The Many Uses of Chilli... and Pancakes!

I have to show you this- it's the first time I've ever made pancakes! I did singe them a little but they were really tasty. Later on (not tonight!) when I remember, I'll tell you all about Granny's Proper Pancakes, but for now:

I filled them with the chilli con carne I made last night and they got wolfed down, which I was pretty pleased about because it did have a bit of a kick and I wasn't sure whether Vienna would like that. She did. They taste sort of like an enchilada, so I think they'd be really nice with some grated cheese on top.

Chilli con Carne

We eat a lot of chilli con carne so I thought I'd give it a go. It was really yummy, I'm dead proud :) It was actually meant to be for a do on Sunday but Steve got home before I could hide it in the freezer and commandeered it. Probably just as well because I polished off Vienna's stew yesterday and she'll want something nice and hearty after swimming tomorrow. It's really easy, but if you have a bit of time the night before I'd probably do it then. By the way, this counts as 2 of your 5 a day. I  know, I didn't believe it either.

Ingredients:

• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 large garlic cloves, chopped
• 2 red chillis, deseeded and chopped
• 2 tbsp tomato puree
• 500g mince
• 1 1/2 cans chopped tomatoes
• 1 can kidney beans
• 2 tsp oregano
• pinch of black pepper (to taste)

Serves: 3

Method:

1. Fry the onion until soft, then add the garlic and fry for 3 minutes. Add the chilli and cook for another few minutes, stirring constantly (you don't need oil because the mince is fatty enough and it will make it a bit too oily if you do)
2. Add the mince and properly brown. Drain the excess fat then stir in the tomato puree until the mince is all evenly coated.
3. Stir in the tomatoes, kidney beans, oregano and season with pepper to taste.
4. Simmer for 20 minutes.

Notes:

• made me feel a lot less poorly after snaffooing this...!

Poorly Tummies, Here...

Today we are having cheese on toast for tea with baby carrots, sweetcorn, beans and mangetout because Mummy is feeling very poorly and, to be honest, cannot be bothered to braise mutton or fillet fish (not that I would anyway). Good thing I will never ever have to use the phrase "here comes the aeroplane!" because frankly I don't know how people with fussy children have the energy. Vienna's quite happily munching on a bean at the minute, so I thought seeing as I've finished mine, this would be a good time to talk a bit more about why she eats the way she does.

By the way, the weather is really nice today. Thought I'd mention.

As you might have guessed, I have a massive thing about "baby" food. The problem I have is that I can't eat it (well I can but I'd rather eat glass to be honest) so if I bought it out of a jar I'd spend on average 80p per meal for something that will get smooshed everywhere except in my daughter's mouth.  I'm not good at maths but that works out to be... a lot. And I'd have to do separate meals for her and us which takes time I don't have. When I was pregnant I said I'd just blend up proper food that we'd cooked and give her that, but then she started teething fairly early and the lady who runs my baby groups suggested baby-led feeding.

Don't get me wrong, I know I talk a bit posh and I know the difference between a quince spoon and a soup spoon (and I know what quince is) but I'm not one of those posh mums with a fancy new travel system, all the latest gadgets and high-tech toys, and a wardrobe full of Maman Jo Bebe. And I don't think I'm an "attachment" parent either because I don't actually know what one of those is.

I just like the idea that if you give your baby whole solid food then it makes mealtime more fun (because they eat the same food as you so they get to join in), helps their speech and hand-eye coordination, reduces the chances of them being obese as a child, makes them 10 times less likely to choke, helps with teething (not in our case...) and encourages them to make choices and preferences. And it works out cheaper. Win-win.

Stuffed Marrow with Pepper

My grandad does the best marrow with shepherd's pie filling inside it, so you could try that too. Here's what I do:

Ingredients:

• 1 large marrow
• 250g mince
• 1tbsp tomato puree
• 1 red pepper, deseeded and chopped

Serves: 2 adults (not on its own), 1 baby (on its own, unless you're Vienna)

Method:

1. Slit the skin of the marrow, pop it on a baking tray and put in a preheated oven on 160C for 50 mins.
2. After the 50 mins, turn the oven off and leave the marrow in the heat for half an hour.
3. Brown the mince in a frying pan (you don't need any oil because mince is really fatty) then drain the fat away and add the tomato puree and pepper until the pepper is nice and soft.
4. Take the marrow out of the oven, scoop out the seeds and stuff with the mince/pepper mixture.
5. Put the whole thing back in the oven (on 160 again) for 20-30 minutes.

It's nice with Worcestershire sauce but I wouldn't recommend giving that to a baby. This recipe takes time, but it's really easy, and if you leave the mince in little clumps it's easier for a baby to pick up (although you need to take extra care to cook it).

