Three Day Soup

Way back in October, I had it all figured out. Miles napped like a champ -- three hefty stretches a day -- and even though I was sleep deprived from getting up at night, the free time during the day made life feel just fine. I caught up on work, blogged, and even started cooking again. I was quite pleased with the fact that I might actually be able to put delicious hot meals on the table at night. I had this brilliant idea to highlight all that free time by starting a series of posts on my blog called Naptime Gourmet. Like I said, I had it all figured out. 

Then Miles turned three months old, went on a sleeping strike during the day, and demanded constant attention during his waking hours. Not only was there no time for prepping dinner, but I was lucky to sneak in lunch some days. Dinnertime in our household was pretty turbulent and haphazard. At Miles' four month checkup, I shuffled into the pediatrician's office looking like a zombie and begged her to tell me that things would get better. She very nicely told me that I looked like death and that four months wasn't too early to start sleep training. I cringed at the thought, but Jesse and I were frazzled and desperate. It took three nights of hell to get him in a routine. He now sleeps, well as they say, like a baby.

Miles will be five months old next week, takes three decent naps a day, and will go six to eight hours at night uninterrupted. What does that have to do with food you ask? Well, I am no longer sleep deprived (most days) and have it all figured out again (ha). Naptime Gourmet is officially resurrected. It won't be easy. In fact, I'm pretty sure I will have to seriously challenge myself to prepare something new each week.** However, I'm going to give it my best try because cooking is one of my simple pleasures; it makes me happier and us healthier.

For the debut Naptime Gourmet (resurrected) entry, I have chosen a simple, healthy, delicious three day bean soup. Why three days? For starters, it took me that long to finally get the energy to cobble together the ingredients. My lack of ambition was stupid, since it took about fifteen minutes to prepare. Then, after cooking all day with what seemed like no progress, I thought I might have to hover over the slow cooker for that long for the beans to finally cook. And finally, this morning I realized that there's so much of it we'll be eating on it for a while. I really don't mind though, because it is insanely tasty.

Brasilliant's Three Day Soup

2 c. black eyed peas (insert lame Fergie joke here)
1 c. red lentils (or any other bean really)
4-5 c. vegetable stock (I use Better than Bouillon)
1 14oz can diced tomatoes (or 2 fresh, peeled and diced)
1-2 shallots, minced
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 ribs celery, diced
3 carrots, diced
1 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. Penzey's Cajun Spice (I bet thyme would work well instead)


Place beans in slow cooker and cover with 2 inches of water. Cook on high for 2 hours, or until beans begin to soften. Add remaining ingredients, turn slow cooker on low and forget about it for 8-10 hours (or until beans are cooked through).The lentils don't really hold up to cooking for that long and serve more as a delicious thickener. Sprinkle with a bit of grated Parmesan and voila! Simple. Healthy. Tasty.

Side note: I wanted to render a little bacon for the recipe, but was feeling lazy and didn't want to go to the grocery store. I'm glad I didn't. I find that black eyed peas have a wonderfully smoky, almost meaty flavor on their own, so bacon or ham would have just been overkill. The point of this recipe is to let the beans speak for themselves. And because the soup cooks for such a long time, all of the flavors really meld together. One option to kick up the spice would be to mince a little jalapeno or throw in a touch of cayenne. But I think I'll just let Jesse liberally apply Tabasco at the table!


** Be warned, I am not above subbing in the occasional baby food recipe from time to time when Miles starts sampling more complex concoctions. I do, however, promise not to bore you with such delicacies as whipped sweet potatoes and breast milk.  

How Sweet (Potato) It Is

Last night J and I started our holiday detox routine with a simple dinner of salad with chicken, apples, and almonds with a side of roasted sweet potato. We also had a little bread and butter to round things out and to try out the sweet french butter dish that my parents gave us for Christmas. You smoosh the butter in the container (the dark ceramic dish in the foreground) and then turn it upside down in a bit of salted water (the other ceramic dish in the background near the bread). It keeps the butter fresh and cool while sitting out on the counter. After all of our holiday indulgences, I was a little worried that my taste buds had forgotten how to process vegetables, what with all the meat, sweets, and alcohol that I've consumed for the last month. Luckily, my dear friend salad tasted just as good as I remembered. 

Although delicious, we usually don't have plain roasted sweet potatoes, but last night I had other plans as well. Little's pediatrician said that we could start him on solids after his 4-month appointment because he was sitting up on his own in a high chair and had shown quite a bit of interest in our food and drink. I decided to wait a bit, partially because I wanted him to be a little older, but also I wanted to do some reading on what to introduce first. Eric & Lea gave me a sweet baby food book for Christmas and the more I read there (and other sources as well) the more I realized that rice cereal probably wouldn't be his first food -- although well tolerated, it's pretty bland and boring. Since breast fed babies are accustomed to sweet things, I decided on sweet potatoes, which are nutritious and tasty. He was pretty shocked after his first bite and had a few sour faces to go along with the experience, but he kept swallowing and opening his mouth for more. I think the jury is still out on whether he's a fan, but for a first try it wasn't bad at all. 

