Spring is such an exciting time, but especially for us Minnesotans who can’t wait for the first opportunity to put on a pair of shorts and take the plastic off the insides of our house windows! And with Spring also comes the St. Paul Farmer’s market! The market opened this weekend and one of the most delicious things you can buy right now is fresh asparagus! If getting out of the house on the weekends before 1pm just isn’t in the cards for your family, you can pick up fresh asparagus at any local supermarket now. According to the EWG, Asparagus is low on pesticide load, so you can just pick up the regular asparagus.
Stella was a fan of the asparagus! In fact, I wish I doubled or tripled the batch. I’ve heard that babies respond well to foods that they were exposed to in the womb. So far that’s been true for the asparagus and avocados, I wonder if that’s true for the all the Hostess Cupcakes and Snickers I ate the last two weeks of my pregnancy-let’s hope not.
Ingredients
17 asparagus spears steamed (about half a pound) If using frozen, simply defrost in microwave
4 ounces of breast milk or prepared formula (if using breast milk-use fresh milk not frozen)
Directions
If using fresh asparagus, break off bottom ends of asparagus by gently moving bottom of spear back and forth (it will naturally break at the right point). Rinse with cold water.
Fill a medium sauce pan with 2 cups of water and place steamer basket inside. Cut spears in half and place in basket. Place lid on top of pan and bring to a boil. Cook between 6-7 minutes or until bright green.
When asparagus is finished cooking, rinse immediately with cold water.
In your blender, put in your liquid and then the asparagus.
Using the puree setting, puree 20 seconds, scrape sides and then puree again for 20 additional seconds.
Makes 8 ounces
Baby Food Storage
I store my baby food in 2 ounce plastic containers that I purchased from Babies R Us. Peapods also has containers for sale. You can also fill ice cube trays and once they are frozen, you can pop them out and store them in a feezer bag. Defrost food containers when ready to use by letting them soak in a container of hot water. Baby food can be safely frozen for 3 months. Use defrosted baby food within 24 hours of defrosting. Fresh purees can be safely refridgerated for 2 days.
