Aidan's Pasta Sauce

We all love pasta, except for Aidan's grandma (my mom). Aidan likes his pasta topped with a bit of french fries instead of meatballs... *sigh* what can I say, I give it to him, so long as he eats something.

So, to make this oh so yummy sauce, you'll need:

1 large brinjall/aubergine, cut into large chunks
1 large very ripe tomato, quartered
1/2 large onion (or 1 medium onion), quartered
1 large red bell pepper (can use green or yellow instead), quartered
1 clove garlic, skin removed and left whole
1 medium-large carrot (any color), cut into 1inch thick medalions
1-2 tbsp olive oil or any veg. oil
1.5 to 2 cups store bought tomato based pasta sauce or pre-made sauce

1. place all vegetables + garlic in large baking dish and drizzle with olive oil.

2. mix to coat vegetables evenly with the oil.

3. place in a 180'c - 200'c preheated oven for aprox. 20-30mins until vegetables appear golden and smell beautifully roasted. as an indication when checking for doneness, the skins of the bell peppers should be blistered not burnt and the carrots should be cooked through and tender when pierced.

4. place roasted vegetables in a blender with aprox. 2 cups of ready made pasta sauce and puree. taste and season with extra salt & pepper if needed. the outcome is a thick, flavourful sauce that's good enough to eat on it's own.


Note: The red peppers and the ripe tomato help ensure that you end up with a beautiful red sauce and fussy tots, like Aidan, who don't like vegetables won't know they're actually eating vegetables. I also, tend to use store bought tomato-based pasta sauce for this coz it's easier than making my own from scratch... I used to, but any woman with young kids will understand when I say you just don't have that kind of time on your hands to be spending hours in the kitchen standing over a hot stove.

A child's Nutrition... every mom's primary concern.

I know we haven't been updating this page for nearly a year now.... we're sorry. Mohan, Aidan's Appa has been really busy with work, and myself, Aidan's Ma, hasn't been able to get time alone on the computer without Aidan saying, "Carry up. Sit on the lap", and scrambling up onto my lap and taking quick jabs at the keyboard before I can pull him away. I know, I could update this site when he naps... alas, I have been using his naptime to try and come up with nutritious yet 'yummy mum-mums', as Aidan would call it, to try and entice him into eating. My mom always complained that I was a picky eater when I was his age... Aidan has relinquished me of that title. Oh there's a long list of stuff he won't eat. The only things he does eat with no complaints are Ice-cream, cheese, fruits, soups, cake with frosting, french fries (chips) and Pao (steamed buns with sweet fillings). He absolutely will not touch vegetables and consumes very little animal protein (probably why he's still quite small for his age).

I did however replace his fav. treat ice-cream with a healthier home made creamy banana popsicle. And, Aidan loves fresh apple+carrot juice, so I use the left over pulp in my juicer to, occasionally, make a carrot apple cake w. cream cheese frosting. A new problem has recently popped up, he knows how to pick out candy in the store... and why wouldn't he? The candy is very strategically placed at a toddlers' level at the cashiers' counter... we grown-ups need to bend/kneel down to pick what we want. And, you think by carrying him while checking your groceries out at the counter is going to prevent him from picking out any candy from the shelves... he reaches for a lollipop instead, because every counter has a lollipop tree at an adult's eye level, very easily accessible to toddlers in mom/dad's arms. Oh, the nightmare our parents would've gone through when they took us to the store at that age...

Well, I do still add veg purees in the food that he does eat and as long as it isn't green he doesn't know it's there. And, for good measure I give him a good kids' chewable multivitamin, vitamin C and a little soya protein in his milk.

First Born 3

Just relaxing in front of the TV

This was Aidan at 3pm yesterday, 26 May '08, watching Thomas & Friends after his bath. He loves Thomas and dances to the theme song.

Of course, he's still only just a year old and has the attention span to match. So, him lying there and watching his fav show only lasted about 5 minutes after which time he crawled to his basket of toys and only returned to dance to the theme song at the end of the show.

Hmmmm... this aunty's hair looks nice to pull, better than moms...

This was taken on 19 May '08. They both look like they're having fun.