Food, glorious food

Yes, that is a baby gleefully gnawing at a strip of steak.

About a week shy of his six-month unbirthday, Baby Grady started solids. We just couldn't wait and decided that those last few days before the six-month threshold (that the flyer from his pediatrician recommended) were developmentally insignificant. Because we are akin to baby-development experts.

The first foods we offered to Grady were apricot and avocado, but he didn't appear to eat anything. He certainly tasted, though, and that's really all we expected. We're trying something called baby-led weaning, which really isn't about weaning at all. Well, it is if you're British, where weaning means starting solids, not stopping breast milk. Those crazy Brits. Don't you just love them?

Anyway, the basic idea is that Grady feeds himself. For now, that means that not a whole lot goes down the hatch, but he's developing greater dexterity and whatnot as he learns to pick food up, connect it with his mouth, and suck or nibble at it. It's great fun and he seems to be enjoying the experience too, which is what we were mostly going for in choosing this approach. Also, have you heard how lazy I am? So lazy. And this way, I make the same food for everyone, and Grady is offered pieces that are appropriate for him. For now, that means cooked vegetables and meat in finger-length pieces.

In related news, we joined a CSA and I am so excited. I've considered it for years, and finally the timing just worked out perfectly. With Baby Grady about to start solids, I was thinking a lot about the sources of our food. We buy a lot of organic, but I wanted that percentage higher. Also, I wanted fresh, seasonal food that would taste how it's supposed to. And grocery store produce just doesn't. Then my friend Katy set up a CSA delivery site at my office, so I can get a huge haul of fresh, organic, local produce each week, without making an extra stop. Since Baby Grady finds farmer's markets overwhelming anyway, this just makes sense.

We got our first box from Blue House Farm in Pescadero on Thursday. At first it looked like a comical amount of food, but, as it turns out, I don't think we'll have any trouble getting through it.

Our first box, which I should have photographed, contained strawberries, sugar snap peas, artichokes, leeks, spring red onions, beets, turnips, butter lettuce, red lettuce, radishes, and rainbow chard. So far, it's all been delicious. If you've only eaten a grocery store radish recently, you really need to get your hands on a farm-fresh one. So spicy! I ate half the beets within a few hours of cooking them, and the rest will go on my lunch salads this week. Jasper hates beets, so I never buy them, but I just cannot get enough of their sweet. earthy flavor.

From the farm, Grady has tried artichoke (my first time making them at home!) and chard, beet greens, and turnips are on tonight's menu. He's also enjoyed zucchini, purple potatoes, and steak, all from the farmer's market. It's so fun to watch him figure it all out.