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Posts tagged ‘Eugene’

Oct 29

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Fall Harvest CSA Share

We were members of the Tucson CSA for several years.  It was great.  We loved getting fresh, local, sustainably-raised veggies.  Still, I often complained that I didn’t know what to do with all of the greens, and when work and life got hectic, I admit that sometimes things would get mushy in the veggie drawer and they would get sacrificed to the compost before I figured out what to do with them.

When we moved to Eugene, we decided we’d try shopping at the Farmer’s Market for the summer.  Eugene has an incredible market, one of the best I’ve ever seen (and I’ve lived in Davis, CA, and Ithaca, NY, so I know a good market when I see one).  But unfortunately, we only made it to the farmer’s market a handful of times.  I don’t have a really good excuse, but going required loading up the baby in the car during the short window between naps, finding parking, and navigating a stroller through the masses of market goers.  And the market was also really overwhelming.  I never knew where to start.

So, for the fall season, we joined the Winter Green Farm CSA.  Our first veggie pickup was yesterday, and it is amazing.

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Sep 10

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Exploring and Enjoying Food with Baby

At almost 10 months old, BabyC spends at least two hours per day in her high chair.  She loves finger foods and takes her time with them.  For me, this is a great time to catch up on the dishes or work on preparing a meal, all the while chatting with BabyC, replenishing her high chair tray, and listening to some music together.  As much as I value that productive, multi-tasking time, I’ve been making a real effort to prepare food for both of us and sit down to enjoy meals with her.  Due to his hectic work schedule, my husband is rarely both home and awake during our meals, but we’re sitting down to eat with Dad too when we can.  I want BabyC to know that mealtime is family time.

Here, BabyC examines the ingredients of lasagna, a dish we can both enjoy. BabyC now notices when I have something on my plate that she doesn’t have, so it is nice to eat the same foods.

Mealtime is also a great time to explore the tastes and textures of foods.  We’ve been having a lot of fun with this lately.  I pull the high chair up to the counter so that BabyC can watch me prepare food.  Fruits have proven to be the most exciting.  Try handing your baby a fresh peach, a kiwi fruit, or even plopping a whole cantaloupe on her tray.  Let her smell it and feel the texture of the skin.  When I put the cantaloupe in front of BabyC, she was clearly impressed with the weight of it.  She tried to pick it up with both hands, but it was too heavy for her.  She looked up at me inquisitively, and I agreed with her, “That is a very heavy cantaloupe, isn’t it?”

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