Why I steam, How to steam?

Why  do I steam my  baby's  food?

Well, I do  so because  it is not only easy,  it also retains the moisture and does not dry out the food, as can be so easily done when you only want to warm up  5 tablespoons worth of food. Does it take longer .... YES!  but  it is  generally  a healthier  form of  cooking  than say a microwave, and it also retains  a  lot of nutrients as  it doesnt get  "washed" away  which you can get with  boiling.

I have an electric steamer , so its  quite easy for me,  but what if you don't,  or what if  there is no reliable electricity to use the  electric steamer?  Well, there  is a   more manual approach  to it and most meals  take only about 30 mins to re-heat,  maybe up to an hour if you are  cooking from scratch.

Pot steamers come in different forms, a  few of them are listed below

1. The stackable  pot/steamer sets that  many  people have but  have never used the steamer  attachment ( yes we are all  guilty, the steamer bit is  still very shiny and we  sometimes use it  to wash   carrot, cabbage and  green pepper  at Christmas/ Easter when we want to make  fried rice or salad

Single layer  steamer attachment. 

Multi- level steamer attachment

Basically water  goes into the  bottom  pot  and the perforated  pots/ bowls   are stacked over it  with the food  to be steamed  and covered.

     2.    The mesh  baskets you can insert into a  pot. Now I know most people use this for deep frying  but yes it does have  another  purpose and can  work very well as  a steamer.  

basket  attachments:  the  one in the middle is mostly used in combination with a  deep  pot  for  deep frying

You just  suspend  over your  pot  as usually and rather than fill with oil,   you  just partially fill with  water to below the  mesh and  voila!

        

 3: To even the  humble colanders that you can suspend over your  pot!

This ( picture below) is came with my  pressure cooker, it is essentially a food separator but i can also use it as  a  steamer in this configuration.

Iplace the   little  angles in the bottom of the pot  to  elevate the   perforated  bowl and add some water

Place the mesh bowl on the  angles and  place whatever I need to cook  in it.  I either use a plastic  bowl with a cover  or a  glass jar with a cover.  just  make sure  the water is below the perforated  bowl. 

Cover tightly and   put on the  hob or stove for the water to  boil.


Do I steam only baby food?

Of course not!  I use my steamer  for  other  food stuff.  I haven't  boiled yam or plantain or  potatoes in like 3 years  and i  don't think i can,  without it turning into  pottage,  i steam all my  veg - carrots, broccoli, beetroot, etc.  i also steam  fish and  chicken, and you can also steam rice, eggs, or  beans  basically anything that can be  boiled, can be steamed.

Tips:  
If you are  steaming food in containers, make sure there is a bit of  liquid in it.

For things like carrots,  potatoes, yam and  other veg, simply place in the veg in the perforated  bowl for the  steam to  cook directly.

For  meat, chicken of fish, make sure you  wrap in foil before you  do place in your  steamer  - keeps it super moist! also make sure it is completely defrosted   as well if it has been frozen.

Mixed Fruit Paste Sweetener

Mixed Fruit Paste Sweetener

I mentioned in this previous post about  making a sweetener with  dried fruits for cereals.  well  what I did was to blend a few dried  soft fruits. So into my  food processor  i have some apricots, dates, raisins and sultanas. You can get this in the baking section of your supermarket or market.  

Now, i would say  that you may want to chop the items a bit with a knife before  putting in the  food processor, as after a while it  does form it into a ball. 

After  blending, store in an air tight container.  if the fruits were  straight from the pack  it should last  a while ( about a  month or two).  however if you washed any fruits like the dates for instance, make sure that they dry off properly before you blend. 

To use the  paste, simply take a bit  into the plate and  add a bit of warm milk to  break it up.  add your  cereal and  the remaining milk and serve. 

You can use any fruit combinations  you like,  however if you are adding any nuts, make sure your little one has no allergies to  the nuts.  Also you may want to blend the nuts first into as fine a powder as you  can, before you add the remaining dried soft fruits. 

I have so much fruit paste, now  i am  looking for what else i  can use it for. if i think of anything i will let you know. 

hmmn.... thinking i may make some morrocan inspired lamb sauce with  couscous or perhaps mix with some milk, mashed bananas and  baby rice;  or  maybe even do a  sort of  steamed  pudding kinda like  Christmas pudding)  now where did i stash that bottle of brandy?!!!

