Noodle Love

One of my favorite memories of food exploration with Millie was the day I took her to a local micro-brewery to get some lunch. Of course I refrained from having her sit at the bar and ordering a pint. However, it was a special lunch out for the both of us.

I did not bring her smashed peas and apples, nor did I not give her food off my plate. No, this would be the first time I ordered her something special on her own plate, brought out to her like a big kid. The meal? Penne pasta with a side of fruit, yum!

Fruit of course had been a big part of Millie’s diet for a few months by that point, but pasta was a brand new thing. I did ask that the tube-shaped noodle come out naked. No sauce, no cheese, no salt…simple. They presented the plate to my daughter and she went after that pasta as if she was born in Italy to a family of pasta makers! She ate it and was so happy the entire time. It was almost like she knew that she had graduated to something more grown up. And that made me smile.

I love that memory because of so many reasons. The obvious being that it was a next step in her development. The less obvious was that it was just the two of us. There was no fanfare, no grandparent or dad there to cheer her on. It was simple, understated and such a lovely way to see my child explore new food.

In honor of that special memory, I would like to share with you my favorite toddler-friendly pasta recipes. Cheers!

Spaghetti with sweet pea sauce

• Spaghetti noodles
• Frozen or fresh sweet peas
• Olive oil
• Oregano

Bring pot of water to boil, don’t forget to add a pinch of salt and a tsp of olive oil to the water to prevent noodles sticking to each other. When the water is at a boil, put the noodles in for 10 minutes or until al dente. Drain and place back into same pot.

In your food processor, place cooked peas in and start to process. While you are doing this, slowly drizzle olive oil in to make a beautiful green sauce.

Finally add the sweet pea sauce to the cooked pasta and sprinkle oregano over the top. Serve and enjoy.

Penne with roasted butternut squash

• Penne noodles
• One small/medium butternut squash
• Olive oil
• Salt and pepper
• Nutmeg
• Cinnamon

Same as above for the noodles

Butternut squash: First, if you can get this at the farmers market, try and do so. Squash is easy to come by and is really inexpensive. A butternut squash is a “first food” and if you have an infant starting off, you can separate the pasta from the squash and serve everyone.

Heat your oven to 350F. Cover the squash with tinfoil and place on baking sheet. Let cook for about 30 minutes or until the skin of the squash has turned a bit darker. You do this, so you can cut the tough squash. It can be really difficult to cube a raw butternut squash. After you have taken it out of the oven, take a vegetable peeler and peal away the rind. Then cut in half and take out the seeds, which you can roast and snack on later. Then cube and place back on baking sheet with olive oil, salt/pepper, cinnamon and nutmeg. Cook for another 20 minutes at same temp or until really soft. Remember you are feeding a toddler. J

When the squash if fully cooked, then cube into bite size pieces and place in with penne pasta, a drizzle of olive oil and a little Italian cheese of your choice. Serve and enjoy!