Malanga had a little lamb

Have I mentioned that I just discovered Malanga Baby loves lamb? She can't get enough of it. The first time she ate it, I fed her a pretty basic dish that I like to make when we're having guests over. (Perhaps I should say when we used to have guests over since I haven't had any dinner parties since I gave birth to Malanga Baby.) You just fry up an onion and some garlic in about 3 tablespoons of olive oil, throw in some strips of lamb (I buy the kind for lamb stew, but you could use any boneless cut), brown the lamb pieces, then add about 1 cup water of vegetable broth, sprinkle a little bit of paprika over it and let it simmer for about 30 minutes or so. 5 minutes before taking it off the stove, add the juice of 1 lemon and some chopped parsley. The lamb gets nice and soft for little mouths and is quite flavorful, too. You could serve some couscous or a lentil salad on the side for adults, but beware that the grains or lentils will end up absolutely everywhere if fed to a baby/toddler.

Encouraged by my little girl's enthusiasm for lamb, I broke out a recipe book last week that I bought in France in 2007 and had never used. (Shamefully, I buy lots of books on vacation that I somehow never get around to reading.) The book is called "Tajines & Couscous" and the name says it all. A sure place to find a good lamb recipe, and I did. So, since the lamb meatballs were also a hit, I am posting my translation of the French language recipe here, with some thoughts.

*Minty Lamb Meatballs* (Laurence du Tilly)

Ingredients
6 dried apricots
1 bunch of mint
1 egg
1 lb. of ground lamb meat
2 teaspoons cumin
1 clove of garlic
1 eggplant
1 tablespoon golden raisins
olive oil
salt
pepper
1 box couscous

Method

- Cut the dried apricot into small pieces. Throw them in a bowl and add the mint, finely chopped, the egg and the meat. Add the cumin, salt and pepper. (Note from Malanga Mama: DON'T skip the salt, like I did.) Knead it with your fingers until everything is evenly mixed. Make small balls about the size of a large nut. Put in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

- Place the olive oil in a pan and brown the meatballs on all sides. Set aside.

- Chop the garlic. Cut the eggplant in cubes. (Malanga Mama says you might want to cut the eggplant and let it "breathe" for about 30 minutes to reduce any bitterness.) Put two tablespoons of olive oil in a heavy-bottom pot and add the eggplant and garlic. Cook over medium heat for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add a little bit of salt then add the meatballs on top, cover, and leave cooking over a low flame for about 15 minutes.

- Prepare the couscous while the above cooks.

- Serve everything together with a little bit of fresh mint and the raisins.

Notes from Malanga Mama

The eggplant releases a lot of water while cooking everything together, this is what finishes cooking the meatballs through. If you choose to skip the eggplant portion of this dish and want to just make the meatballs on their own, try frying them in more oil like in the recipe below
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I also found that the eggplant absorbed a lot of the olive oil at the beginning, so keep an eye on it.

While the meatballs were fabulous, I found the overall taste of this dish a little bland. That could be because I skipped the salt (oops!), but I think a little chopped onion tossed in with the eggplant and garlic would liven this up a little.

Summertime

This is what summer in NYC looks like.

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.

My first llama

We went to two zoos this week- the Central Park Zoo where Malanga Baby was enthralled by the penguins and the Queens Zoo where she met her first llama.

Mamey Mornings

Behold the mamey. I ate half of one of these every morning when I last visited Cuba in 2007. They were fresh from my uncle Carlos's backyard out near Bejucal, in the outskirts of Havana. My sister sliced them and served them with love and I did my best to eat my share, despite how thick the fruit felt in my throat. Before that 2007 trip, I had only ever eaten mamey in smoothies, mixed with lots of milk and sugar and served by waiters in Miami who called me "reina" or "princesa." Eating chunky slices the consistency somewhere between avocado and sweet potato was a challenge. My brother had to help sometimes when my sister wasn't looking. There we were, full grown adults acting like kids over breakfast. I love the memory of it and couldn't resist picking up a mamey for Malanga Baby when I saw them at the local supermarket this week.

It's a big fruit, as you can see, and has served as baby breakfast for several days in a row now. Malanga Baby gobbles it up, my good little cubanita.

So much activity, so little time

The last month and a half has been a whirlwind. Malanga Baby turned one, got four new teeth and is trying to walk, and in the middle of all of that, we moved. However, the most amusing thing by far in recent times was Malanga Baby's reaction to this hug by one of her playmates. What can I tell you, Malanga Baby? Love is complicated and scary.

First wedding, first ocean, first orange

Malanga Baby's world expanded beyond her wildest imaginings in Key West, Florida this past week. She even had a lick of her first cupcake. It all called for a lot of clapping.