS or hydrogenated oils or jelly with HFCS and get a FREE Earth Fare Brand HEALTHY replacements. It doesn’t matter if your trade-in is completely full or has two tablespoons left in it, BOOT IT!" Click here to get the Pantry Makeover coupon.

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3. Apparently, America's leading beverage companies have delivered on a three-year commitment to remove full-calorie soft drinks from schools across the country and replace them with lower-calorie, smaller-portion beverages, a new report from the American Beverage Association finds. There has been an 88% decline in calories from beverages shipped to schools since 2004, and full-calorie soft drinks have been removed altogether. Now we just need to tackle why french fries are considered vegetables in school lunches...
Click here to read the full press release by the Clinton Foundation. (via The Philanthropy News Digest e-blast)

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4. I got my first e-mail from Round River Farms, the local, organic CSA that I joined this season! They were writing to inform us that "since it has been so cold lately, we will more than likely not start deliveries until the middle of May instead of the beginning of May. The soil in the boxes is still really cold and we want to make sure it warms up some before we start planting anything in it." What an exciting e-mail to receive--someone is looking out for my veggies. And they are still accepting Shareholders for the 2010 season, if you're interested.

5. Click above to sign Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution Petition--there is also a permanent link on the left side toolbar of my blog, or click here to read more about it.

If you have any food-related culture or information to share, I'd love to hear it!

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New Feature: Thursday's Thinking of Food

This blog was always meant to include reviews of restaurants and local eateries, and since my newly-nourished, (no pun intended), interest in eating healthier, more humanely, locally, and organic, I have been posting a lot about food-related issues and topics. So, as I was planning my post for today, realizing it again discusses local farms, it came to me to establish Thursday blog posts as "Thursday's Thinking of Food" posts.
{Full disclosure...the name for this new feature came to me as I was listening to my local NPR station's "Speaking of Schools," hosted by Doug Keel. The titles have the same rhythm and structure...Speaking of Schools...Thinking of Food...yeah? Anyway.}

Here's the first Thursday's Thinking of Food post:
I am officially a member (half-share) of a local CSA!! For those of you wondering what a CSA is, (as my husband was when I broke the news to him last night), CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture. The CSA I have joined is in Leesville, SC and is called Round River Farms. It's website says: "CSA's are healthy relationships between a community of people and a local farm and farmer. Realizing that in these times not everyone can be on the land growing their own food, a CSA farm entrusts the care and nurture of the land and crops to one skilled in organic farming."

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Staff of Round River Farms will bring shares of the harvest weekly to a designated spot in Columbia for shareholders to pick up. Deliveries will begin in early May and go through October, and the variety of produce and herbs that they grow is amazing! Click here to see a list of the Spring, Summer and Fall crops. I am so excited to have fresh, locally and organically grown vegetables all Spring, Summer and Fall! The CSA accepts full or half shares, full shares providing enough veggies weekly for a family of 4 or more, and a half share providing enough for 2-3 people. You can bet that once I start getting my weekly haul I will be posting about it here!

And in other organic food news, as I was perusing Earth Fare's website yesterday to find the coupon for the FREE pizza dough and mozzarella cheese with purchase of sauce coupon, I came across the video tour of Hickory Nut Gap Farm, below:

Hickory Nut Gap Farm - Local Farm for Earth Fare from Earth Fare on Vimeo.

If you're interested in why grass-fed beef is actually better for humans, cows, and the earth than corn-fed beef, click here for an interesting article on the subject.

And finally, here is a list of vendors that will be at the All-Local Farmer's Market this Saturday morning.

Go forth and make wise, healthy, and humane decisions about your food!

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