The recipes in this section can be made into soups or baby purees, or a combination, so that you can cook for the family and your baby at the same time. The only difference is that you should not add salt to baby food, and if you want to make fairly thick baby purees, you will need to add less stock or milk.

* From 6 months

MAKES 5 PORTIONS
1 onion, chopped
15ml (1tbsp) vegetable oil
1 medium potato (225g/8 oz) peeled and cut into cubes
175ml (6fl 0z) vegetable of chicken stock
50g (2 oz) fresh or frozen sweet corn
60ml (2 fl oz) milk
50g (2 oz) cooked chicken diced

Cherub's Chowder

"Babies love the sweet tatse of sweetcorn. The trouble is that, when it is made into a puree, the husks tend to be quite lumpy and difficult to digest, so for young babies I prefer to put it through a mouli. For older babies, I puree the potato mixture and then stir in the sweetcorn whole."

Saute the chopped onion in the oil until soft. Add the potato, and pour over the stock. Bring to the boil, then cover and simmer for about 12 minutes. Add the sweet corn and the milk and simmer for a further 2-3 minutes. Puree the soup in a mouli together with the chicken and heat through.

Alternatively, for older babies, puree the onion and potato mixture in a mouli, stir in the sweet corn whole and the finely chopped chicken. Add a little extra milk and stock to make this into soup.

See page 36 of Annabel Karmel's New Baby and Toddler Cookbook

* From 8 months

Makes 6 portions
1/2 small onion, chopped
20 g (3/4 oz) butter or magerine
1 large potato (about 300g/10oz) peeled and cut into small chunks
200 ml (7 fl oz) chicken or vegetable stock
1 large courgette (15o g/5 oz) topped, tailed and sliced

Courgette and Potato Puree

"This has a lovely fresh flavour, but make sure the courgettes are firm, otherwise they can have a bitter taste. Simply increase the quantities and add more stock to make a delicious soup for the whole family. Once your baby is older you can try mashing the food instead of pureeing it "

Saute the onion in butter until softened, add the potato and continue to cook for 2-3 minutes. Pour over the chicken and vegetable stock, bring to the boil and then simmer for about 15 mins or until the courgettes are tender. Mash everything together with a potato masher.

See page 38 of Annabel Karmel's New Baby and Toddler Cookbook

Tomato Soup with Macaroni and Meatballs

" A lovely home-made tomato soup with added attraction of pasta. Break up the meatballs and mash them into the soup for your babies"

To make the meatballs mix together all the ingredients exceot the oil. Using your hands, form into small balls ( you should get about 20), then saute in a little oil until bornwed and just cooked through (they will be cooked again in the soup).

For the soup, saute the onion and carrots in teh olive oil until soft, then stir in the undrained tomatoes, the tomato paste and stock. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes, then blend in a food processor; strain to get rid of the tomato seeds. Stir in the pasta and meatballs, bring to the boil and then simmer, uncovered, for 6-7 minutes, or until the pasta is tender. Stir in the cream at the last minute.

See page 41 of Annabel Karmel's New Baby and Toddler Cookbook

* From 8 months

Makes 8 portions

Meatballs
225 g (8 oz) lean minced beef
1/2 onion, finely chopped
a handful of parsley, chopped
30 ml (2 tbsp) breadcrumbs
1/2 egg yolk, beaten
1/2 teaspoon marmite
vegetable oil for frying

Soup
1 onion, finely chopped
75 g (3oz) carrots, chopped
15 ml (1tbsp) olive oil
1 x 800 g (28 oz) can of tomatoes
22.5 ml (11/2 tbsp) tomato paste
900 ml (11/2 pints) chicken stock
75 g (3 oz small macaroni
45 ml (3 tbsp) double cream