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The pediatrician recommended we introduce only 1 new food a week. We just completed the 3rd week of “solid” food.
Week 1: Rice Cereal mixed with breast milk
Week 2: Spinach Purée (in addition to rice cereal)
Week 3: Pea Purée (in addition to rice cereal)

Yesterday before the actual completion of week 3, I decided to introduce apple purée at dinner time. Maddox’s system was beginning to get clogged up from all of the greens and I figured apples were the best way to sort that out. It worked, btw. I’ll spare you the details.

Today he had apple and rice cereal for breakfast (much easier to deal with the apple aftermath when its not 4am), and peas with rice cereal for lunch, then just rice cereal for dinner  (we went out to dinner last minute and i didn’t want to deal with the frozen purée).

I’ve been making all of the fruit and veggie purées myself from farmer’s market organic produce – of course. I use Earth’s Best Whole Grain Organic Baby Rice Cereal (I opted for not bothering to make my own). I’ve been making medium sized batches of the purée and freezing it in baby ice cube trays, then popping them out, individually wrapping them and putting them in freezer bags. So far I’ve made spinach, pea, butternut squash, apple, broccoli, and carrot. Its been really neat being able to introduce him to produce during the Spring. It is my favorite season for produce. Especially all the peas and fava beans! yum! 

Maddox has taken the new food in stride. The first meal of any new food has resulted in funny faces, full body shutters, gagging, and eye watering – but in the end he has eaten all of every meal. Usually after 2 meals of a new food, he is pretty adjusted to it and no longer squishes his face up.

Here is his first taste of peas…

My birthday snuck up on me this year. A last minute style Monday Birthday Lunch was organized. Coincidentally our friend Angel and her baby son flew in to visit on the same day! It all worked out really well and I had a lovely birthday. We ate at Nettie’s Crab Shack (I had a yummy Lobster Roll). Then we feasted on Chocolate Velvet Cupcakes from Kara’s. Yum!

The boys showing off their Tummy Time skillz…

Sage is a pro!  He is trying to roll over, but Maddox is in the way.

We had a little dinner party at Rob’s house this past weekend.
The menu: Homemade, hand-cut pasta with Braised Chicken, lacinato kale and wild mushrooms. Apple Pie

On Christmas Eve we enjoyed a spectacular meal with my parents at Michael Mina in San Francisco. Delish!!

We started off with a bottle of Billecart-Salmon Brut Rose (one of my favorite celebratory wines). Then with dinner we shared a bottle of  1983 Château Margaux that my father brought up from his cellar. 

This is was what I ordered:

Pork ~ Terrine, Belly, Short Rib
• Tête de Cochon, Foie Gras, Cornichon Gelée
• Frisée au Lardon, Quail Egg, Sherry Mignonette
• Bourguignon, Forest Mushrooms, Potato Gnocchi

Brandt Farm Beef ~ Steakhouse Sides
• Filet Tail, Sweet Carrots, Béarnaise Reduction
• Short Rib, La Ratte Potatoes, Natural Jus
• Dry Aged Rib-eye, Forest Mushrooms, Sauce Bordelaise

Quince ~ Fall Spices
• Membrillo, Sablé, Spiced Yogurt
• Orange Blossom Doughnuts, Cardamom, Quince Jelly
• Cobbler, Frangipane, Ginger Ice Cream

(It didn’t seem worth waking the baby up for the photo)

A while back I blogged about a new restaurant that is opening in the Cow Hollow district of San Francisco. We were lucky enough to be invited to attend a tasting dinner and a couple days later, a BBQ that featured most of the menu items in hors d’oeuvres sizes. The menu features things like crab cakes with house made potato chips, cioppino, clam chowder, shoestring potatoes, steamers, grilled mussels on rosemary skewers with chorizo, and bbq oysters.

Unlike most restaurants, and even bars in the city, they are open in that afternoon lull. Perfect for when you want a tasty snack and a beer but are in between meals. Go check it out if you are in the area! I highly recommend it.

Tonight we went out to our first social event with the baby in tow. Up until tonight we had been to 3 doctor’s appointments (2 for me, 1 for Maddox), and one trip to Natural Resources, which is only blocks from our house. The big difference right off the bat is that the hospital (and actually NR) is set up for us. They don’t mind if I whip out a boob out to feed, they have a nice bed or changing table for diaper changes, they have running water and a sink, a trash can with lid, and even anti-bacterial hand junk. For our first outings it was super nice to have these amenities, it gave us the chance to ease into it all. 

I wasn’t sure if we were going to be in over our heads taking on this dinner tonight. It was a super special sneak peek dinner at Nettie’s Crab Shack that we had been looking forward to for a while. We put Maddox in his car seat in the stroller and there he slept for almost the entire meal. It went off without a hitch! He woke up around the time we were ready to leave, so I whisked him to the restroom, changed him on the sink/countertop (like a pro, I might add), and even gave him about a 10 min feeding standing up before returning to the table. This was enough to get him home without incident. At this point its all a crap shoot as far as timing goes. Every day is different, so we don’t really know when he’ll be asleep, awake, or nursing.

I was such a proud parent tonight walking down Union Street pushing the stroller. It was like our coming out to the public. This was me and my husband out with our baby in the real world. A little family. Pretty amazing stuff.

How cute are these? They are so easy to make too! I have the feeling Maddox is going to have some great birthday parties! By the way he turns 1 week old today. He is growing up so fast. 

I was able to harvest some tomatoes from the garden today. Our friend Josh gave us a few plants several months ago. It takes patience, sun, heat, and a lot of luck to grow tomatoes in San Francisco. I’m happy I have at least these to show for my efforts. Meanwhile, Josh’s plants have been producing enough to supply supermarkets all over the bay area for weeks now (he lives in sunny South Bay). 

Keep an eye out for the grand opening of Nettie’s Crab Shack, a new restaurant by Living Room Events chef/partner Brian Leitner! I’m excited that there is finally going to be a good mid-range seafood eatery in SF. How sad it is that in a city known for its seafood, all we have to show for it is the Fisherman’s Wharf. 

“Located in San Francisco’s Marina district and expected to open this fall, Brian’s new venture will focus on regional seafood highlighting New England and New Orleans specialties.”

Check out the recent post on the Foodie 411 blog! 

Last night we had sort of a summer’s bounty dinner. I made fresh corn soup and panzanella. Yum! Right now I’m having more panzanella for lunch. Basically it is an Italian tomato bread salad. Its an awesome way to enjoy super delicious, peak of the season, summer produce.

My version (with the Barefoot Contessa Vinaigrette):

Salad Ingredients

red onions, sliced very thin
heirloom tomatoes (3 varieties), cut into medium chunks
sungold cherry tomatoes, halved through the belly button
lemon cucumber, chunked
basil, lots of it torn or roughly chopped
acme sour batard (bread), 1″ cubes

Vinaigrette Ingredients

1 teaspoon finely minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
3 tablespoons Champagne vinegar
1/2 cup good olive oil
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Italian Romano Pecorino Sheep Milk, shaved with a vege peeler

For bread: Heat olive oil in a large saute pan. Add bread cubes and salt; cook over low to medium heat, tossing frequently, for 10 minutes, or until nicely browned.

Toss all salad & vinaigrette ingredients together, then top with shaved cheese.

(This photo is someone else’s version served on top of the bread)