The Equipment

Being a chef, or at least one by training if not by current employment, I have a bunch of gadgets and appliances that can accomplish the task of cooking and grinding up food.

I have a pan and basket steamer, which is cheap and effective for steaming food. I also have an oven, so, that works, too. A fork is also handy.

I have a food processor, a blender, and the grinding and straining attachments for my KitchenAid stand mixer.

But what I use is the Beaba Babycook that I received as a shower gift from my beloved father-in-law.

I was really really reluctant to like this thing. A student of the Alton Brown School of Gadgetry, I try to avoid the unitaskers. I have a million other things that can do the job! Scoff! Patooie!

The husband dug the idea because he does the dishes and it looked easy to clean.

Guys, I love this thing. It really is ridiculously easy, even if it is French and unfortunately named once translated to English. You pour the water into the water part, put the veggies/fruit in the steamer, and turn it to steam. When it's done, put the liquid in another dish, dump the veg into the bowl, and blend away, adding the reserved steaming liquid as needed. Scoop out et voila, babyfood! And it's super easy to clean. And small.

I also use the oven for roasting (as I did for butternut squash, as I am far too lazy to peel a butternut squash, those suckers are hard).

For storage? Plain old ice cube trays. Ice cubes are 1oz each, or 2 tablespoons, or 6 teaspoons. Beaba makes fancy dancy storage trays, but I don't have room for them in my freezer. I wanted to use silicone trays, but I haven't been able to find any but I haven't needed them anyway.

Using a basket steamer and a small food processor, like one that's commonly used for chopping nuts, will accomplish the same thing with the same negligible mess, and for a much cheaper cost.