 Spring is here, and even though we are all in quarantine, we can at least enjoy some of the great ingredients that are harvested at this time. In my case are strawberries and asparagus. It always gets a bit tricky to cook the same food for us three, as I am an adult, Pepa, a toddler, and Otis, a baby. So here is how I solve this including a video of it at the end.  As I am writing a book for some months now, one of the things I need to do is to try different kinds of cooking technics. KMB & Braun Household send me the Multiquick7 to try it out. I had a Stabmixer from Braun for 20 years, and it still works as if it was new. But much has changed in technology since 1999. And all the new features that it has made my life (with kids) nowadays easier. Now even more as I make all meals for us three at home.  Making meals for us three could be time-consuming if you can't make them at the same time. So this recipe won't take more time than a conventional method, and it will include a baby meal. What you need for this recipe: A steamer or a steam basket 2 cups strawberries 1 cup of apples in slices 10 asparagus 2 garlic cloves lettuce fresh spinach 1 egg 200 ml of neutral oil a squeeze of lemon juice white vinegar a handful pistachios salt and pepper and a multiQuick7 of course
We start steaming now. Add the apples and 1 cup strawberries in the steamer or a pot with a steam basket. If your baby is 10 months old, you can add 1 asparagus. Add some water and let it steam until the apples are very soft. You can add some cinnamon to the water as well.  For the dressing, you need to make a mayonnaise first. This is super easy with the Multiquick 7. Check the video here or at my IGTV. Put in the glass the egg, oil, lemon, and insert the Multiquick 7 stab. Start blending with the Activeblade all the way down for a while until you see white coming up. Then lift the blade slowly until all is mixed and then push up and down until the consistency is perfect. This takes about a minute, and it is fools-proof. Add some vinegar to it until it reaches a dressing consistency.  Change from the Activeblade to the mini processor and use it to make the pistachios small. You can use any other nuts, but I love how strawberries taste together with pistachios. Heat a pan with some oil and add the chopped garlic. Break the last part of the asparagus stems with your hands and fry them until they are golden and take them off the heat.   By now, the fruits should be done. If your baby has no teeth still, I would use the Activeblade again to make it very smooth, but in my case, I changed to the mashed potatoes accessory and puree it until the fruits were done. Put it aside and let it cool down.  In plates, add the lettuce and spinach, use the rest of the strawberries thinly cut, and the asparagus cut in 3 cm pieces. By now, the baby food will be at room temperature.  The cutest thing I got with this PR package was this lovely bib for Otis... Isn't it the cutest? I drool every time he wears it!
Now we are ready to eat. Add the vinaigrette/dressing over the salad and sprinkle the pistachio dust over it, and you are ready to eat.  As I never get to eat warm, because I need to feed Otis, and sometimes Pepa, at the moment, I am eating a lot of cold foods. This salad tastes delicious warm, or after some time sitting there.  Eating fresh food that has a similar taste to the food that you regularly eat, helps your kid develop the same taste in food as you have. This will help you in the future to avoid "food dramas" and unnecessary "double cooking."
 Otis was a big fan of this food and couldn't get enough, Pepa had the salad and even got to help to feed Otis. This meant one spoon for her and one for him... kids!  Here is a short video of how easy it was to make this spring meal at home using Braun´s Multiquick7. I hope you liked this and you will make it at home. Please tag me in your stories or posts to see how you did! AD/PR Sample
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 Some time ago, I remembered seeing some Insta-posts about origami-style mobiles. I can't remember in which account I saw them...sorry. So this isn't original-original but "Instagram-Inspired." If you follow me on Instagram, you would know that I am trying to make a beautiful kid's room. (There is a severe lack of playgrounds in this village). I am doing as much as I cant to make it Pinterest Pretty by myself and on a budget. I have been looking for a mobile for Otis, but most of them aren't quite what I want. Herz & Blut made one that I like, but it seemed too hard for me to replicate it. So I made this one. Here is how can you make it yourself. It is pretty easy, but time-consuming, though it took me a couple of weeks to finish it. First is the origami. I am a total newbie on this so actually anyone can do it. I found this tutorial on youtube on how to make diamonds with paper. You can use any form, from cranes to paper boats. But these look so beautiful, and I can make them later for Christmas-tree decorations too.  The next step is practice, practice, practice. And shop the supplies. You will need the following: PAPER: Colored paper over 100 gr. Heavy. You can buy them in size A4 or a bigger one. I got big sheets at the drugstore, to be honest. I used three colors, but two would work as well. You can get them in scheme colors at Modulor like this winter pack here. WOOD: Wooden beads, you can buy them here in Amazon or places like Etsy or Dawanda. You will need some wood stain if you don't want to leave it in natural color. THREAD: A roll of thread in a color that fits your scheme colors. GLUE: I used regular glue as it takes time to dry, so you have time to adjust stuff. I tried the hot glue gun, but it was a disaster as it dries so fast you can't correct it at all. NEEDLE: I used a knit needle, the bigger and thicker the better. HANGER: Stick, log, or hook to hang your work of art at the end.  When you are testing with regular copy paper, you should check the sizes you would like to make. I made the big ones in 20 cm, the medium ones 15 cm, and the small one is 11cm. I think I made one on 16cm too. Cut them all and don't forget you need pairs. So pair them always and keep them that way, so you don't get confused and end up with a mess. TIPP: Fold them all like this before starting and make a small hole in the middle with your needle.. this will make it SOOOOOO much easier for you later.  Once you finished folding the parts, start staining the beads, use gloves! Let them dry overnight. I didn't add a finish to it, but you can do it. I find it too messy to paint balls.  The beads are done, the two parts of the diamonds as well, and you are just so ready to make this happen. And this is how we roll: Cut a piece of thread about 2x lengths of your arm. Double thread your needle. Take one bead or 2 or three and knot it at the end of your thread. Pierce or string the lower part of the diamond and then the top, as you can see in the picture. Add glue on one side and paste together. Repeat until all diamonds are done and with thread.  I made an ombre effect here, using the darker color at the top and the lighter color at the bottom. But you can work your creativity here. Grab all the diamonds by its string and place them as you would like them at the end. Then make a knot at the very top of them. TIP: It is easier to pull down a diamond than up, so start with all of them pretty close and start pulling one by one lower.  I found this wood beauty in my old backyard in Berlin, but you can use a regular hook on the ceiling, a log, a stick... anything you can fix over the baby cot. Please be sure to attach it correctly, and please be safe! I used 4 yarn pieces, double thread tied to two hooks on the ceiling, but there are very good glues that would do the work, be sure to weight the whole thing and ask the specialist at your hardware store... always ask.  Placing the mobile: You don't need to put it in the middle of one side.. just check where exactly your baby's head will be and that is the place. Leave at least 50 cm space between your baby's nose and the last bead. Tie the mobile really good. I went over the log 2 times, and the third was a knot, and I added tape at the back to fix it. Now you can turn your mobile like a carrousel many times, pushing one diamond with one finger and let it go. Otis gets hypnotized every time I do that.  You will be cutting loads of paper while making the diamonds. Save all pieces and keep them for later. You can do some other projects with them or even use it to create fun things like this porcupine I made with Pepa. Always try to use all the material instead of throwing them away...  I hope you guys like this DIY! If you have any questions, just ask away. It is effortless to make, and the cost is almost nothing compared to regular mobiles on the market. Not to mention how proud you will feel when you see your baby admiring it and being entertained by it.  |
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AuthorsI am Andrea, or as my friends call me, Jinx. I am a foodie living in Berlin, eating my way through life. Here are my recipes, cooking events, dining experiences and more... |
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