Roll the balls

Ahh. Relaxing on the couch after a long day of cooking. I'm a cook now, did you know that? Heheh.

Yesterday evening, I spent many hours roasting and steaming veggies. Once they were finished, I peeled and pureed them. Most of the creations were so delicious after being pureed, it was hard to believe that they did not contain cream, butter, and/or sugar. Fantastic stuff!

Pureed sweet potatoes were the hit of the evening. Amos had a serving for the first time, and it was so much better than the stuff out of a jar or a can. We've had steamed sweet taters many times, but I think I might prefer the puree even more. Yum yum. (or "mmmmmm!" as Amos said) It was so satisfying to see my son eating an organic, pure meal that I made for him. Just really nice.

Pureed pumpkin is great. Pureed butternut squash is divine. Pureed carrot is so good and ORANGE. Pureed cauliflower is delicious! If you steam it, puree it, and mix it with garlic, it is a delicious substitute for mashed potatoes. I wanted to eat the entire bowl (two heads of cauliflower) because it was so tasty.

I saved the beets for last. Beets have such a strong flavor. The first taste is a bit crazy. Then, when I licked the spoon and such after putting away the puree, I noticed that the flavor really grew on me. Sure, I had intense beet flavor in my mouth that stuck with me, but it was good. Me thinks the chocolate cake of the future will be quite nice.

Some purees were saved in the fridge. Others were put in the freezer. We measured them in 1/2 cup portions in Ziplock bags.

The idea behind Deceptively Delicious is to hide veggie purees in foods so that they enhance the food, are hidden in the food, and have colors to match the food. Phil and I don't need to be fooled into eating veg. I just wanted to add more veggies to our diets. Perhaps if Amos becomes a picky eater, this will solve the issue. So, if you don't like certain veggies or your kids are a pain at mealtime, this might be a great option for you.

Today, I've made whole grain waffles topped with neufchatel cheese (lighter than cream cheese) and sweet potato puree with cinnamon. HOLY COW that was good. We also had tuna salad with chopped celery, using cauliflower puree to substitute for half of the mayo. YUM!

For dinner, I concocted turkey meatball soup that contains carrot and sweet potato purees. This was a challenge for me in two areas. I'm an onion crier. The spraying juices from onions make me tear up and blink and generally hate the idea that onions even exist. Using the oven fan and a fan set up in the kitchen window helped me to get over this. Also, I chopped the onion and garlic in the processor instead of hanging my head over a knife cutting an onion. On top of that, I'm not a big fan of raw meat. To get around this, I wore gloves to make the meatballs. I gagged a little, but not enough to upchuck in the soup. In the end, the soup was fantastic, and I survived handling raw turkey. The entire day was filled with good food, and every meal contained a veg of some sort. Not bad, me thinks.

I'm really feeling good about my newfound cooking skills. I love the food processor. I love the taste of the foods I've made. I really dig my cute apron, so much so that I am still wearing it. Ha! I feel like a better person for doing this.

I want to be the kind of mom who will have good snacks and meals on hand for my kid. I want him to learn about good, healthy foods. I want him to appreciate that 'nutrition' and 'healthy' are not bad words.

So far, the men in my house are pleased. Amos is napping, no doubt dreaming about his next encounter with sweet potatoes. Phil is so ecstatic that he is now washing the giant pile of dirty dishes, pots, and pans. Let's hope I can keep up my attempt to be Queen of the Kitchen. Otherwise, I'll just be wearing an apron around the house to substitute for a dinner napkin. I'm not sure Martha Stewart would approve.