Baked haddock with fennel

If you don't have haddock, you could use tuna, salmon, cod or any other meaty fish. Again, this is so easy and quick....chop the vegetables and throw it in the oven for the times mentioned.

Makes six portions

You'll need:

1 smallish fennel bulb, roughly chopped
5-6 cherry tomatoes, cut in half
3 small-medium potatoes, sliced
1/2 courgette, sliced
1 onion, diced
1 tablsp vegetable oil
145g haddock
6 homemade vegetable stock cubes (or 1 cup of water). These "stock cubes" are purely liquid left over from boiling vegetables that I saved to give flavour to other dishes, such as this.

In a pre-heated 190 C/gas mark 5 oven, pop all of the vegetables with the stock cubes in an oiled oven-proof dish and cover with foil. Bake for 20-25 minutes.

Add the piece of haddock and continue baking for 25 minutes so the fish flakes easily.

Blend to the desired consistency.

Salmon Mornay

 My take on it anyway. You can always substitute salmon for tuna (preferably fresh, however, canned in spring water is fine). Up the condiments should you wish to have this as your evening meal too!

Makes six portions

You'll need:

1 onion, diced
1 tblsp vegetable oil
110g fresh salmon, cut into small cubes
1 stick of celery, roughly chopped
kernels from 1 fresh corn on the cob
6 homemade vegetable stock icecubes (liquid I'd saved from cooked root vegetables, frozen in icecubes for moments like this)
2 tsp of chopped parsley
40g/1 1/2 oz butter
40g/1 1/2 oz plain flour
290ml/1/2 pint milk

Saute the onion and the celery in the oil for a few minutes, then add the cubes of salmon, parsley, corn and the vegetable stock cubes.

Put a lid on the saucepan and cook over a gentle heat until the vegetables are soft and the salmon cooked through.

The roux (white sauce):

In a separate pan (thanks Fanny Craddock: http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/rouxthebasicwhitesau_13035)

Dissolve the butter in a pan and add the flour.

Stir until the mixture forms a smooth paste which leaves the sides and base of pan cleanly.

Cook for a minimum of 2 minutes to cook out the taste of the flour.

Pour in approximately one-fifth of the quantity of your chosen fluid and allow to boil without stirring.

Stir until the mixture blends smoothly, beat vigorously and add the remaining quantity of fluid as described, beating well after each addition. 

Combine the salmon with the white sauce and blend to the desired consistency.

Homemade rusks

Rather than buy them pre-made, make a few of your own. They'll keep for 3-4 days in an airtight container.

On a slice of granary or wholemeal bread, paste a mixture of 1/8 teaspoon of Marmite or Vegemite and a teaspoon of water on both sides of the bread. Cut into three or four slices, easy for little hands. Put the bread in a 180 C/gas mark 4 pre-heated oven for 15 minutes.

Chicken with pear

Magnus LOVED this. The sweetness of the pear and its subtle flavour works well with the chicken, courgette and cauliflower.

Makes 6 portions

You'll need:

1 tblsp vegetable oil
1 onion
half a sprig of thyme leaves (optional)
half a courgette/around 70g roughly chopped
160g cauliflower, cut in chunks
1 pear, roughly chopped
2g grated ginger
100g chicken breast, cut in cubes
4 homemade chicken stockcubes
1 1/4 cup water

Cook the pear in a little water in a separate pan until soft. Reserve.

For the main dish, saute the onion in the oil until transluscent. Add the thyme and ginger with the vegetables and saute. Pop in the stockcubes, chicken and water and simmer until all cooked, around 15-20 minutes. You may have to pour off some of the liquid as the end product may be a little too runny. Add the pear to the chicken and vegetables and blend to a desired consistency

A dinner

Last night's, in fact. I call it "lamb casserole" but with a little creativity, you may change this. Isn't important - what does a baby care? Tastes good, is good. Punto.

Makes four portions

You'll need:

1 tablespoon of vegetable oil
1 oz unsalted butter
1 leek (use the white part)
90g chopped sweet potato
1 parsnip, cut in small chunks
1 stick of celery, chopped
6 cherry tomatoes, halved
handful of parsely
four homemade chicken stock cubes
60g lamb chunks
2 cups of water

Saute the cut leek in the oil until softened and add the sweet potato, parsnip and celery. Saute. Add the tomatoes and parsely with the stock cubes and cover with a couple of cups of water, cooking on a slow simmer.  Dust the lamb with a little flour and saute in a pan with the butter until brown. Add to the vegetables and transfer to a pre-heated oven (180 C, gas mark 4) for 20-25 minutes.

Purée to a desired consistency.

Magnus' breakfast this morning

Quick oats and poached nectarine

The bowl is clean - enough said. I used nectarines as they were particularly sweet and high in vitamins C and A, but use any naturally-sweet ripe fruit.


Cook the oats as suggested. I used five-minute oats and cooked half a cup to a cup of water.

Cut the fruit in small chunks and poach in water until soft. Puree for an earlier stage of weaning or mash.

Combine both with a little of baby's milk to produce a smoother consistency.

To start

My recipes are aimed at the second-stage of weaning which starts around the seventh month mark.  Weaning usually occurs around six months as before this your baby's digestive system isn't developed enough to cope with solids. Despite this NHS guideline, I started weaning Magnus at five months with small portions of butternut squash or sweet potato; portions the size of an ice cube.  Needless to say, you won't be using ice cube measurements for long. I now freeze portions in tubs and I have been told about a thing called "baby rugby" which might interest us. When starting, try singular tastes to eliminate foods which may cause allergies. All root vegetables are good choices plus cauliflower, broccoli, courgettes; similarly fruit such as banana, papaya, mango, apple, pear, avocado. Cook and then push all through a strainer so there's no need to remove the skin before cooking. Banana and softer fruits can be left uncooked. Baby rice can be mixed in to give body. Obviously, the amount they eat at this stage isn't important as milk is their main source of nutrients.  It's about getting your baby used to taking food off a spoon, or with baby-led weaning, getting them used to self-feeding.

Chicken broth

The truth is preparing meals for babies and toddlers is, forgive me, child's play. Ease isn't the only benefit though; these unadulterated goodies come from your heart, your home, the very larder you enter to choose your food.  Popular with small mouths, as a mother of one can testify, are simple root vegetables; their natural sweetness a seemingly boring "treat" for my nine-month old son. He always wants more. Cooking them in a chicken broth makes a tasty lunch or dinner; the unsalted broth forms a flavourful basis of many recipes in this blog. 

You'll need:

1 Free-range or organic chicken
A selection of root vegetables, eg. carrots, parsnips, swede, potatoes, turnips
A handful of parsley
1 clove of garlic
Water to cover 

Bring everything to the boil and then simmer until the chicken and vegetables are cooked. Strain the broth and pop into the fridge, allowing any fat to set. Scrape the fat away once cool and transfer to the freezer to ice cube trays and then, once frozen, store the ice blocks tightly in freezer bags. 

Puree or mash the vegetables for delicious and healthy meals.