Savory pumpkin custard

You might need to use a loaded spoon for this one, as it's not very pick-uppable. It's definitely a messy one to give a baby (a 3 on the messiness scale).  But it's so good, it's worth all that.  This custard's got a lovely golden color, silky-smooth texture, and delicate flavor. Although I call it pumpkin, in truth I used roasted and pureed Hubbard squash, and I credit a lot of the success of this dish to the intrinsic deliciousness of the squash. The better your squash, the better the final product will be. Butternut would work fine, but I'd stay away from canned pumpkin.

Savory pumpkin custard

3 egg yolks
1/2 c. whipping cream
1/2 c. winter squash puree
1 sprig rosemary
1 large clove of garlic, sliced
freshly ground black pepper

Preheat your oven to 300.  In a small saucepan, heat the cream to a gentle simmer, and add the rosemary, garlic, and pepper. Turn off the heat, cover, and let sit for 10 minutes, then strain into a small bowl and let the cream cool.  Discard the spices. When it's cooled, whisk in the pumpkin and egg yolks. Pour into ramekins (I used two shallow and wide ones, but do whatever you like; be aware that you may have to adjust the cooking time a little depending on the size of dish you use). Set in a roasting pan and fill the pan with water to reach about halfway up the sides of the custard dishes. Bake until just set (if there's a little wiggle in a small area in the center, they're done), about 15 minutes. Serve warm.

She doesn't look like she's having much fun, but she ate about half of one ramekin all by herself. This is early on in the process-- later, the custard covered the nose and entire chin.

Sweet Potatoes Mayai recipe for baby-led weaning

A few years ago I got to visit Tanzania for a couple of months. A popular street food was "chips mayai"-- deep-fried chips with an egg (the 'yai', plural 'mayai') broken over them, resulting in a tangled, greasy-good mass of chip and egg, best slathered with pilipili (pepper) sauce. This recipe was inspired by that, but is less greasy and involves sweet potatoes rather than fries.  It's a good general formula that could be readily adapted to whatever veggies you have on hand-- potatoes, squash. Well, really just potatoes or squash. Maybe carrots. Still! That's pretty versatile!

My main discovery is that if you grate things directly into your frying pan, they cook quickly and you save time on cleanup. I am gonna be doing this with everything from now on. Well, really just potatoes or squash. Maybe carrots. Still! I eat a lot of potatoes and squash! So it's a useful technique!

Sweet potatoes mayai

2 Tbs olive oil
2 medium sweet potatoes
1/2 onion
1 egg
ground black pepper to taste
1 tsp dried thyme
your favorite pepper sauce

Get the olive oil heating up in your trusty skillet over medium-high heat.  Using the coarsest side of your grater, grate in the onion. (Watch your fingers!). Give it a stir. The quickly grate in the sweet potatoes. Stir in the black pepper and thyme.  Let cook until potato is cooked through, stirring with restraint (you want browned bits).  It really only takes a few minutes. When the veggies are cooked, break your egg over the middle of the pile. Cook like you would any fried egg, flipping halfway through (aim it onto some unincorporated veggies if you can). 

Let some cool for the baby, and eat yours with added salt and hot sauce. Yum!

Perfect for those practicing their pincer grip, or those not quite ready for that can grab a big hunk with egg and still get some veggies, too.