Purée Pancakes. Fast food for hungry high chair users.

I made these pancakes to use up some lovingly made but 'not actually needed thanks Mummy' veg purées from our freezer. Before our boy was due to start weaning (we chose to wait till almost 6 months) I got all excited in the kitchen and started blitzing lovely carrots, tatoes, peas, parsnips and squash, in readiness for spoon-feeding. After a few promising days of gulping them down gleefully however, the Chappie decided he wasn't going to open his mouth for a spoon at all and the only way purée was going in was in his fists. It quickly became obvious he wanted the hands on approach so sloppy isn't happening. I'd wondered for a while what to do with all these colourful frozen cubes and had started merrily giving them out to friends whose babies were happy to be spoon fed until one of these friends suggested I could use the purées in muffins. Genius! The boy has been devouring savoury muffins for weeks and they are a wonderful ready meal. With purées still plentiful in the freezer I set about muffin making. Except the kitchen was a tip and by the time I'd cleaned up it was really time to start feeding the boy. I bought a little time by bringing his high chair into the kitchen so he could sit and play with a few toys while I darted round and hastily reconfigured the menu to veggie pancakes.

They were so quick and easy. Not even really a recipe but I'll tell you how I made them in case your little one might like them.

I chose butternut squash and defrosted 8 cubes, grating a pinch or two of parmesan in to melt, stirring in 3 heaped teaspoons of plain flour and whisking in an egg. It made a very liquid mixture as this particular purée was a thinner one but it was fine for little blini style pancakes, or you could do larger crepes. You could vary the thickness with more flour or a dash of whole milk, it's up to you.

I used some olive oil to fry them off in a non stick frying pan and flipped them once the top side was nearly all dried up with little bubbles popping over the surface.

Jem seemed to like them and they were easy for him to pick up, grip, chew and swallow. All very important things in the early days when so many foods are too slippery, too crunchy or too hard. I don't know why bananas and cooked carrot sticks are deemed such basic finger foods, they're almost impossible for him to pick up or hold onto yet. They will however be finding their way into pancakes and muffins very soon along with all the colourful little cubes in our freezer.