I Yam Very Proud

I am no Donna Reed. I'm domestically challenged in several ways. I don't wear aprons, I only recently caught on to ironing, I'm a bad cook, (I do try!) I can't remember the last time I wore pearls, and I've never worn red lipstick.

But let me just tell you, I made Olivia's baby food from scratch yesterday, and I couldn't feel more proud if I was suddenly in black and white offering a plate of freshly baked cookies to a bunch of kids just home from school.

If I could do this, anyone can. I mean, I burn water for goodness sake.

I started with Olivia's favorite food to date: sweet potatoes, also known as yams. I bought one large organic yam (remember: ONLY buy organic fruits and vegetables, locally grown if possible!) at Whole Foods, washed it, poked holes in it, and baked it at 400 degrees for one hour. After cooled, the skin peeled right off. I then chopped up the yam, tossed it in the blender and pureed it, adding spring water until it reached the desired consistency.

I imagine this will get easier with more practice, but I won't lie... popping open a jar of Earth's Best organic baby food is much more simple. However, ahem, drumroll please... one organic yam cost me $1.81 and yielded me NINE servings. A single serving jar of Earth's Best costs me .79 cents!

And no more need to recycle glass jars. I used Baby Cubes from The Soft Landing. They are non-toxic and quite ingenious. Their lids are attached, and once you fill them, you snap the lid on tight, place them in their stackable tray and put them in the freezer. You may also use a dry erase marker to jot down the contents and date on them if you wish. The only problem is, I want more than 8 cubes! I need more! I think I may go on a pureeing spree. Now, where are those pearls...