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Sweating Pho Sure!

January 19, 2012 //
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English: Probably the best Vietnamese soup, Ph...

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Steph’s not feeling well.  She’s got a mild case of fever and chills.  In our family, when we aim to fend off sickness during cold and flu season, we resort to eating lighter foods and promote the body’s sweating mechanism to help get rid of the cold (cold = exterior attack in acupuncturist terms).  (I know, it’s old school medicine.)  We hit up the pho restaurant.

For those that don’t know, pho is a vietnamese style of rice noodle soup.  You can get this noodle soup with all sorts of meats and vegetables thrown in.  According to Chinese medicine, the properties of the soup is a nice balance of yin and yang ingredients and is a great substitute for the standard chicken noodle soup that mama Campbell’s doles out in the red and white tins.

I meet Steph for lunch at her favorite pho place, Pho Ca Dao in Mira Mesa.  Mira Mesa has tons of pho shops scattered along MM Boulevard, but this one is our favorite.  Pho Ca Dao doesn’t make the very best pho, but it has the friendliest staff we’ve ever had at a pho restaurant.  So, we make it a point to return often.

Now, Gavin’s “having lunch” with us.  (What kind of parent would leave a baby at home alone?)  He gets perched atop a high chair for a bird’s eye view of the visual and olfactory masterpiece, pho.  He gets so excited about pho that he starts to squirm in his seat.  We give him a pair of chopsticks to try and calm him down.  But, chopsticks without pho is like a bath without water…no fun.  Ten seconds later, the sticks are played out onto to the floor.

Meanwhile, mommy takes a few bites and soon gives up the wet noodles, and I’m chewing each of my bites the appropriate 25 times to ensure maximum enjoyment.  But I can’t.  The Worm, true to his name, is really fussy now, squirming (and vocalizing his dislike of PIPA and SOPA).  Since it’s lunch time, Pho Ca Dao is Pho Can Crowded.  A loud, screaming baby is the last thing we need right now.  (And I’m pretty sure it’s the last thing anyone around us needs, too.)  Anxiously, I start scooping larger and larger portions of noodles in my mouth for fear that the volcano Gavin will erupt at any moment and we’ll be eating our pho on the sidewalk outside the building.

Steph says “You better hurry, Gavin’s ‘done’.”  I’m thinking, that little pipsqueaking monkey lovable, kindhearted infant can’t wait 5 minutes more? is definitely more important than me getting nourishment for my weary body.  I spoon larger and larger portions into my boca grande.

I’m eating so fast that I shove half a jalapeno in my mouth without knowing it.  Like the responsible guy that I am (who is always thinking about the starving kids in Ethiopia), I don’t spit it out.  I keep on chewing…25 times.  And if that wasn’t hot enough, the jalapeno seeds (the hottest *#@$ing part) were extra fireworks for my tastebuds.  The volcano’s not in the high chair anymore, it’s in my mouth.  And I’m sweating like a w#@re in church for the next 5 minutes.  I guess I won’t be catching a cold anytime soon.

I can’t wait to see that jalapeno pepper on the way out.  I’m sure it will be a treat.

Thank you Gavin for teaching me a lesson today about looking at my food before eating it.   Grrr.

Gavin – 3; Dad – 1

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Guest Blogger (Chef Steph): Pears, Parsnips, and Green Beans Puree

January 16, 2012 //
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In the beginning of Gavin’s introduction into solid foods, we simply followed the advice of internet pediatricians. We gave him a single fruit or vegetable puree every 3-4 days, and noted which he liked and disliked, and any noticeable reactions (incidentally, plums gave him diaper rash). Considering he ate pretty much everything with the same gusto,

Nomnomnom

we were able to try close to 3 dozen different fruits and vegetables over the following 3 months. Just recently, I’ve been mixing and matching various produce and really getting into the fun part of making baby food.
The following is a recent recipe that Gavin gives a baby thumbs up. As I mentioned in my previous post, we have one of those do-it-all baby food makers, but you definitely do not need one to make these concoctions (and honestly, considering the portion size of the thing, I don’t even use it anymore). All you need is a pot and a metal colander (or sieve) that fits over the pot without touching the bottom, and a food processor or blender.

Ingredients:

  • 3 ripe pears (I use Bosc, but Bartlett is also a great choice)
  •  1 medium parsnip
  • 1/2 cup frozen green beans, defrosted

Preparation:
Peel and chop the pears and parsnip into small cubes. Place the parsnip in the colander or sieve over a pot of boiling water. Cover with a lid or foil and allow to steam for about 5 minutes. Add the pears and steam for another 10 minutes or until the pears and parsnips can be smashed with a spoon. Check the level of water in the pot periodically to make sure enough remains. Add the green beans and steam for an additional 3-5 minutes. Take everything off the stove and place the fruit and veggies in a blender or food processor. Add a bit of the remaining steaming liquid (this has lots of the flavor from the veggies in it) and puree to the desired consistency. Pour into a bowl and allow to cool completely (it’s a good idea to cool in the fridge to avoid bacterial growth).

