Batch Food Party
The babysitting co-op is going well, and I’m excited about the baby food making party this Saturday. Next up:
I love this idea (via Sew Liberated).
But perhaps the group should have eight people, so we would each have two meals a week already prepared and ready to go?
Regardless, I’ve had to table this idea for now (pun intended?). I am not doing much of anything this month except trying to sell our house and keep my blogs running and take care of Henry who only wants to spend his awake time pulling up on me. I’ve added it to my Life Binder as an important but not-urgent task for the future.
Oh, future friends in Austin: I hope you exist!
6 Comments
Gracia
Oh, I saw that post the other day too!
In my neck of the woods 99% of people live in apartments with small kitchens -and I can't think of a place with a big kitchen we could rent- and this sense of community just doesn't exist.
I always said that if I ever won the lottery I would build a huge kitchen people could rent for this kind of thing and where I could organize cooking classes, etc. That way I could help creating the community!
Julie M
Ha Ha! I exist! I've been following your blog for a while and live in Austin. It's funny too because I was just thinking this week about coordinating with some neighbors to make dinners easier….. it would be fun to meet you in person some time!
jduda
Since you mentioned it, it reminds me to ask you about how baby food fits in with Montessori beliefs. Do babies really need pureed food? My son is 5 months old and I'm trying to figure out which route I want to go. I more so like the idea of giving him regular soft foods that are safe for him so he can learn about textures and feeding himself. I'm curious to hear your thoughts on this topic and how it relates to Montessorian (?) beliefs.
saracotner
Oh, great, Julie! Will you please e-mail me so I have your contact information and can be in touch once we're settled in Austin?
Hi, jduda! Short answer to your question, we are doing both the Montessori approach to weaning (child sits at a table their size, eating pureed food from a child-sized spoon, and drinking out of a child-sized real-glass cup) and "baby-led weaning" where Henry sits at the table with us and explores food in its real form. You can read an excellent post on the topic on Kylie's blog:
http://howwemontessori.typepad.com/how-we-montessori/2011/09/montessori-versus-baby-led-weaning-blw.html
Rachel
I love that idea, too. Really neat way to combine community and function. I organized a meal swap for a few months once but it was tricky to coordinate but nice. It didn't quite provide the community aspect to the degree that this did, but we were already all friends who saw each other regularly. There were 4 or 5 of us (depending on if everyone joined in that month) and we'd each cook two recipes at our homes, but in bulk and then freeze the portions. We'd approve the recipes with one another in advance to make sure of allergies/preferences. Then we'd get together one evening at one person's house, bring our meals in a cooler and "swap" meals with each other, coming home with 6 to 8 new frozen homemade meals (plus we made our own recipe for ourselves, too). We'd enjoy some appetizers and chatting at the home where we were doing the swap. Perhaps a possibility if you can't find a big enough place to actually all cook together.
saracotner
Love that idea, Rachel! Especially if I could get Matt to cook with me for the camaraderie.