Raisin Crazy #2 - Two Fruity Purees

Okay, I will be happy to not see any raisins for a long time after today. Even though I am happy to have freezer supply of breakfast toppings and am glad I used up our supply, that is it for a while. I made 2 purees today which would be great either as a topping to weet-bix or oats or just a snack with yoghurt. They were both taste tested and Oscar approved of both.

Apricots, Prune & Raisins

No.1: Apricot, Prune & Raisin (EASY!)

This recipe was adapted from Weelicious.com but I couldn't find any dried peaches so used some dried prunes that I had handy.

What you need:
1 cup dried apricots
1 cup prunes (or dried peach)
1/2 cup raisins
hot water

Here's what you do:

Leave for 20minutes

Fill your electric kettle and bring to the boil. Place all the ingredients in a medium sized bowl and pour the hot water over. Leave for about 20mins. Drain the water BUT keep in case you need to thin out the puree. Place all the fruit into your blender (I use a Magimix) and blend. My pureee was very thick so I added quite a bit of the reserved water. Leave to cool and then place in an ice-cube tray or small tupperware container. How easy is that!

Papaya & Raisins

No.2: Papaya & Raisin Puree (super easy!)

Papaya is sold everywhere here in Thailand and the best place to buy it is from a fruit cart on the street. It is so soft and also great with yoghurt.

What you need:
1/2 cup raisins
1 cup of chopped papaya

Here's what you do:
Put 2 cups of water in a small saucepan. Put the raisins in and bring the water to the boil. If you have steamer then use that pan to boil the raisins. My steamer is still in Australia so I used a medium sized mesh sieve.

Once the water boils place the chopped papaya in the steamer and steam for about 2 minutes only. Then put the papaya in a blender (I used a Magimx) and blend. The raisins should now be plump and soft so drain them BUT keep the water. Add the raisins to the blended papaya. I added some reserved cooking water to puree to thin it out a bit.

That's it! I then scooped the puree in to an ice-cube tray and covered with cling wrap. I will leave overnight in the fridge and then place the frozen cubes in a ziploc freezer bag.

So much puree! (sorry for my photography skills)

Apricot, Apple & Pear Custard

When Oscar first started eating solid foods I went slightly crazy trying to find age-appropriate food for him to try. My sister passed on a few of her cookbooks and Annabel Karmel's New Complete Baby and Toddler Meal Planner soon became my baby cookbook bible. I cannot recommend it enough for new parents stuck for ideas and the custard recipe below is adapted from the book.

When I gave Oscar a taste this afternoon, he came running back saying, "mumma mumma" and helped himself to 5 more spoons. The recipe made 5 serves which I spread into small tupperware containers and have frozen for desserts or breakfast toppings.

Ingredients

What you'll need:

75g dried apricots
1 large apple, peeled, cored and chopped
1 ripe pear, peel, cored and chopped
1 tablespoon of custard powder
150ml milk (I use full-fat always but up to you)

Here's what you do:

In a small saucepan heat the apricots and apple in about 6 tablespoons of water and cook for about 10mins or until the apple is soft enough to break with a fork.

In a separate saucepan blend the custard powder with some of the milk over a medium heat and use a whisk to stir it to make a smooth paste. Mine went quite lumpy at first so it's a good idea to take it off the heat while stirring (according to my husband). Add the remaining milk and bring to the boil, keep stirring until it thickens and any lumps disappear.

Put the cooked fruit plus the pear in a blender (I use a Magimix) and blend to the consistency you like. I preferred mine with no lumps. Stir in the custard. I distributed the custrad to small tupperware containers and froze it. Enjoy!