We have a baby foodie in the house! He’s older than 6 months, which means we are thinking about food. And although right now he survives only on breastmilk and single veggies, pretty soon he’ll be sharing family meals with us. Which is why when he was born I had to buy Tyler Florence’s new baby food cookbook Start Fresh. First of all, Tyler Florence is awesome. Second of all, I love people’s takes on what babies should eat. He thinks baby’s first food should be baby carrots (the real kind, not the cut and bleached processed kind). 
At around 9-12 months, babies can really start eating what the family is eating, only a little differently. Tyler recommends cooking one meal, and pureeing some for baby’s portion. Thing is, this recipe looked so great that I had to try it even before Richie was able to eat this kind of food! So I altered the recipe for our tastes just a bit, and alas our dinner was a delicious family-friendly meal. I will remember it when it’s time for Richie to be eating meats and many different veggies.
When I saw this recipe, I really wanted to use a pressure cooker to make it. First of all, it’s super fast that way, and secondly, the recipe was created for a pressure cooker. Alas, I don’t have this kitchen gadget! Though I think it might be useful for really quick weekday meals. And I think they are super safe now, so I wouldn’t blow up the kitchen, even if I tried to. I had to settle on using my Le Creuset, which isn’t really settling at all because I love that pot. It turned out great, and I actually just left it simmering on the stove on Sunday and reheated it for dinner the next night. That’s a quick dinner.
Oh, and another great thing about this baby/family-friendly recipe is that it basically requires no steps. Just brown the meat and throw everything in the pot. Cover. Simmer. That’s it. Can’t get any easier than that.
Short Ribs with Apples and Roots, adapted from Tyler Florence:
Serves 4 grown ups or 8 kids
Ingredients:
- 1 pound beef short ribs (bone in)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- Salt and pepper, to taste (but not so much salt – this is for baby!)
- 3 carrots, peeled and cut in half (or 6 baby carrots)
- 2 medium parsnips, scrubbed and sliced into the same shape as the carrots (1/2 inch thick and in half if long)
- 1 beet, cut into wedges (Tyler uses a golden beet. I used a regular red one)
- 1 Rome apple, cut into wedges, seeds removed
- 1 sprig rosemary
- 2 cups beef stock
- 1 cup apple juice
Directions:
1. Season the ribs with a little bit of salt and pepper.
2. In a large pot, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the ribs and brown, about 5 minutes on each side.
3. Add the carrots, parsnips, beet, apple, rosemary, stock, and apple juice. Cover and cook on medium heat for 2 1/2 hours until the meat is tender and falling off the bone and the vegetables are soft.
4. Remove the pot from the heat and let stand for 5 minutes.
5. For adults, serve the meat and veggies with some of the liquid spooned over. For kids, transfer to food processor and pulse on and off, adding some of the cooking liquid, until at desired consistency. Eat your meal at the table together!
