(Egg) Rolling with a Grump on the Mend

Arthur woke up just before 8 today. I'm starting to think that my bathroom routine when I get up wakes him up; the past three days he's woken up while I'm brushing my teeth in there. All the more incentive to sleep in, I guess. But he was noticeably less grumpy today than he was the past two days, and giggled a lot. So hopefully whatever was bugging him is getting out of his system.

We had a busy morning, with two breakfasts, tummy time, a Mamma Mia! dance party, story-time, a bath, and a sunny and beautiful walk in the sling. Nap-time, according to Miklós, was a bit better; he stayed close to Arthur the whole time, touching him and looking at him, and Arthur didn't get too worked up. He only fussed mildly, and Miklós feels like he was close to falling asleep. So this might be the best strategy to work with. Although tomorrow will probably be a different story entirely.

Spoon, finger, same thing

Arthur had a four-course meal for lunch today! We started off with pumpkin purée; the verdict on that remains "meh." The whipped tahini second course was also met with some faces and uncertainty, but he did eat it all. The entrée and dessert were known favorites: parsnip purée (which he happily wolfed down) and egg scrambled with tomato in olive oil. With all of the foods, he made little grunt when he wanted more, but with the egg, he started full-on fussing when there wasn't enough in his mouth. And he took matters into his own hands (literally) at some point, grabbing the spoon to feed himself. He still has a bit of trouble with that, and often ends up scraping the spoon against his face before sticking it in his mouth sideways, but he is pretty good at bringing it to his mouth!

Arthur fussed a little when I stopped feeding him egg, and I'm not sure whether I should have fed him more or not. It's something I'm going to do more research into; on the one hand, I think it might be better to slowly increase quantities as his system adjusts. On the other hand, I feel bad limiting his food if he's hungry and eating well. I'll see if I can find any consensus on this. At least today he didn't go into a full-on tantrum when I stopped feeding him, and still drank alright on the boob afterwards.

Anyways, the solid intake for today was:

• pumpkin purée

• tahini

• parsnip purée

• egg

• tomato

• olive oil

As for the parents, we also had some sesame and eggs in our dinner. Cabbage was on sale, so I decided to finally try a spin on the "egg roll bowls" I've been seeing all over the internet. I used this recipe as inspiration, and adapted it a bit to fit what we had. It's super simple - barely a recipe - but was pretty tasty, full of protein, and cheap!

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Vegetarian Egg Roll in a Bowl (generously serves 2)

Ingredients:

• 1 small head cabbage, finely chopped (I would probably reduce this if I made it again - it was a lot of cabbage)

• 250g tempeh, grated with a cheese grater

• 2 eggs

• 1 medium red onion

• 1/4 cup soy sauce + more to taste

• 1 tbsp rice vinegar

• olive oil, for cooking

• 2 tsp sesame oil

• 2-4 tbsp sesame seeds per serving

• The following spices/seasonings, to taste:

  • garlic powder, ginger, salt

  • optionally MSG, sambal oelek, sweetener of choice

Instructions

1. Marinate the tempeh in the soy sauce, rice vinegar, and seasonings, including any optional ones you might be using. Ideally, do this an hour or so before cooking.

2. Sauté the onion in a little olive oil in a large pan, until it starts to soften.

3. Add the marinated tempeh and any remaining marinade, and cook for about 5 minutes, until it starts to brown

4. Add the cabbage and sesame oil, cover the pan, and cook for another 5 minutes, until cabbage is soft.

5. Uncover the pan and add additional soy sauce and seasonings if desired, cooking for another 2-3 minutes.

6. Add the eggs, cooking while stirring, until they are almost set - about 30 seconds.

7. Remove from heat, plate, and sprinkle sesame seeds on top.