Messy Marvin

Yogurt Face

This is why yogurt should be eaten with a spoon, not a hand...fyi.

Gettin' Saucy

Thanksgiving Baking

Levi got to lick the spoon when I made pumpkin bread for Thanksgiving :)

Blueberry Bonanza

Wow, Levi sure was in the mood for food tonight. I am going to call blueberries as his favorite food so far--Parker will be so proud. Jared claims I am keeping the berry industry in business this year, considering that every trip to the grocery store always includes a basket of raspberries, strawberries, and blueberries. Tonight I microwaved a bunch of blueberries to make them all nice and soft and squishy (and extra juicy and messy), and they were just the right size for Levi to pick up. He's really getting good with his "pincer" grasp these days, and can find the tiniest piece of anything on the floor and stick it right in his mouth. Which of course drives me crazy--no amount of sweeping or mopping will keep things out of this kid's mouth. Anyway, he absolutely loved the blueberries tonight, interspersed with bites of some crazy baby food mixture I found at the store---some kind of baby superfood made with lots of green vegetables and brown grains. He was an absolute mess, but so happy. He really is a happy go-lucky kid these days. It was right into the bath with him as soon as he was done!

Chow Hound

Levi is starting to like eating solid foods more and more--one day this weekend, it was like a switch just flipped and he went bananas for carrots! If I would have known he'd go so crazy, I would have swathed him in plastic, rather than a tiny little cotton bib! It was cool that Grandpa Geoff was with us to witness one of Levi's "firsts"--the first time he actually opened his mouth of his own accord for a spoonful of baby food! It seems like carrots are his favorite food so far, although he is also liking any kind of mashed up beans, avocado, banana, cottage cheese, yogurt, teething biscuits, and bread. He mostly prefers to try to feed himself (although with the carrots he happily opened his mouth for the spoon), so I'm trying to give him things that he can theoretically get from his tray to his mouth himself.

Avocado Painting

A couple of days ago, I tried giving Levi some mashed up avocado, thinking that maybe he would like the mild flavor and that maybe he would like to feed himself. I don't think that he ever put any of it in his mouth, but he sure did enjoy painting his tray and himself with avocado for about twenty minutes while I ate my lunch!

Starting Solids

We started introducing Levi to solids a little bit before he turned six months old. I of course started off with rice cereal, and he was less than enthused about it. Figuring that he'd be more excited about sweet, yummy fruits, I moved on to pears...but surprisingly, he didn't squeal with delight and reach eagerly for the spoon after his first taste like I imagined he would! After a few days, and mainly unenthusiastic responses, I moved on to bananas, then sweet potatoes, apples, and carrots. He really hasn't taken to any of them yet; in fact, you'd pretty much have to hold his hands down and pry his mouth open to get any food in there! He has perfected this ninja defense move any time he senses food getting too close to his mouth.

Parker's Pizza Pie

Parker is always super excited to make his own pizza, and he always wants to make a face on his! Here you can see the cherry tomato eyeballs, red onion eyebrows, pine nut freckles, and chicken chunk smile. :)

Chocolate Ganache Tartlets with Macaroon Crust

I've been on a serious cooking/baking kick lately...today's experiment was these Chocolate Ganache Tartlets in a Macaroon Crust. We are sampling the results as I type this, and I must say that they came out pretty dang yummy! I was afraid that the chocolate might be overwhelming...but my fears were unfounded. These photos show the tartlets as they were cooling; I put them in the fridge to really set the chocolate. I think they would be good with some chopped nuts on top or some really good raspberries...


Here is the recipe, from Real Simple November 2004:


Macaroon crusts:


2 2/3 cups sweetened coconut
2 egg whites


Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade, combine the coconut with the egg whites and pulse until well ground. Lightly coat four 4-inch tart pans [NOTE: I used 2 1/2-inch tartlet tins, I wanted these to be more like individual cookie servings...and I thought all that chocolate in a 4-inch tart would just be too much to handle!] with cooking spray. Press the coconut into the tart pans using a firm hand, working it over the bottom and up the sides. Bake until the coconut turns golden around the edges and is set in the center, 15 to 20 minutes [NOTE: when using the 2 1/2-inch tins, I baked them for 11 minutes]. Remove from oven and invert the tins immediately on a rack.


Chocolate Ganache Tartlets:


16 ounces bittersweet chocolate, cut into small pieces [NOTE: I used only about 6 ounces, which was plenty for my smaller tartlets. This made 16 2 1/2-inch tartlets.]
1 cup heavy whipping cream [NOTE: I used 1/2 cup.]
1 teaspoon light corn syrup [NOTE: I used 1/2 teaspoon.]
Prepared macaroon crusts


Place the chocolate in a bowl. In a small saucepan, heat the cream until just under a boil. Pour over the chocolate and let stand about 5 minutes. Whisk to combine. Stir in the corn syrup. Spoon the chocolate into the Macaroon Crusts. Let cool about 1 hour (the chocolate will set as it cools). Serve chilled or at room temperature.


Easy and so good! Stay tuned for the next culinary experiment on my list...yet another chocolaty dessert!