This surprises me: I am really into making Archer's baby food. I feel
like a mad chemist, mixing new ingredients and experimenting with his
budding tastes. It is oddly satisfying to beat all kinds of food into a
quivering pulp and offer it to him like it is chocolate-covered
awesome. Babies are so gullible.
Actually, my hope is that organic fruits, vegetables, and porridge will
become his personal version of chocolate pudding. Sure, it's a total pipe dream
to image Archer at his fifth birthday party rejecting ice cream in
favor of swiss chard salad, but I do feel good about loading him up with it early and maybe helping him to develop a more sophisticated palate. And I don't feed him anything I wouldn't eat myself. Although, I do admit this has become a bit more difficult with the introduction of powdered kelp and brewer's yeast into his porridge; I've been eating that with long teeth.
Who
am I kidding -- this kid is probably going to refuse everything but
chicken nuggets as soon as he hits three. Nevertheless, armed with a
miniature food processor and Super Baby Food by Ruth Yaron, I've been creating a veritable feast of
mushy fare each week, and so far nothing has been rejected outright --
except for egg yolks. Actually, Archer didn't even reject those, but
his stomach did. Barf. He even digs on kale; dark green juice runs out of the sides of his mouth like he's some sort of sadistic alien. And don't get him started on satsumas; you'll be peeling pith until your fingertips are cracking from the acid while he shovels in the sweet-tart morsels and howls for more.
In the photo, from left to right, are what's on
this week's menu: blackberry applesauce, broccoli, stewed prunes (a personal crusade against constipation),
potatoes, super porridge (oatmeal, amaranth, wheat bran, flax meal).
