After frustratingly spending all day as a human pacifier, we started helping Zoella learn to put herself to sleep last night. She fended off fussies with her whole fist in her mouth. And though she can't sit up or crawl yet, she pivoted perpendicular to her crib. It took every ounce of restraint not to just shove my boob in her mouth and call it a night as I have for the past two weeks. Instead I ate this green goddess pesto straight from the jar (<---stress eater!).
BUT! She slept 11 hours last night (with me sneaking in twice to feed her while she slept) and put herself back to sleep when she briefly woke up at 2:30am. Once we cure the no nap situation, we're going to be a house that sleeps once again. Bribing her with cold hard cash so far shows no results.
Also, can someone come feed me while I sleep? That sounds awesome and like a total time-saver.
Meanwhile, the cat boy has decided he, too, needs a bit of extra attention, rushing outside every chance he gets. An indoor cat with an adventurous streak (or maybe he's had enough of the crybaby?). Attention-seeking first child syndrome.
I feel him laughing at us as we chase him into the backyard - "can't catch me, I'm the gingerbread cat!" This is especially fun while holding a baby. Or when he sneaks out after dark, races along the side of the house, and comes face to face with a SKUNK.
That lil' stinker.
Fortunately Lucas caught him before the skunk did. In Arti's defense we're also forcing him to master a new skill - let the baby pet you - and it's hard because there's grabbing and drool. He's purring and leaning in for pets though, so they'll be besties in no time.
We're hopeful we'll have this sleep thing figured out soon, but for now there's always solace in shoveling spoonfuls of this green goddess pesto into our mouths. This pesto is everything - springs finest herbs blended up with olive oil and pistachios. If you're having company, you can be more civilized and spread it atop crackers with goat cheese for an appetizer to bust out at your next BBQ. (Father's Day?!). A bite inspired by my favorite spring salad, the herby tarragon, basil, and chive combo was meant for creamy goat cheese. Plus it's so ridiculously easy you can hardly even call it a recipe.
I first shared this green goddess pesto recipe on Blendtec's blog after I got my new blender last spring, but then things got crazy and I never told you about it! (Better late than never??) Head over to their blog to get my herby pesto recipe...with a much-delayed account of my graduation that spotlights just how much things have changed around here in a year!
Green Goddess Pesto & Goat Cheese Bites
Ingredients
- 2-4 ounces spreadable goat cheese
- 2-3 dozen of your favorite crackers (I love gluten-free Raincoast Oat Crisps!
- ¼ cup green goddess pesto (below)
Green Goddess Pesto
- 5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 medium garlic cloves, peeled
- ½ cup fresh basil leaves, packed
- ½ cup freshly chopped chives
- ⅓ cup fresh tarragon leaves, packed
- ¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
- ¼ cup pistachios, toasted
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
Instructions
- Prepare the pesto in your blender. In order, layer olive oil, garlic, basil, chives, tarragon, and Parmesan cheese in your Blendtec. Pulse on medium-high speed until smooth, about 15 seconds
- Add pistachios, salt, and pepper, and pulse until desired consistency. (I prefer mine to have a few pieces of nuts throughout.
- Spread a teaspoon of goat cheese on each cracker
- Spread ½ teaspoon of green goddess pesto on top of goat cheese. Serve!
Becky Winkler (A Calculated Whisk) -
Those Raincoast crisps are my favorite, too! Bet they're beyond fabulous with goat cheese and this beautiful pesto. Hope you get some great sleep soon!
Sarah Menanix -
Aw - thank you! I feel like I could slather anything on those raincoast crisps and it'd be delicious. Hehe.
Sheri -
This pesto is a gorgeous shade of green (my favorite color)! I want to try this on a bowl of pasta with goat cheese sprinkled on top!
Sarah Menanix -
Yeah! Let's do it while you're here!
Izzy @ She Likes Food -
Oh no! I'm so worried that our cat is not going to be thrilled about a newborn and I really hope he doesn't start jetting outside! That would be so stressful!
