Newts + Cacio e Pepe White Beans
- 6 days ago
- 5 min read
Tuesday
Arthur made up for the lack of sleep the previous day by sleeping in until after 8:00 on Tuesday. We noticed a bit of a scrape on his chin this morning - not sure how he got it. Right after his susu, Arthur had a second breakfast of - surprise, surprise - another half avocado, plus a bit extra. He had another nursing session afterwards, during which he actually slept for a good half hour, and then, a bit later, some cottage cheese. He remains somewhat uncertain about cottage cheese, but I did get him to eat several spoonfuls.
Miklós, G-Dawg, a full-bellied Arthur and I headed off to Mount Grant just before noon. It was a lovely day, and Arthur enjoyed the view from the top of the mountain. He fell asleep during our descent, which unfortunately meant he missed Newt Pond, and didn’t get to see the animals he was partially named after; there were a lot of them in the pond, and they were very active! They're fascinating creatures, and moved like little otters through the water, so it was a shame Arthur missed them. Then again, he probably would have been about as interested in them as he was in the humpback. But, on the plus side, Arthur got about 45 minutes of napping in, or a full sleep cycle!
Once we got home, it was time for more susu, and then a new food: sablefish! G-Dawg cooked up some of this oily fish, also known as black cod, for his own lunch, and generously shared it with his grandson. When he finished that up and still seemed interested in food, he got some strawberries to wash the greasy smelly fish down.
After lunch, Miklós took Arthur on a father-son walk. Arthur was wide awake until the end of the walk, but once he fell asleep, Miklós was able to bring the backpack with him inside into the bedroom without waking up the kraken.
He got a good 40-50 minutes of sleep in before waking up, at which point I nursed him a bit, though after a while he seemed uncomfortable and fussy. I wasn’t sure if it was his teeth coming in that was bothering him, so I gave him a teething popsicle I had made earlier in the day. The popsicle was based off of this recipe, and was really simple - it just had layers of thick cashew milk (homemade by Oma - I had meant to use soy yogurt but mixed the jars up) alternating with layers of a chia “jam” made of chia seeds + pumpkin purée. He seemed to really enjoy eating it!
The adults had a bean dish for dinner, so Arthur did, too! I mashed some white beans with two allergenic “butters:” peanut butter and tahini, and served it to Arthur. He wasn’t super hungry, but ate a decent amount of it!
So, Arthur’s Tuesday menu consisted of:
avocado
cottage cheese
sablefish/black cod (new food!)
strawberries
cashew milk
chia seeds
pumpkin purée
white beans
peanut butter
tahini
Wednesday
Arthur synced with his mama on Wednesday, waking up right around when she did at 7:45. He had a reasonable breakfast on the boob, followed by - surprise, surprise - more avocado, three quarters of one this time! He still had a decent appetite for a third breakfast on the boob, and then we were off to Cady Mountain for a little hike.
It was beautiful hiking weather, which doubled as good napping weather - Arthur slept for about half an hour in the backpack. He also enjoyed a couple of salmonberries while on the trail, but still had quite the appetite for a liquid lunch when we got back! He followed that up with a dessert of another teething popsicle, which I melted and fed to him with a spoon, because the handle had broken. He seemed to enjoy eating it this way as well!
Then it was off for a walk with his pops, and another nap, though this was again only a half hour one - Miklós propped the backpack with the sleeping newt in it on the shore, thinking the soothing sound of the waves, gentle breeze, and perfect temperature would make it the perfect napping spot. But our son is a movement junkie, so he didn’t remain asleep for long there.
Still, he was in a pretty sweet mood for most of the afternoon and evening. He’s been really fascinated by Mudge, attempting to reach him in various manners and flailing his arms wildly in excitement at being near his uncle. Arthur’s good mood continued throughout the evening, which was a very good thing - Miklós and I were leaving him with his grandparents to go on a date!
Apparently, Arthur was great during the hour and a half we were gone, and didn’t fuss once! While his parents enjoyed proper portions (finally!) of mediocre Chinese food, Arthur also enjoyed some proper portions from Oma - first a whole scrambled egg, followed by pieces of tofu and mashed white beans. He had a very good appetite for all three, and produced a very hearty poop afterwards - his fifth of the day. We think that’s a new record for him, and Miklós is tempted to put him on a diet so he doesn’t have to change as many poopy diapers!
Anyways, Arthur’s grand total of Wednesday solids came to:
avocado
salmonberries
cashew milk
chia seeds
pumpkin purée
egg
tofu
white beans
So, on Wednesday, Arthur's parents had a lovely date night dinner, and Mama finally got some meat. On Tuesday, however, I was on dinner duty again, and tried out a new recipe. Oma has herself on a super limited diet, as always, but she these days she's into beans, and that's something I can get on board with. So we've been eating a lot of legumes. Tuesday's dinner was no exception - I pretty much followed this recipe that looked easy and tasty. It's kind of tricky, though, because my mom has a super restrictive diet and only eats "health" foods, whereas my dad has an old-fashioned palette and grumbles about unusual ingredients and healthy food swaps. So I ended up doubling the beans in the recipe to dilute the nutritional yeast taste, because my dad doesn't like it, and diluting the broth concentration, because my mom thought it was too overpowering and doesn't eat salt, and, of course, only adding salt to our individual portions afterwards. It still turned out really nice, though! Next time I would serve it with a side of veggies or rice or bread or something - the portions were a bit small for Miklós and me, though were probably fine for people like my parents. Here's how I made it (oh, and I forgot to take a photo, so I'm subbing a photo of a newt from Newt Pond):
Cacio e Pepe White Beans (serves 2 hungry people or 4 people with a side)
Ingredients
5 cups cannellini or white beans
3 tbsp olive oil
3-4 cloves minced garlic
1 cup nutritional yeast
1½ cups vegetable broth or 2 tbsp bouillon/1 stock cube mixed with 350ml water
1½ cups water (or more broth)
2 tsp ground black pepper
2 tbsp red wine vinegar/lemon juice/other vinegar
salt, to taste
optionally MSG to taste (I didn't add any, since I was at my parents', but I feel like it would be good here)
Instructions
In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat.
Add the minced garlic, half of the nutritional yeast, and the black pepper.
Heat for a few minutes - the nooch and pepper should clump together and start to smell toasty.
Add the white beans, broth, and water.
Heat over medium heat for 20 minutes or so, until the broth thickens.
Add the rest of the nutritional yeast, salt, MSG if using, and more black pepper if desired.
Finish with the vinegar/lemon juice, stir, and taste.
Serve warm, with sides if desired.
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