Bon appetit!

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Guest Blogger (Chef Steph): Enter the Culinary Centerpiece of Gavin’s Gastrointestinal Gaiety

January 16, 2012 //
1

I love cooking food!

I used to be a pretty fine cook.
 
Not to say that I lost the ability, but my adventures into the culinary arts of late consist of dumping a premixed Ziploc bag of defrosted vegetables and meat into the crockpot. With working 9 hrs a day and actually wanting to spend some time with my son before he goes to bed 2 hrs after I get home, my BC (before-child) habit of delving into a frenzy of chopping, mincing, and sauteing in the hopes of producing the perfect blend of flavors every evening has fallen to the bottom of a very long list of wish-I-had-the-time-to-dos.
 
When I was pregnant with Gavin, a friend of ours introduced us into the world of home-made baby cuisine. Armed with a cookbook and a Kalorik babyfood maker, Dylan and I joked that he would become the ultimate Daddy chef (we already knew that he would be the primary caretaker). However, the task of making Gavin’s weekly food rations has been not-so-subtly hijacked. I love to cook; it is my stress relief. And since I can’t create nightly masterpieces for my husband and I without being wracked with guilt over abandoning what little time I have with my child, I have taken over cooking his baby food. At least I’m doing SOMEthing for him, then, right?
 
Making baby food has turned out to be quite fun. I still get to muse over the flavor components and acidity:sweetness:umami ratios. It’s just in pureed form. Each weekend I determine what blends of organic produce I will create, and Gavin and I chat (his is more of a babble) away in the kitchen while I peel, chop, steam and puree, and he sits on the floor eating the every piece of grass, insect and dirt he can find (I call that gross, he calls it an appetizer).
 
So, over the life of this blog, I’ll share with you some of my creations. Baby food making can be as simple or as complex as you make it, but for me, I just like getting the chance to cook something that doesn’t involve the crockpot.

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The Veggie Wedgie

January 14, 2012 //
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[WARNING:  Graphic Image Below.  If baby poop scares you, then don’t scroll down.  It’s worse than seeing baby seals getting clubbed.]

I know this is an odd place for this post, but hear me out. What I’m about to show you was once a tasty vegetable growing out of mother Earth. So, yes. It does belong here in the food category of my blog.

The veggie wedgie is probably the best baby poop ever to walk the earth. Or at least the best poop ever to be attached to your baby’s bum. It doesn’t stink obscenely, nor is it a mess to clean. It just peels right off and leaves practically no residue! Heck, sometimes you don’t even have to waste a wet wipe.  The baby’s wedgie is akin to that two-foot no-wipe chocolate cigar that you occasionally pinch off, pat yourself on the back for, want to show your friends, and say goodbye to before flushing down the toilet. (You know what I mean.) If Gavin was old enough to understand, he would be proud. But, since something this magnitude can always be appreciated by a friend or close relative, I’ll be proud for him…and I’ll take a photo to show him later.

The veggie wedgie can be made from many different types of vegetables. (Gavin’s lucky to have a mom that makes most of his food fresh every week.) The wedgie staring you in the face is one such food combination.  Well, it probably has a little yogurt and rice cereal sprinkled in there too.  The wedgie is pressure-formed and heat-shaped due to that very hairy crack that God placed at the top of our legs for us to scratch.  (No not that crack, the other one.)

Now, that I think about it, you are probably wondering why I’m so excited about this. Well, I’m an acupuncturist and I talk about poop with all my patients.  Proper digestive system function is extremely important for overall body health.  Poor gastrointestinal flora can lead to all sorts of systemic issues, most visibly skin problems.  So, to bring this blog out of the gutter I leave you with some basic info on baby poop (Aren’t you tired of seeing the word poop yet?)

  • Baby poops while breastfeeding should not be terribly odoriferous.  They should also be liquid-like with possible small chunks.  They can also come in pastel colors.  If it’s red poop or blood-stained for more than one or two bowel movements, you should notify your pediatrician.  (But if you fed the baby beets a day or two before, it is likely his/her poops could be red.)
  • If your baby is formula fed as an infant, his/her stools will be more stinky and more formed.
  • In the early months, breastfed babies are typically leaner than formula fed babies.
  • Generally, when baby starts staring at you eating food or trying to grab food from you, he/she is probably getting ready to start eating solid foods.  Gavin started eating solids at 6 months old.
  • Solid foods usually bring solid poops.  Obviously, there is some transition for baby’s gastrointestinal system to prepare for digestion of solid foods.
  • Make a habit of using your five senses to monitor your baby’s stools, and consequently his/her digestive health.  Well, maybe use only 4 out of the 5 senses.  You pick which 4.

Don't be afraid! It's only vegetables...sort of.

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