Sweet Potato & Pear Soup

The best part of cooking this soup was smelling the butter cooking at the start - dreamy! This recipe was adapted from the Family Circle Quick Short Recipes cookbook and it was super easy and tasty. The recipe made 5 kid sized serves (which I put in the freezer) and 2 adult serves.

Here's what'll you need:

25g butter
1 onion chopped finely
3 medium sized, orange sweet potatoes (or 750g) peeled & chopped into 2cm cubes
2 firm pears, peeled, cored, and chopped
3 cups or 750ml stock (chicken or vegetable). I used pre-made stock as it was easier for me today.
1 cup cream or milk

Here's what you do:

Melt the butter in a large saucepan over a medium heat, add the onion and cook for about 3mins or until the onion is soft, almost see-through. Add the chopped sweet potato and pear and stir for 2mins then add stock, bring to the boil and cook for 20mins. I have made chicken stock from scratch before but i just wanted a quick Sunday dinner so use store bought stock.

Place the mixture in a blender or Magimix and blend until smooth (I love my Magimx!). I then spooned 4 large spoons of the soup in tupperware containers without adding the cream, you can do this when reheating at a later date. If you are going to eat immediately return the mixture to your saucepan, stir in the cream (I used milk) and reheat slowly. Season with salt or pepper and that's it, enjoy!

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!