Cadmi-Mmmm

You Deserve to be Broken Today

McDonald's is recalling it's Shrek glasses because the paint used in the designs contains cadmium, a cancer causing agent that also causes intestinal, liver, and kidney diseases.  They are not recalling the McNuggets, which do the same thing.

We're very careful about what Sabrina eats, but now that she's getting older and becoming more independent, that is getting more difficult.  The first four months or so were of course, formula.  As she transitioned to purees and then solids, all her food was made at home by her Papa.  Gregg loves to cook, and is very good at it.  So I wasn't surprised when he started reading up on baby recipes and preparing her food.  It's not the most convenient thing, as (especially in the beginning) everything needed to be pureed.  Food processors are great for that, but now that she's older and things are chunkier there's a lot of hand chopping.  No problem for Gregg as he can do that Food Network bionic chopping thing where the knife flies through the carrot at lightning speed. When I try it I end up looking like the vegetable.  I keep a ziplock bag of ice handy in case I need to take a finger to the emergency room to be reattached.

Some of her recent meals were Baby California Roll (balls of rice with broccoli, carrot, and fish), Bowtie Pasta with Peas and Chopped Ham, Mini Spaghetti with Chopped Meat, and Balls of Chicken with veggies and breadcrumbs.  We're also big on fresh fruit and vegetables, real cheeses, and yogurt.

Baby Cali Rolls and Chicken Balls

Like anyone, we do go out to eat from time to time.  We let her sample what we're having if it's appropriate, so she's had the occasional French Fry or so.  But we are not fast foodies, so we don't visit those "restaurants".  Tasting a fry once in a while is OK, as long as it's balanced and not served with a side of corporate kiddie toys to make them want to come back for more.  Since I'm on vacation from work this week, we took our first trip to Golden Spoon for a taste of yummy frozen yogurt.  That was a hit, as Gregg makes great fruit sorbets and Sabrina loves that.  I think the cold feels good on those teeth that keep popping in.

So leave the cadmium on the Hannah Montana jewelry, where it belongs, and try some great home made baby food instead.  You can look on Amazon for some of Annabel Karmel's baby recipe books, or you can bug Papa on his blog to post some of his favorite Sabrina meals.  (I've been after him to do that for a while!)  And if worse comes to worst, those Mojo Munchies we made a while back are all natural too, and great for teething.   Because you deserve a break today...from toxic food.

Mojo Munchies

*The inspiration for these treats comes from our dear Sheltie, Mojo, who passed away in 2006.  One of the best friends I ever had.

I've been sort of craving for oatmeal cookies lately.  For some reason, every time someone makes them they feel the need to add raisins.  I never cared for raisins much; I used to eat them as a kid from those little boxes they came in just so when it was empty I could make a whistle out of it.  Being a nerd, it never occured to me to just throw the raisins away and play with the box.  Damn.

Well today my  wonderful boyfriend made me some oatmeal cookies with dark chocolate chips and boy were they good!  So with my new paying it forward attitude, I decided to return the favor to The Boys who are, admittedly, terrible cooks.  (Note: This is my second installment of "Cooking With Bobby"--you foodies can get my Fabulous Cupcake recipe here.)  Here is my recipe for Mojo Munchies, a healthy and actually pretty tasty Labrador snack:

Mojo Munchies

Ingredients

1 cup uncooked oatmeal                          1 egg, beaten

1 tbl. boullion granules                               1/3 cup butter

3/4 cup powdered milk                              1 1/2 cups hot water

3/4 cup cornmeal                                       3 cups whole wheat flour

3 tbl. parsely (fresh if possible--for breath freshening)

Now the most important step in the entire process is this:

Once that's done, in a large mixing bowl combine the oatmeal, butter, and boullion and pour the hot water over them.  Let this sit for about 5 minutes to soften the butter and cook the oatmeal.  Mix.  Next, stir in the powdered milk, egg, and cornmeal.  Start the mixer.  Add the parsely.  Begin adding flour 1/2 cup at a time.  Once done, you may need to add either a little more flour or water to get the dough to a stiff consistancy.  Let the dough knead for about 3 minutes after that.  Roll out the dough on a floured surface to about 1/4 inch thick, then cut into bone shapes with a cookie cutter.  (Oh yeah you should have already preheated your oven to 325 degrees--oops!)  Bake at 325 for 50 minutes; turn off the oven and let sit in there for about 30 more.  Remove cookies and let them harden and cool for about an hour before feeding to your salavating dog-beasts.

Since I've made these plenty of times before, The Boys know the scent.  Ripley feels the need to sit in front of the oven for an hour whining and drooling long strands of saliva all over the kitchen floor until they are done while I get annoyed and start yelling "Seriously Ripley?!" every ten minutes or so.  I guess that's an unsolicited endorsement from a satisfied customer.

We miss you Mojo...you would have loved the girl!