Tutti Fruit-y Smoothie

This was an idea I had to add a bit more breastmilk to Vienna's diet now that I only feed her when she wakes up first thing. If you don't fancy drinking my milk (although why you wouldn't is beyond me as it's delicious AND nutritious!) you could substitute it for natural yoghurt.

Ingredients:

• 1 banana
• 3 strawberries
• 1 large orange
• 1 plum
• 180ml/6oz breastmilk

Blend the fruit until smooth, then stir in the breastmilk. If you're making this then I'm assuming that you know what to do with your own milk, but it'd be a bit remiss to not add the massive warning about blending your milk so here it is: Massive Warning. Don't blend breastmilk. It (definitely) kills the cells, breaks down the proteins and (apparently) can churn it to butter.

Breastbutter sounds a bit weird.

Moroccan-style Chicken and Chickpea Stew

So here's to the first of many, hopefully! This is that stew I was telling you all about in my last post about chicken (see, it's all interconnected here!). It has chilli in it but it actually isn't spicy at all:

Ingredients:

• 300g chicken fillets
• 2 cans chopped tomatoes
• 1 can chickpeas (in water, not dried)
• 2 carrots, cut into chunks (makes it easier for your baby to pick up)
• 1 parsnip, cut into chunks
• 1 tsp caraway seeds (in with the jars of spices at the supermarket)
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp coriander (dried, not leaves- although you could use 1tbsp fresh)
• 1 red chilli, deseeded and chopped
• pinch of black pepper (optional)

Serves: 

Well it did me for two lunches, Vienna for tea and lunch and there was some left for Steve so I'm going to say 2 adults and one baby.

Method:

1. Grill the chicken (feel free to see "The trick to chicken" for this ;) ) until cooked all the way through.
2. Boil the carrots and parsnip in water for about 15 mins until fairly soft.
3. Put all the spices in a large pan and fry for a couple of minutes, then add the chilli and fry that for a further couple of minutes.
4. Add the tomatoes, chickpeas, carrots, parsnip and chicken. Leave to simmer until the chickpeas are really soft.

Notes:

• Dad said after I made this that it needed a touch of garlic. If anyone makes this before I get a chance to give it a go with some onion & garlic see what you think and let me know but otherwise I was pretty proud.
• when frying the spices, two things here: one, this is not really a job you can leave because spices burn quite quickly which makes them taste horrid and sets your fire alarm off in a matter of seconds, and two, most recipes will say to grind/crush the caraway seeds... I don't know if you've ever tried this but I wouldn't recommend it. It's nigh impossible. And they taste nice whole. They aren't big.
• most importantly, the chickpeas need to be very soft when you give them to your baby- the rest it doesn't matter quite so much because carrots/tomatoes you can eat raw, and you've already cooked the chicken and parsnips right the way through anyway

The Trick to Chicken

I've just made a pretty decent stew for lunch today which I'll probably post later. It had chicken in it and I have such a love-hate relationship with chicken that I thought this would be a good place to kick things off with.

I love chicken. I don't eat red meat so it's one of my only sources of protein. Vienna likes it too, but I really hate actually COOKING the chicken because whenever I've done it in the past it comes out black on the outside and pink on the inside. Ach. Mainly that's because I get impatient, turn the heat up full then blast the stuffand wonder why it hasn't cooked properly (btw because the heat cooks the outside... or chargrills in my case...but hasn't had time to cook the inside yet- like when a recipe says to 'seal' the meat, that's kind of the same thing) but it's come to the point where I've had to work out a system to cooking chicken. You can't give a baby uncooked chicken, that's just daft. I think it would be a useful thing to share because it comes out really nice each time now. Yeeaahh :D

What you do is stick the grill on a low-medium heat (mine's an integrated one so if you have one of those I'd stick it on 150C). Let it warm up for a bit then pop the meat in the grill and make sure it's right under. Cook it for 8 mins, then turn it and cook for another 8 mins, turn it back to the first side and cook for 6 mins, then do the second side for another 6 mins. Done.

When you test it I don't find it helpful to "pierce it and see if the juices run clear" because I can never tell so I just pull it apart in a few places and check for pink bits. Much more accurate.

Well, hello!

Right, it's midnight so I'll make this brief. My name is Katherine. I do not have an unlimited supply of time to spend on honing gourmet, cordon bleu meals. I do not have a disposable income to spend on tiny pots of baby food. I also do not know how to use blogspot.

What I DO have, after 10 months of breastfeeding a tongue-tie baby and then standing firm on baby-led feeding, is a rather dogged "keep calm and carry on" approach to life, a new-found love of cooking, and a need to feed my daughter proper healthy food that I would be prepared to eat as well.

Brace yourselves, people!