Pablo's Menu this week...

Here’s what’s cookin’ for Pablo this week… I figured I’d post his menus - which I compose anyway to get an overview of what he’s eating throughout the week - in case someone out there is looking for some ideas… I know I always am…  I’m also posting some pictures from a French farmer’s market where I grew up, in Normandy… They’re not directly related to this post, but what the heck… This whole thing was inspired by my love of food (eating it, staring at it, photographing it, smelling it, touching it… you get the idea), and Farmers’ markets are the perfect venue to indulge in all these things… so I shall indulge in sharing these photos… Compensates for these wordy posts of mine (working on that!)

There's your French 4-course meal... Bread and saucisson (salami) for appetizer...

Meat (perhaps veal raised at its mother's teat)...

Or some fish... (can't remember which fish this is :-()

Some cep mushrooms, fried with butter and parsley, anyone?

Goat cheese from the farm (I'm so hungry right now...)

Nothing else than simplicity will do for dessert...

That 10-18 months is such a wonderful age, because they’re so intent on discovery that most often, they’ll try anything you give them! I hear that may change after 18 months, but for now, I’m taking full advantage of this window of open-mindedness (and -mouthness J) and feeding Pablo all the “weird” things I can think of, to get him familiarized with the flavors – and he seems to like most of it so far! (aka, olives, pickles, blue cheese, raw endive…) And if he doesn’t, I keep offering it every so often (research shows you should keep offering a food up to 15 times before you can resign yourself to the fact your child doesn’t like it.)

Though one of my main concerns is offering Pablo as much variety as possible, some things do come back from week to week (I cook purees and freeze in batches to have enough for the week ahead)…  I try to give him a different kind of protein at every meal (meats, fish, tofu, beans, lentils), as many colors of vegetables and fruits as possible, and also vary the cheeses and yogurts (Greek, plain, with fruit, sheep’s milk, goat’s milk).

Cheeses of the week: Following French tradition, I always offer a little bit of cheese at the end of every meal, between the main course and dessert. This week, I’ll be rotating between a Blue Cheese from Point Reyes we found at the farmer’s market, an Italian Truffle Cheese, Fol Epi (a French nutty Swiss cheese) and the Goat Gouda, which he loves.  (If you have one in your area, Trader Joe’s has a wonderful selection of cheeses from around the world, at a very reasonable price).

Desserts:  At lunch, I offer a fruit yogurt (or plain yogurt with fresh fruit), but at night, I prefer sticking to plain yogurt (regular whole milk plain, sheep’s milk, and Greek yogurt for extra protein) to avoid too much sugar before bedtime.



MONDAY

Lunch

Appetizer / Finger Foods: Endives, hearts of palm, crumbled blue cheese
Main course: Hamburger patty, broccoli & spinach puree

Goûter (4pm snack) - Peaches and cherries (‘tis the season!!!)

Dinner

Appetizer / Finger Foods: Cherry tomatoes with Italian parsley, cooked cold zucchini with baby vinaigrette
Main course: Pan-fried Doversole, Three Roots Puree.


TUESDAY

Lunch

Appetizer / Finger Foods: Corn, white beans & tomato salad
Main course: Chicken with peashoots and microgreens puree

Goûter - Watermelon

Dinner

Appetizer / Finger Foods: White asparagus tips in sheep's milk yogurt tarragon sauce
Main course: Tofu, served with creamed Swiss chards


WEDNESDAY

Lunch

Appetizer / Finger Foods: Artichoke hearts & hearts of palm with tzatziki
Main course: Salmon with kale

Goûter - Strawberry-apple compote

Dinner

Appetizer / Finger Foods: Garbanzo beans, cherry tomatoes
Main course: Roasted chicken, herbed green beans puree


THURSDAY

Lunch

Appetizer / Finger Foods: Eggplant and yellow squash
Main course: Duck, white beans and tomato puree

Goûter - Cherries (yellow and red)

Dinner

Appetizer / Finger Foods: Greek salad
Main course: Lentils, Brussels sprouts puree


FRIDAY

Lunch

Appetizer / Finger Foods: Green beans, tomatoes with Italian parsley
Main course: Veal with zucchini puree

Goûter - Peach & mint compote

Dinner

Appetizer / Finger Foods: Cauliflower, eggplant with baby vinaigrette
Main course: Soft boiled egg, served with ratatouille


SATURDAY

Lunch

Appetizer / Finger Foods: Crème of Crudités
Main course: Turkey& rutabaga puree

Goûter - Peach-apricot compote

Dinner

Appetizer / Finger Foods: Avocado, endives
Main course: Sardines, asparagus puree


SUNDAY

Lunch

Appetizer / Finger Foods: Grated carrots
Main course: Lamb & cauliflower puree

Goûter - Cherries

Dinner

Appetizer / Finger Foods: Yam, broccoli florets
Main course: Tofu, pureed peas with shiso herb

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