Here We Are Together

Emi is going through a phase where she eats nothing
but “ketchup” on toast, & because I am reasonably sure *
that this is normal, i’ll share my homemade ketchup
recipe with you, so that you can hand your fussy
toddler wholegrain bread with this healthy little sauce,
they won’t ever know the difference & you don’t feel
quite so bad about it.

[* i honestly think all of us mamas have to stop
second-guessing everything we do, we have to stop
trying to live up to someone elses idea of a good mother.
We should be kind to ourselves,
& just do what is right for our family, because
we know. That's why we are -mama-. ]

Anyway, here’s the ketchup :

You will need
one can whole tomatoes in purée
half a cup of vinegar
one diced big onion
about 2 tablespoons of tomato paste
half a cup of sugar (leave that out if you want it to be healthy.)
a bit olive oil, salt & pepper
we also like to add about 2 medium carrots,
& half a cup of sweetcorn.

Start by cooking the onion in some oil till they are soft (10 minutes maybe?)
Puree your tomatoes (& carrots,& sweetcorn),
you can do that in a mixer.
Then add the tomatoes to the onions, & add everything else,
Now cook it for about 50 minutes on low heat.
Pour it into the mixer & blend it till it is smooth .
It should be quite thick by now.
Now just box it up & put it in the fridge ,
& in a few hours ( at least one hour , i’d say)
you have delicious ketchup that is not so very unhealthy.
(This is not an exact recipe, as I kind of make it up as I go..)

Georgie had his 8 week check today,
& is bigger than 75 % of the babies his age.
(Hey, there’s still bigger ones! )
Here he is, exhausted, after a busy, busy day: