Can I just tell you this was one of my favorite meals I have ever made? It was so light, quick as all-hell, and delicious to the taste, texture, and smell. It took around ten minutes from start to table. The couscous was pretty well cooked in three minutes. The salmon needed about five minutes per side. I wish I took a picture for you! Here is the recipe I used, Salmon & Couscous. I added some fresh flat-leaf parsley, omitted the oil from the vinaigrette (on accident, but it was a good move), and made two batches of the vinaigrette, one to fluff with the couscous the other to poor on the salmon when it was cooked. Also, I couldn’t get a hold of sumac, so I used a bit of paprika. Oh goodness it was good.
Mae had dinner with the family for this meal. Here is the list of foods she has tried so far:
- Apple – gummed, loved
- Pork – gummed and tried to swallow, loved
- Banana – mashed, disliked
- Waffle – gummed and swallowed, loved
- Chicken & Spinach sausage – gummed, disliked at first then liked
- Mashed potatoes – licked, mushed, and liked then disliked then likes
- Kale – it was crumbly, but she disliked at first when it got in her mouth, then liked.
- Fresh pizza crust – gummed and swallowed, loved
- Mango – gummed, liked
- Salmon – tasted, disliked
- Couscous – swallowed, disliked then liked
Mostly, she always gives this look when she tastes something new (this is her first taste of salmon or fish):

Then she keeps trying to it over and over again, no matter the first reaction. It is mostly from her desire to grab things and put it in her mouth stage that she is in – which is why this is the perfect time to start her fooducation! I am going to keep trying foods, cooking them in different ways, presenting them in different ways, until she gains an appreciation and maybe even a love for it. For example, Adam always hated coconut (still does), but I made a coconut cake and coconut shakes (all from real coconuts I shucked myself) and he really liked it. The coconut shreds are disgusting, but done right, the shreds can be used to make amazing coconut milk, and the coconut water is amazing in specific causes. I was proud of myself for that one.

We tried the spoon for the first time this dinner. I put a little bit of couscous on the spoon then put it in her mouth. She made that same look above, but because the little grains were so small, they were in her mouth. We had her water there, so we handed it to her, and she sucked a little down. It is all so confusing for her, but we keep reassuring her that this is the way dinner is, and she is doing well. She then took over the spoon and would take it out and put it back in, every once in a while I would put a small amount of couscous on it. She would also put the couscous in her fingers then suck her fingers. She doesn’t quite understand she is eating, so she gets confused like I said. However, she gets ornery sometimes at night, and dinner always calms her down. It might just be because it is new and requires concentration, but I wonder if she is wanting it and needing it.
I love my little baby Mae. She is so smart. I know most parents say that, but she really is a smart baby. I talk to her often, and I know she understands me at times. She makes these amazing babbling noises that are very much in a conversation cadence, so when she pauses I speak to, and we have these conversations that make me laugh. I am attempting to not talk over her when she is talking, out of respect. I talk over people, so this is really helping me get over that, and it is helping Mae. I hope that in the future because I respect when she speaks, she will do the same for me.
I love raising her, I can’t wait to raise a whole mess of babies!