I am that parent: the one who thinks her one-year-old is destined for greatness because she can turn the pages of a book (never mind that it’s upside down) and amazingly perceptive because she mimics a range of facial expressions, from sticking her tongue out to making a very mean-looking mean face. One thing I might be most proud of, though, is that my daughter pretty much eats what I eat: fruit, bread, cheese, eggs, pasta, chicken, vegetables, beans, fish—all cut into small pieces. The phase of serving her separate food (mainly purees) went fairly quickly, and I’m happy to have moved on to all eating the same thing (for dinner, at least), with some exceptions (no sushi yet, and she loves avocado so much, it’s a standby at nearly every meal). So every time a book on how to cook for babies would land on my desk, I’d pass right over it. There’s no need for me to make my baby her own special meals.

Yet I was curious, so I took a look at a couple of this spring and summer’s offerings, thinking maybe there’s something I can learn here, new flavor combinations I’m not thinking of (new ways to serve avocado, even?). Happily, my daughter is at an age when making baby food entails more than blitzing a cooked apple in the blender to make applesauce. She feeds herself and is fine with small chunks of food. So recipe testing from the newest crop of baby food books involved some fairly interesting dishes.

Ricotta Pear from The Top 100 Baby Food Recipes by Christine Bailey (Duncan Baird, Apr.) got a so-so reception. My daughter almost finished the serving I dished out for breakfast one snowy morning, though by the end she was swatting her arm horizontally across the spoon’s path as it neared her mouth, Karate Kid style. A chunky mash of ricotta cheese, toasted (but otherwise uncooked) oats, dried pears softened in boiling water, and fresh pear, this was really tasty. I finished what she didn’t eat.
 
I figured a baby who enjoys chicken teriyaki and pasta with a liberal sprinkling of black pepper would be open to some adventurous Indian flavors, though the jury’s still out on that one. Indian-Spiced Lentil Stew from The Baby & Toddler Cookbook by Karen Ansel and Charity Ferreira (Weldon Owen, June) featured carrots, red potato, onion, garlic, and red lentils accented with coriander, cumin, and cinnamon. The first time my daughter tried it, for dinner, she couldn’t get enough. The next day for lunch, though, she was just lukewarm.

Then came a pasta dish containing two of her favorite ingredients: pasta and cheese. I used Jarlsberg and orzo to make Tiny Pasta with Swiss Cheese, Spinach, and Corn from Annabel Karmel’s SuperFoods for Babies and Children (Atria, Jan.). As with the lentil stew, this dish was a hit first-time around, although my daughter wasn’t wild about the corn. Second time, though, she was less interested. Still, I’d make it again, subbing in whatever cheese I had on hand and perhaps using cannellini beans in place of corn.
 
Finally, a recipe from The Baby-Led Weaning Cookbook by Gill Rapley and Tracey Murkett (The Experiment, March), a book that purports to appeal to the entire family—not just the sippy cup set. Lemon and Tarragon Chicken was mild and pleasant, and my daughter lapped it up. She has yet to meet a chicken dish she does not like, and this was no exception.
 
Will I use these cookbooks often? Truthfully, it’s much easier to feed her as I did tonight: she ate veal meatballs made by her grandmother, along with some fresh mozzarella and (of course) avocado, with some apples for dessert. Still: there’s always that creamy avocado dip in the Karmel book that I have a feeling will be a big hit around here.