Sundays

Sunday mornings, I strap Malanga Baby onto my back and we go to the local farmer's market. I wander the stands dreaming up Malanga Baby's next meal. Sometimes it's a hit, other times it's an absolute miss, like last Sunday when I fried up some zucchini and tomato in olive oil and served them with baked scallops. I thought it was a delicious meal (and so easy!), Malanga Baby thought otherwise. I think the texture of the scallops was too difficult to chew for someone with only 7 teeth, but I'm still puzzled about the aversion to the zucchini. She used to love it pureed months ago and she'll eat tomatoes in other mixes.

Nonetheless, every Sunday morning is an exercise in possibility. Once Malanga Baby was eating table foods just like the rest of us, I fell into the routine of making the same tried and true dishes for a while- baked fish, roast beets, Spanish tortilla, soba noodles with chopped carrots and edamame, cheese tortellini tossed with peas and parmesan cheese, and arroz con pollo (chicken with rice, cooked in vegetable broth). All of these are Malanga Baby's favorites and of course, I make enough for both of us to enjoy. But my goal now is to introduce her to at least one completely new food per week, dusting off my recipe books or looking for ideas online based on what I've purchased at the farmer's market. Malanga Baby is napping right now while I have some lamb simmering on the stove with onions, garlic, paprika, lemon juice and parsley. It smells heavenly. I wonder what she will think.