Let's skip the pleasantries and get down to business

Babies are so rude.

Or maybe just my baby is rude.

What I would like is a polite little sniffle of a cry:

"Ahem! Oh hello there- lovely mother, I know you are doing the best you can- and you simply are doing a wonderful job- but is there any way you might be able to expedite my bottle?  I am starting to feel a twinge hungry."

Instead what I get is:

A cry that makes your toes curl and your eardrums recess further towards your brain.

(Sidenote: I can only hope that his first sentence will be the aforementioned.  Even more awesome if it British-y sounding)

*Sigh*

While I engage in a temporary moment of silence, here's a recipe that I made up last week.

Faux-lafels makes 6
2 cans chickpeas (garbanzos), drained and rinsed (I only had one can chickpeas so I used cannelini beans for the 2nd can- same deal)
1/2 cup chopped green onions
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3 tablespoons all purpose flour (whole wheat could work too)
2 eggs, beaten
1 tablespoon olive oil
Olive oil spray or other nonstick baking spray

1. Place beans, parsley, garlic, cumin, coriander, salt, pepper, and baking soda in a food processor.  Work in batches (took me 3) to process until coarsely pureed.  Mix bean mixture and green onions together in a bowl.  Stir in the flour and egg.  Shape mixture into six patties and let stand for 10 minutes.

2. Heat oven to 400 degrees.  In a large skillet over medium-high heat, heat olive oil. Add patties, frying until golden brown- about 3 minutes on each side.

3. Line a baking sheet with foil and spray with cooking spray (or, if your skillet happens to be oven safe, just use that). Transfer patties to sheet and bake for about 10 minutes.

4. Serve on a pita with tzatziki sauce and mixed greens.

Easy Tzatziki
1 cup plain nonfat Greek yogurt
1/2 cucumber, shredded and pressed with paper towels to absorb excess moisture
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic

Combine all ingredients.  Ideally let this chill in the fridge for at least an hour.

Per pita: 330 calories, 58 g carbs, 8 g fat, 15 g protein, 13 g fiber

You do what you have to do

So when your baby is fussing, you're supposed to sing him nursery rhymes to calm him, right? The problem is that I suck at singing nursery rhymes.

This little piggy went to market...uhhh...this little piggy had none?  There once was a pig from Nantucket?

Not quite how it goes.  I've also tried making up songs as I go, but then I realized they mostly revolve around his gassiness.

I dug deep into the memory archives and sung him some Lion King tunes, and by Mufasa they worked!

If you think listening to AHHHHHHH SABENYA!!!! 18 times a day gets annoying, you are correct.

Still worth it though, if I can put li'l man in his swing and tuck the iTunes in with him- means I can cook awesome dinners like this:

Spicy fried tofu with peanut noodles makes six servings
-1 package extra firm tofu, squeezed between paper towels to remove excess moisture
-1/3 cup corn starch
-1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
-1 tablespoon olive oil
-1 package udon noodles (or whole wheat linguini)
-1 head of bok choy, rinsed and coarsely chopped
-2 cups fresh pea pods, rinsed
-1 teaspoon minced garlic
-1 cup vegetable broth, warmed up in the microwave
-1/2 cup peanut butter (crunchy or creamy- doesn't matter)
-1 tablespoon chili garlic paste
-1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
-salt and pepper to taste

1. Heat a large stockpot filled with water to boiling.  Add noodles and cook according to directions.  Drain, rinse, and return to pot.  Set this to the side.
2. In the meantime, cut your tofu into 1/2 inch-ish cubes. Combine corn starch along with a pinch of salt and pepper in a shallow bowl. Lightly coat each tofu cube in the starch.
3. Heat a shallow frying pan with oil and red pepper flakes (medium high heat). Add tofu. Stir to allow even browning. When tofu is golden brown, dump on a paper towel.
4. Return the frying pan to the burner and add the pea pods and bok choy. Cover and let steam for a few minutes, until bok choy is somewhat wilted and deep green. Stir in garlic. Add veggies to noodle pot.  Add tofu to pot as well.
5. Combine hot broth with peanut butter, chili paste, and ginger. Pour over the veggie/noodle mixture. Serve immediately.

 Tofu in the midst of frying.

 You only need the smallest nub of ginger you can find. Or even swap out powdered ginger.  I'd never judge.

Mmm. Now the question is, can I eat this whole bowl in the 2 minutes and 53 seconds it takes to play "Can you feel the love tonight"?

What I've been up to

It is 6 pm.  I am still in my hideous pink robe and I just spent way too much time on Pampers' website entering "rewards" numbers from the bags of wipes and diapers we've already plowed through.

Regression.

Baby's a month old now, which means he's even cuter.  But it also means that he's awake more.  And he's learned he has vocal cords.  And he's eating more.  And he's learned that since I bother with "rewards" he can blast through diapers like nobody's business.

And that means blog has dropped on the priority list.  Whomp whomp.

In spite of this, we've been eating pretty well lately, if I say so myself.  I even have an ACTUAL RECIPE to share! I was craving steak tacos the other night and since Aldi randomly had tomatillos in stock, I came up with this salsa.

Green salsa-mole

• 1 ripe avocado
• 2 cups husked and finely diced tomatillos
• 1 cup diced tomato
• 1 cup diced yellow onion
• 1 small jalapeno, seeded and diced
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• Juice of one lime
• Half a bunch of cilantro, leaves chopped
• Salt and pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients except avocado.  Minus the avocado, this will keep in the fridge for a day or two. Before serving, mash up avocado and stir into salsa.

Yum.  Good thing this looks absolutely nothing like the filling I'm finding in all these Pampers. Ha.