Taking a brief hiatus to venture into the wild!

May 24, 2010 personal news

It’s going to be quiet around here for the next 8 days or so.  We’re leaving for a much needed vacation into the wild!  No phones, no internet and no TV.  How wierd is that?   My twins think that no TV means no cable - LOL and that we can at least bring a mini dvd player to hook up – not!  Ok, I have to admit that I was thinking that too because really, where have you gone lately where there was not a television set?   They will miss their wild animal shows but we’ll find lots of real wild creatures.  Totally looking forward to it! 

I hope that your week is full of fun and rest too!

Spicy Sunday – Cardamom, a sweet and savory spice

May 23, 2010 Herbs and SPices, Spices

Cardamom – what a lovely spice!  Cardamom has such a wide variety of uses that you should keep some on hand, like you would keep ground pepper on hand.  A bit sweet yet a bit savory, this spice smells wonderful and is nice in baked goods, with veggies and with meats,  and of course in Chai tea.  This little spice is used in Indian, North African, Arabian and even Scandanavian cooking.  Cardamom is said to be helpful with digestion.

If you buy cardamom in the pods, you should open the pods and scrape out the seeds then grind them.  Grind the seeds with a mortar & pestal to get a nice powdery texture.  You may also purchase cardamom seeds and use them whole or grind them yourself.  I like to buy the pods because I think (just my own preference & thought) that the cardmom tastes and smells more fresh.

There is no limit to what you can add cardamom to.  It’s great in rice pudding, just 1 teaspoon will jazz up a plain rice pudding (don’t forget the raisins!).  Cardamom is also a wonderful way to add flavor to baked or slow cooker chicken; pair it with some cinnamon, nutmeg and sage and thyme.  Add a pinch of cardamom to plain or vanilla yogurt mixed with mango, pear or plum puree.   Introduce your little one to the flavor of cardamom in any way you wish!

You can also make a traditional Indian “smoothie” drink called Lassi using mango, milk, yogurt, almonds(crushed) and a pinch of cardamom.  Add sugar to taste or use agave syrup. 

A rough Lassi recipe would be:
1 mango – peeled, seeded, cubed
1 cup of milk
1/2 cup plain (or vanilla) yogurt
5 almonds (crushed) – allergy recs. are changing so pls. ask your pediatrician about nuts!
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom

Add everything to a blender and blend into a thick smoothie texture

Another way to make this is:
2 fresh mangoes
4 cups plain yogurt
1 cup cold water
8-10 tsp sugar (to taste)
1/2 teaspoon cardamom

Blend and serve over crushed ice

Allergy Alert:
Nuts
Dairy

 Enjoy!

Spices recommended between 7-8 months though some pediatricians say right from the start while other say wait!  Always ask your baby’s pediatrician about introducing new foods, herbs and spices.

Tags: Spices

Not your typical cheese log

May 21, 2010 Finger Foods, New Baby Food Recipes, cheese

If you have lots of cheese kicking about, here is a great way to make some “biscuits” for your 8month old+ baby.  These are really tasty and you can spice/herb them up as you please.  As I note, they may turn out to be a bit “gummy” or chewy so please be extra sure to watch your little one when he/she is eating these!

Cheese Logs

1/2 cup all purpose flour (using wheat flour makes this more nutritious but may yield a more gummy texture)
1/4 cup of butter
1/2 cup of shredded Cheddar – preferably the small thin shreds
1 egg
dash of pepper
dash of garlic powder 

Mix the Butter and Flour together and then add the cheese & egg (spices are optional). You will then have a “dough”.

Roll this dough into thin logs and & bake for about 10 mins @ 375 F. You may wish to bake these for 15-20 minutes depending on the thickness of your logs.  If you notice browning on the bottoms, turn the logs over 1/2 way through the cooking time!

Allergy Alert:
Dairy
Egg
Wheat