Summer begins with sunshine, open windows on fresh air deprived houses, flourishing gardens and the giddy anticipation of BBQ’s and beach holidays, and ends with humidity, an abundance of insects and overgrown, disease infested gardens.

No wonder I greet the Fall with open arms.

With Fall arrives crisp cool yet sunny days, comfortable nights where we can actually get tucked in the bed covers for the first time in months, brilliant reds, oranges and yellows crowning the landscape and juicy delicious APPLES!!!!!

There are so many varieties of apples and they are the perfect food for man, woman or baby alike.

Apples are a great fruit to use to hone your baby food making skills and a perfect starter food for your little solid food apprentice.

There is a colossal amount of information on-line about different apple varieties but I don’t think I’ll be setting off for England to pluck a “Beauty of Bath” apple at it’s peak of perfection to puree for baby any time soon, so let’s focus on the delicious yet more compact number of North American varieties that are readily available at your local market.

The first apple I used to puree for my little one was a Granny Smith.

Have a look at his reaction…

Granny Smith probably wasn’t the best choice of apple to puree for baby because of the tartness of the variety.

It’s best to use the sweeter varieties such as Gala or Golden Delicious.

You could always use a few different types and puree together…even using a Granny Smith in the mix.

The sweetness of the others will offset the sourness of the Granny Smith, and the tartness of the Granny Smith will add an extra burst of flavour.

If your baby is 8 months old or greater you can even add a pinch of cinnamon to the puree if you like.

Spices and herbs are a great way of adding some flavour to the food without adding salt, and also encourages the development of baby’s taste buds so when he/she is ready to start joining mommy and daddy at meal time they aren’t turned off by the herbs and spices used in adult fare.

There is some great info. on the subject at Momtastic’s website.

Ready…Set…Evolve…

Solid Food Apprentice Apple Puree

Ingredients

• 5 Ripe Apples
• Yes, that’s it

Baby Steps

1. Peel, core and cut apples into thin slices. The thinner they are, the less time they will take to cook. For this recipe I sliced them about 1cm. in thickness.
2. Place sliced apples in a large saucepan and add 1 – 2 tbsp. of water. Cover and cook over medium heat, stirring often for approx. 15 mins. or until apples are tender and juicy. Some apples are juicier than others so you can add a bit more water to the mixture if it’s not looking juicy enough.
3. Remove from heat and let cool for a few minutes.
4. Transfer to a blender or food processor or use a hand blender to puree apples to a smooth consistency.

You can keep some in the fridge and transfer the rest to freezing trays. The frozen apple sauce will safely last up to 3 months and the refrigerated sauce approx. 48 hrs.

But don’t worry…it won’t last that long.

The rest of the family will be sneaking some!

Give it a try and let me know how it goes!!