These pesto and goat cheese bites sound like something I could eat 100 of! There are definitely worse things you could be stress eating :)
Sarah Menanix -
Not to worry - I can definitely see progress being made on the cat-baby front so I'm certain that they'll be cuddle buddies soon!
DessertForTwo -
Oh gosh, Sarah! You guys are going to be okay. Here's the thing, I see your commitment to getting her to sleep so that you guys can sleep, too. We were the same way, and it totally worked! I think that many, many people just accept that they'll never sleep again, and so it becomes true. But, you're committed to making a schedule work for her, so I know it will!
And look at you, blogging while sleep-deprived! Love ya!
Sarah Menanix -
It's so true - in just a week, she has made SO MUCH progress. Tonight, she didn't cry AT ALL during the bedtime routine - she rolled around in bed for about 10 minutes, fuss-free, and PASSED OUT. This girl, I swear. She's all kinds of amazing.
Traci | Vanilla And Bean -
Eating while asleep? Wow, I'd say that's something that has to be mastered! LOL! Hooray for your path of sleeping through the night - unless Arti revolts due to new petting demands and decides to retaliate on you while you sleep! It sounds like a circus around there, Sarah! In the mean time, you offer us this gorgeous pesto, of which sounds sublime. I've finally pulled the second to last jar of pesto from the freezer from last year's Summer haul. Time to restock. This one is on the list! Thank you my dear, for the laughs and this deliciousness! :D
Sarah Menanix -
I wonder at what age you lose that natural ability babies have to eat while sleeping? haha. Arti is slowly figuring out his place in this new world - getting all his pets in where he sees and opportunity. And he has wasted no time to get back in my bed now that Zo is in her own room. I hope you love this pesto as much as I do!
Karen @ The Food Charlatan -
Yummmm. Please install cameras around your house so that I can see you trying to catch a cat and feed a baby at the same time. Extra points for skunks. I could really use a laugh. :) Pesto for daaaaays!!! Me and tarragon? We're like this.
Sarah Menanix -
I like how you added that I'm also feeding the baby whenever this happens. Haha. And no. You have to come visit to see the circus in action.
Carrie @ Bakeaholic Mama -
I could eat this every single day!
Veronica -
Oh I remember those days! Instead of a cat we had a puppy dog who loved to dig out of the back yard! Lucas was 5 months old and eating all the time! I felt like a food dispenser! It gets better with each day you get into a routine and baby starts to sleep through the night! I love your stories and this Green Goddess Pesto recipe!
Matt -
I could eat these every day and be super happy :)
Jennifer Farley -
Our cat will rush outside if we give her the chance. She used to do it all the time when I lived in an apartment but stopped when we moved into house... until we got her a leash and harness. Now she's extra feisty about it. I'm tempted to bring her outside on the leash for parties. These bites would be perfect for those parties!
Lauren @ Climbing Grier Mountain -
If these bites don't make you feel like a goddess, I don't know what will! Gorgeous!!
gerry @ foodness gracious -
That color is totes amazing!!!
Brian @ A Thought For Food -
This is my favorite kind of appetizer! And you can't beat the color of that pesto!
Brandon @ Kitchen Konfidence -
That pesto is genius!! I'm sure I could eat it with a spoon. Or with goat cheese and crackers :)
Lisa -
Ah! Can't believe Arti almost had a face-off with a skunk! (I literally gasped when I read that.) It would have been bad news bears if Lucas didn't catch him in time!
And Zoella's making so much progress with sleeping for longer periods! I feel like you guys will be back on track with some sort of regular-ish sleeping schedule soon.
I will come feed you while you sleep, if need be! Just leave me some of this green goodness in the fridge for me, okay? ;)
Carla -
Is this one of those things where if he MEETS a skunk and figures out what a skunk is he will NEVER try to escape again? Because I feel like you've solved for baby so now we can just get right on to the Houdini Cat!