LITTLE BITES AND BIG BITES

Sitting lakeside in Centennial Park this afternoon the seed was planted for these little bites and big bites. A friend and I were discussing the challenge of introducing our babies to the joys of food, particularly with very little current information regarding non-meat foods such as legumes and tofu. Cara suggested I drop the lentils for now but keep up the Indian spices. One website recommends waiting until babies are 8 months before introducing legumes, tofu and the nightshade vegetable family. Apparently baby's digestive system matures significantly at this age. Saying this, standard advice these days has parents feeding their babies meat and wheat etc at 7 months, so I'm sure I haven't seriously disadvantaged Billie's digestive system by feeding her my spinach dahl four days running (she loved it, and wanted more). However, I will now wait a few weeks before returning to my experiments with legumes.

The little bites (for Billie) and big bites (for the adults) below were created on the go, but we all devoured the meal and will visit again soon.

Little bites - SPICED ROAST COURGETTE

One courgette
1 tspn olive oil
1/8 tsp of ginger
1/4 tspn each of coriander, cumin and turmeric

Slice courgette on the diagonal into chunky slices and toss with oil. Mix spices together and rub into courgette. Spread into oven tray in a single layer and roast in oven preheated to 200 degrees.

Big bites - SPICED ROAST VEGGIES ON COUS COUS WITH QUARK CHEESE

Two courgettes
One aubergine
One red pepper
1 tblspn olive oil
1/4 tspn ground ginger
1/2 tspn each coriander, cumin and turmeric
3/4 cup cous cous
1 cup water
2 generous dollops of quark cheese

Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Prepare courgettes as above. Core and seed red pepper, cut into bite-sized chunks and rub with oil and then spice mixture. Spread out in a single layer in an oven dish and roast. Meanwhile, cut aubergine into 1cm wide slices and brush with extra olive oil. Roast in a single layer until browned (about 20 mins), turning half way through. Boil water, add the salt and stir through cous cous. Cover and leave for 5 mins, then stir with a fork. Divide cous cous between two plates, place vegetables on top and then top each with a large spoon of quark.