Leave of Absence

Oops!  Sorry, I've been a bad blogger for the last week.  I have had a lot going on (nothing bad!) and could not manage to sit down at the laptop.

Tabitha and I went out walking yesterday afternoon, and found a tiny, sweet, fluffy little baby Ringtail Possum on the road in the sun.  It very nearly got squished by a car!  I scooped it up in Tabby's little woolen beanie, and carried it home carefully (Tabitha was completely taken with the fluffy baby, and kept desperately reaching out, while strapped to my front in the Ergo, trying to grab it!  It was a tricky walk home.).  We called Wildlife Victoria, who were lovely and most grateful.  They instructed us to keep it in the beanie, in a dark box, with some native flowers and / or roses, until the evening.  Then I had to go and take it to a local wildlife carer, in Richmond.  She gave the baby milk in a dropper, and it drank loads.  She said it was very dehydrated, and wouldn't have survived if we didn't pick it up.  Poor baby!  She said it will be just fine, though, and within a couple of days she will re-release it into a tree near where we found it, hoping that its mumma will come and find it (if not, it is just old enough to manage on its own).

Here it is tucked away in its dark box.  Look at that cute little tail!

The Wildlife carer said that I could take a photo (with no flash).  The baby was SO soft!

Over the last couple of weeks, we've done two Yum Cha sessions.  As I've said before, Yum Cha is just perfect for BLW babies - on Sunday, we went with two other couples and their babies (around Tabitha's age), who are both also BLW babies!  The three babies happily devoured lots of dumplings and buns, then some fruit salad, while the adults enjoyed a leisurely lunch.  Barely a day goes by that I am not deeply thankful for BLW - over the past week, I have enjoyed five meals out, and each time, Tabitha happily sat and fed herself, enjoying a range of food (rare steak, dumplings, sushi, French toast and vegetable curry) while I enjoyed my own meals.

In recent weeks, Tabby's dexterity has really improved - she can pick up and eat fairly small things, like sultanas, half grapes, small tortellini, small clumps of rice etc, and seems to enjoy the challenge, preferring small pieces over larger things like toast.

While it's not good to give babies and children lots of dried fruit, as it is very high in sugar, it is perfectly okay as a treat.  One of Tabitha's favorite treats is dried banana, which I buy from a nut shop.  It is good for keeping her entertained!

Tonight, I made a pasta bake for dinner.  I think that lots of people in Australia grew up eating pasta bake, and it is a fairly common 'childhood meal'.  Well, not for me!  I had never tried a pasta bake until my early 20s.  We were vegetarian when I was small, and I think that our family foods were fairly unconventional.  Perhaps because of this, I don't turn my nose up at simple meals like pasta bake - I love them!  The Daddy looked wary when he heard what dinner was - he said his memories of pasta bake were monochrome, gluggy meals.  But we both thought this one was very nice.  It was great for Tabitha to eat, too, with large chunks of tuna, penne pieces, and decent sized pieces of capsicum.  I served it with a side of steamed broccoli for all of us.  It is a fairly economical meal - this made four massive servings, and cost well under $20.

Tuna Pasta Bake

350g penne pasta (you could use other short shapes)

425g tin of Sirena tuna in olive oil, drained

1 brown onion, diced

1 red capsicum, in 2cm x 1cm pieces

40g butter

40g plain flour

400ml full cream milk

Most of a tin of diced tomatoes (maybe 3/4)

1 cup peas

Salt and pepper

A cup of grated tasty cheese

1/3 cup of freshly grated parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 180 degrees.  Cook the pasta to al dente, drain and keep warm.

Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium/high heat.  Saute the onion for a few minutes, then add the capsicum, and continue to cook until onion soft and translucent.

Add the flour, and stir for a minute to cook the flour.  Add the milk, bit by bit, stirring well each addition, to ensure there are no lumps.  Stir over heat for a few minutes until the sauce thickens.

Add the peas, tomoatoes, and season well with salt and pepper.  Add the pasta, stir well.

Add the tuna, stirring it through gently but thoroughly.  You ideally want to keep some large-ish chunks of tuna whole.  Taste again for seasoning.

Pour the lot into a very large baking dish / casserole dish, sprinkle both cheeses over the top, and bake for 25 minutes or until the top is lightly browned.

Tabitha has become quite cheeky when getting ready for bed!  Here she is running away from us while we changed her nappy - she'd much rather cuddle her teddy:

Here she is trying to climb out the window!  She knows the cats are out there:

Only 5 weeks until we leave for our month in the US.  Exciting!