I guess by now you’ve probably figured out I’m the kind that buckles under pressure. Pressure I put on myself, mind you. It’s absurd isn’t it? It’s like squishing myself under my own thumb, but nonetheless, that is what I’ve done. I rushed to get my favorite puree (the smell alone sends me into conundrums of why I don’t love jam and makes me wish I loved to slather such things on toast) to you before your markets closed the bill on such spring fare like rhubarb and cherries. I then made promises to pump out this back log as I am drowning in it and have neither the time nor the patience nor something to say about everything we’ve shoved into our littlest pie hole. I epically failed us both. I’m still drowning and you’re still waiting. So let’s get the show on the road, shall we?

After our brief introduction to orange vegetables, we moved right along into green vegetables. This phase was the one I was most anxious about. I haven’t met too many kids, let alone babies, who like and tolerate green food things. It is usually spit back out, along with gagging attempts followed with absolute refusal to open the intake valve. Plus, as most of you know, I’m twenty three and still green averse, so what hope really did my kid have? That’s why I wanted to make it interesting, or at least attempt to slightly mask the flavors. We attempted spinach first and I threw in some caramelized leeks. I know, we kind of jumped ship and went straight to a stage two food, but I was sure I’d be trying to coax determined tight lips open.

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Whew! Where were we? Oh yes, it’s July and I still haven’t told you about the strawberry rhubarb jam, err sauce I fed Henry. Apologies, of course, though if you keep up on these pages I’m sure you understand the lack of getting to you all in a timely manner. Even now, I am only taking a short 5 minute break from packing tiny man pants with matching tank tops and bucket hats and sand castle gear, because really I can’t stall any longer.

Unfortunately all of my frozen baby food was ruined in the derecho last weekend and I have yet to make up some yummy compotes. We’ve been surviving off of organic gerber food, which I’m finding the baby does not enjoy with any kind of enthusiasm. After all, none of it tastes like jam, like this does, and I would be completely put out if I was fed some conglomeration of whole wheat pasta and harvest vegetables instead of sweet summer berry medleys too. Once we get back from the beach I will be whipping up a ton of new sauces and purees — I’m beginning to dread the thought because the backlog I still have to share with you isn’t even close to being done. I guess to take the pressure off, I will just share the recipes. You wouldn’t be too terribly upset, would you? The only thing missing will be me, rambling up a storm, and really, it won’t be missed, let’s not kid ourselves. So for now, I give you the best smelling and wonderfully jammy strawberry rhubarb sauce. It’s all the rage around these gums and company.

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I’m going to take a quick jump here to some dual fruited second stage sauces before plunging through our green vegetable introduction. I’ve got this cherry peach sauce and a jammy strawberry rhubarb sauce (coming next) that I’ve been dying to tell you about, and I just hope that your local farmer’s market or grocer still has or will be getting the last round of this seasons cherries and rhubarb.

In my long list of food combinations I wanted to feed my kid (the very first thing I made after seeing the second line show up on the knocked up stick, ya know, priorities), strawberry rhubarb was always at the top. Luckily for us, he began food right as it was coming in season and I made some, froze it and saved it until we were ready to start introducing the second stage of goo. Cherries, didn’t make the cut. They’re expensive, a lot of work for such little reward, and honestly there are so many better fruits out there. Well, needless to say, me and what my husband refers to as my “besetting sin” (am I the only one who gets suddenly greedy after seeing bright, fresh, wonderful smelling produce at the farmer’s market and get, errr, carried away and bring home far more than any two normal people could possibly eat?) got the better of me and I slew home a bundle of cherries and didn’t use nearly as many as I thought I would need.

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I’ve completely thrown seasonal cooking to the wind when it comes to baby food. To be honest, it was an inner struggle for weeks leading up to my decision. We’re all about seasonal food – simply put, it tastes far superior to hot house multi-continent shipped produce. That being said, I also wanted to give Henry a wider variety of foods, and hopefully instill in him a like, enjoyment and glee for all food. Though summer time seems to contain the most abundant in-season produce selection there was something in me that really wanted him to try everything. I didn’t want to create a picky kid. I am picky enough for this entire household. He shall not steal my crown.

Of course the toddler years are right ahead of us and I hear these walking tornadoes can be absolutely in love with peas and carrots at lunch and thumb their noses at them during dinner. It scares me. I’m not the kind of mom who will spend an hour fixing dinner, place it in front of my kid, he refuses to eat, and then spend another hour fixing something else to entice his enormous appetite. It’s just not going to happen. I really dislike doing dishes.

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We’ve started with orange vegetables per our doctors recommendation though our little guy has started to get the infamous orange nose so we’ve moved on to green things and have now started to introduce fruit. Needless to say, we’ve got a ton of back log here, and I apologize for not pumping it out sooner.

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