If you try this,  do  let me know how it comes  out. 

Cheerio

Part 1 - Weaning Foods for babies 6 months and above - Supplies

Hi  there!

Following  some of  my posts on the NairaLand (NL) Forum  regarding   weaning  food ideas,   I have  decided to collate all I have posted  as  means of  creating an  archive  of  sorts  as it can be  quite  tricky trying to find the  right post on NL,   so   for   new and old   "newborn thread   followers" and  any others looking for tips   for what  to  feed  their  babies,    here are a  few tips.
here  we  go.

These  are  food ideas    for  babies  that are  6 months+,  and   the  menu is varied  to include  both western  and Nigerian  cuisine. 

First  of all  lets look at  some  supplies you may need these are not essential, however  they do make  life far easier:

There are baby food blenders which are essentially mini blenders.... and some can be quite pricey. I think they are an unnecessary gadget  especially if you have other alternatives... save your money to use on other stuff.

What i found works for me is a hand held blender.... i got one few years back and its been gathering dust until now.... so glad i didn't throw it out!
I just put what needs to be blended in large high sided mug, add some water if needed and pop it in till I get the consistency I need.  its really good for small portions blending or making purees. You just need a piece of kitchen towel to hold over to prevent splashes. This is an alternative to a specialized baby food blender. 

Its a very versatile tool as you can also use it to blend other stuff as well other than baby food as well as blend quantities both tiny and large that a normal blender wont handle. I got mine to make  soups in one of my culinary adventure modes.

Oh! you can also try using the chopper attachment that comes with some blenders (the small bit used to grind egusi/ogbono/ pepper at home) although it will need to be washed well to get any pepper or previous food residue out. You will need to add some water and blend in short bursts

a mash bowl can also be used, as  it  is a small  bowl with a  pestle-like  attachment  that you can used to mash up really soft  baby food.


An electric food steamer to heat up food is also very useful, or as an alternative you can get a small pot version of a  steamer  that  goes on your  cooker or a steamer insert to use with your normal pot. ( we  cant  let lack of  electricity  spoil our   groove.) 
plastic  plate  or  preferably a bowl.  it  should be  small enough to hold comfortably and securely with one hand.  this is very handy if you are  feeding baby  off your  lap. 

Electric  steamer

Steamer  insert  to  use  with   a  normal pot

Silicone ice cube trays. To freeze excess baby food.  silicone is preferable as  it makes removing the  frozen food  loads easier.   I only have one ice tray so i sometimes just twist a teaspoon or tablespoon of the prepped food in some cling film to make a "pellet" and freeze in a container or tie up in bag. 
Caution: Take care to defrost (at least) partially to allow the clingfilm come off easily. You don't want specs of film in the food as it breaks easily when frozen. Also make sure you label the containers.... everything tends to look the same when its been frozen. 

A drink muddler - now this is really not essential, but if you or hubby are into cocktails and have one lying around especially the plastic ones with the spiky base, they are actually fabulous at mashing the odd single portion of baby food.


A silicone bib with the crumb catcher.   this is  easy   to wipe clean and   catches  all the  food and  water that  your  baby  spits and  spills out.    A   wipe-able  bib with  crumb catcher is also useful   for   days out  as  these are  very easy to fold, wipe and  can even wash in the washing machine after  a  few uses. 

Doidy cup, muddler and wipeable bib

Other  things  to have.  include:

A soft tip spoon in the early days, this is  very flexible and  is  gentler on tender gums. 

A doidy cup - if you can find this it is absolutely worth it! This has made our cup drinking so much better and easier. Alternatively you can use a transparent cup, or i sometimes use the cover of the feeding bottle when we are out and about so i can see the level of the water. 
Note: Most disposable cups have a rolled edge but  the   cut end is unfinished and is slightly sharp so be careful if you wish to go down that route as babies cant really control their tongues to avoid them injuring themselves.  


A small  bowl with a   tight  fitting cover  to use in the  steamer,   the lid needs to be  tight to prevent  excess water getting into the  food. it  could  also reserve a few empty glass jars and their covers of baby food if you buy them. They are really handy for use in a steamer. 



I hope this has been useful to you,  Part  2  will  be on general tips before and  during weaning. 

Thanks for reading!