Purple Potatoes

Did anyone know there is such a thing as a purple potato?  Not this non-potato eater!  We received the little red potatoes in our CSA last week.  Well, while peeling the spuds, I was shocked to see the skin give way to vibrant purple veggies!  It was actually kind of exciting because vibrant colored fruits and veggies have more nutrients, and I'd been hesitant to give T potatoes because there isn't a ton of nutritional value to them.  Plus the purple color was really pretty (the photos don't do this veggie justice).  Since this was my first time making "real" potatoes (aka not sweet potatoes) I decided to try three different methods at the same time.  Normally as I make baby food I attempt a new method each time, determining which is best.  But this time I wanted to try multiple methods since I had plenty of potatoes. 

Ingredients/Tools:
Potatoes - I had about a dozen small potatoes
peeler
knife
tin foil
parchment paper

Note: all methods used the oven, at 400F, for about 25-30 min.

Method One: Foil wrapped potato sticks (with parchment paper)
This was the most time consuming method up-front.  I peeled the individual potatoes, then sliced and diced into thin sticks.  These potatoes are hard to peel because they're so small.  At one point I did end up slicing my finger.  I'd love to hear if people have better ways to peel small potatoes!

My mom read recently that the metal in foil can infuse harmful toxins in your food, so she recommended using parchment paper to line the foil.  I cut a sheet of aluminum foil, then made a matching sheet of parchment paper.  One these were prepared I laid the sticks in even lines on the paper.  Of course as soon as I started rolling the foil the lines disappeared in to a clump of potato sticks, but oh well.  I always add a little water (maybe 1 T worth) before sealing the foil. 

Once the potatoes were cooked I removed them from the oven and diced the sticks.  I didn't have to bake these as long, they were done probably within 20 minutes.  The downside to parchment paper is that the paper ended up sticking to the potato, pretty badly.  I had to cut a lot of potato away to get all the paper off.  Don't think I'll use it again when steaming something like that, especially something as starch-filled as potatoes.

Method Two: Foil wrapped skinned potatoes (whole)
One again, I peeled the potatoes then punctured them all over with a fork.  One they were prepared, I wrapped them in a foil pack with about 1 T of water.  No parchment paper this go-round.  After baking, approximately 25 minutes, I removed and sliced/diced.  Pretty simple!

aren't these just gorgeous? Reminds me of agates!

Method Three: Foil wrapped skin-on potatoes
This was the easiest method by far.  After washing the potatoes (it's always important to wash your veggies before cooking) I punctured them thoroughly then tossed them in the foil pack with 1 T of water.  These took longer to bake, at least 30 min.  After cooking them though, I sliced them in quarters and spent longer than I'd like scraping the skin off.  One of the downsides of this type of potato is the paper-thin, delicate skin.  I can understand why most red mashed potatoes have skin in them still! 

 

yes, we actually did have some red potatoes in our box too.

 

 



Miss T loved the potatoes, and they're really easy to heat up.  They're very easy for her to pick up and feed herself, which is the new thing.  She refuses to eat purees anymore, so I've got quite a bit in the freezer that I'm not sure how we're going to use.  She loves to give us a good challenge!  Don't tell my hubby that I may start working them into our pasta sauces etc. :) 

Turkey, Rice, + Veggie Meatballs, amongst other lessons

Chalk this one up to a learning experience.  Yes, it ended up pretty well but I really was questioning whether this meal would end up in the trash part way through.  To start at the beginning, my friend at work whose son is a month older than T was giving me tips on different solids to try.  One suggestion was meatballs.  I ended up taking her general recipe as an idea and made my own concoction.  Note at this point that I had never made meatballs, meat loaf, or anything of the sort because I'm just not a fan.  I'll eat it, but it's not something I crave.  This is something that occurred to me when I got to the point of actually baking the balls. 

Ingredients:
1 lb ground turkey (I prefer Jenni-O 97% lean)
1 large patty pan
1 head of cauliflower
1 packet of Archer Farms steamable brown rice

I started by chopping up the patty pan and cauliflower, steaming them in the microwave (separate of course), and blending them (separate again) in the baby bullet.  Next I took the rice packet (lesson #2 of this post), tore the top to vent, and microwaved that.  As you may recall from a prior post, I don't eat rice and do not really know how to prepare it.  Luckily Archer Farms (Target Owned Brand) makes a great option that you just toss in the microwave.  Seemed to turn out well!  Our goal was to attempt rice for T soon, because daycare suggested we start working more grains into her diet. 

After everything was blended, I took the ground turkey and separated in half, each in a separate bowl.  I did the same with the brown rice, then added patty pan to one bowl and cauliflower to the other.  Note you will have some of each veggie left over.  Mix with your hands until everything is consistent and sticking together.  As my mom pointed out afterwards, the rice was my "bonding agent", acting similar to ketchup in meat loaf.  But much more healthy!  It shouldn't be too runny, so only add as much veggie as you can before it gets too soft. 

 

I made them into 1.5" or 2" balls, fitting about 16 on each cookie tray.  Then I baked them for approximately 30 minutes around 350F.  This is lesson #3.  I started off at 400F, and the outsides got brown very quickly but the insides were still liquid.  After several more attempts and repeated heat reductions, they were finally done.  Of course at this point I consulted my mom and learned what to look for to ensure they're cooked through.  Have I ever mentioned my mom writes cook books for a living and is a pretty awesome resource?  No?  Well I should know by now to always start with her.  She's better than Google! 

T loved the smell of the meat balls so much that she wouldn't even wait until dinner to eat them!  She finished one off as a snack, then two more while I prepped dinner.  So far she's only had the cauliflower version, but hopefully the patty pan version is as big a hit.  This recipe made about 35 meatballs and I froze them in a freezer bag for easy portioning later.

 

 

Steamed Peaches

The latest batch of peaches purchased were on the tougher side, and after hacking at one with a knife I figured there just had to be a better way of peeling them.  Out came my little cook-book, and I found a recipe where you steam the peaches.  It was pretty easy.  You wash the peaches and cut a deep X into one side.  In about an inch of water (I only used about 1/2") in a large sauce pan, you steam the peaches on the stove top.  I always have the lid cocked on, so the steam can escape while gently cooking the fruit.  It took about 10 minutes on the stove top until the skin puckered.  I removed the peaches with tongs, set them aside in a bowl to cook, and reserved the peachy water in a giant mug for blending. 

Now, when I went to remove the skin it was actually quite the chore.  If you ever read my post about blanching tomatoes, you'll know what I mean.  It was right up there from a gross factor.  I had use my super-sharp Rada knife to peel off the skin.  Once the skin was off I used my thumbs to dig down to the pit, and peel the fruit off.  After every peach I had to wash my hands to get all the junk off, before I started on the next one.  I used seven peaches total, and made several containers of baby food. 

It's been fun trying different techniques of cooking her food, figuring out what is easiest and most efficient.  While I'm not a huge fan of this method, I learned more about peaches and honestly they were so tough I think trying to peel them normally would have been even tougher.  There is nothing better than the knowledge that my daughter is eating fresh food, whose source I am familiar with.