After we put the little dude down to bed, I baked some gingerbread (something I had planned to do over the holidays, but never go the chance) and we had a mini belated birthday celebration for me. What? Everyone knows that you have to wean yourself off the sweets during holiday detox to avoid withdrawal. My mom picked up a small King Cake from Ken's Artisan Bakery before they left since we never got around to making a birthday cake while my parents were in town. 

As you know, every year my birthday marks the first day of King Cake season in New Orleans, but this is unlike any that I've seen before. I'm pretty sure it's more of a traditional French King Cake rather than the yeasty bread-like cake that I'm used to, but it was delicious. I'd probably describe it as a giant croissant with a delicious sweet almond and vanilla treat in the middle. Well done Ken's, well done.

Christmas Take Two

Little met his Aunt Kay Kay for the first time last week and they instantly hit it off. She was definitely his favorite person (other than me of course) out of our group of visitors.

Staying cozy on a chilly afternoon in his new blanket from Kay Kay.

Little spent some time hanging out with his Papa, but probably wished at this moment that Aunt Kay Kay would come to the rescue -- she has way cooler jewelry and hair. Shortly after this photo, he got a little fussy so we took off his pants and let him kick around on the floor. He quickly turned himself over to his belly and put on quite a show by hoisting his legs under his hips and sitting in the crawling position long enough for us to gawk and pull out our cameras. I think he was pretty surprised about his new tricks, but it's only a matter of time until the crawling position is no longer an accident and we will have a mobile child on our hands!

We all opened gifts from each other one evening while Little slept. Fortunately he didn't really care that he missed out on the present opening, because he woke up to a bunch of new playthings. The shades are my favorite. He pulls off the naked cool guy look pretty well.

Little finally had to say goodbye to his favorite Christmas present this year -- the Christmas tree. He sat with his Grandmom for a few minutes and stroked the branches and then tried to eat a few needles. We also said goodbye to the last year that we'll probably be able to have ornaments hanging on the bottom half of our tree. Next year he'll be toddling around and wreaking havoc on all of our decorations.

New Year, New Leaps

December was a blur! Between preparing food and drink for our holiday party, setting up the decorations, and hosting Christmas at our place this year, I hardly had time to think about Miles' upcoming developmental leaps. I wrote earlier about this book that I found, The Wonder Weeks, and how it took a really positive spin on Miles' fussy behavior by explaining the changes going on in his brain. While our family was in town, Miles was the center of attention and demanded constant interaction. I thought that the hustle and bustle around the house was causing his discontent, but then I looked at the calendar and realized that the weeks surrounding Christmas were leading into Wonder Week 19: The World of Events. 

Miles' understanding of the world around him got much more complex, and as a result, the little guy probably was feeling pretty overwhelmed. Thankfully, there were many loving arms to hold him when he fussed, because I'm not sure how I would have made it on my own. One night after feeling completely exhausted and exasperated at his insanely short naps, lack of sleep at night, and constant uneasiness I picked up The Wonder Weeks read it aloud to Jesse's mom. We both chuckled because it was like someone had been spying on our family and reporting on the action -- mood swings, sleeping poorly, wants more physical contact, bad temper, wants to put EVERYTHING in his mouth. Some days, the fussiness far outweighed the cool new things he was able to do like rolling over, sitting up with just a little support, exploring everything with his hands and mouth, and general fascination with the world around him. However, it was a relief to know that what seemed like the perpetual wonder week would come to an end and we'd have back our charming son again. 

I have already started reading about the upcoming Wonder Week 26 so that I will be more understanding and prepared to challenge him through the next developmental leap. I recently upgraded to the newest extended edition of The Wonder Weeks, released in November, which goes all the way through week 75 (or 20 months). As we all know, this is the period when our babies experience their first adolescence -- the dreaded "Terrible Twos." According to Dr. Plooj, transitioning into toddlerhood is a cause for celebration and those months don't have to be terrible if I am prepared and know what's going on in his head. I plan to read and re-read these chapters so that Jesse and I can make the most of a very challenging time ahead.

Even in just the first few months of reading about Miles' developmental leaps, I've found that planning ahead and preparing myself for those upcoming stormy periods has helped me to be more accepting of those cranktastic days, knowing that something awesome is just around the corner.