Rediscovering beans

Living in Brazil where most people, if not all, eat beans every day has reintroduced me to this old favorite comfort food. 

The Brazilian way of preparing this food they call feijao, however, is totally different from the one I grew up with and eating them takes me to another road of experience that leads, anyway, to an old destination. 

A full serving of friendship

A mother-and-daughter team carried the huge steaming hot casserole and maneuvered their way down the hall, towards an antique expandable eight-seater table.

As soon as the deep casserole landed gracefully at the center of the table, the soup bowls were more than ready to be filled and hearts were eager to be cuddled by the usual warmth of Brazilian camaraderie and hospitality.

Our host family made sure the towering glass windows beside the dining table were closed to keep the cold air from spoiling the fun that was yet to begin and to seclude us from the busy sidewalk, which from the window, was just more than an arm span away.

The soup dish is called mocoto, which is made mainly of beans, sausage, and entrails.  It was a perfect lunch for everyone.  Just by looking at it, I knew Fernanda and her mom did a very good job.

My Saturday escape

As I write this, I have Jamie Oliver’s Great Escape in mind. Every Saturday, I feel as though I’m on the same road of adventure, away from the usual hustle and bustle of my ordinary day.

My escape though, is a simple early morning solitary walk, which takes me no farther than 10 blocks away from my home. I do it on Saturdays while my husband and daughter are still comfortably cocooned with thick, oversized blankets.

I have at least three reasons for doing this escape – exercise, spend time alone, and buy my vegetables in the market.

For a homemaker like me, it is often difficult to get a full exercise on a regular day. By that, I mean, getting a momentum and hitting the right heart rate. So, during the week, I use my pockets of time for simple exercises. I doubt, however, if I ever achieve the right heart rate each time.

Saturdays are then reserved for a more rigorous exercise. It’s as simple as briskwalking but at the end of it, I would have relieved myself of any physical, emotional, and spiritual stiffness, tightness, soreness, or roughness I felt before hitting the road. Over the busy week, I happen to accumulate these things naturally yet unwantedly.

I’m like my mother

When I was younger, there were times I didn’t agree with my mother and thought we didn’t have much in common.  How wrong I was.  Now at 31, I think I’m just like her in more ways than one.

I’m like my mother when… 

1. I have a piece of biscuit, chocolate, or candy in my bag whenever I go out.
2. Inside that bag, I have at least two wallets, both with money.
3. You can also find some money in the pockets of the same bag.
4. I believe I can be a doctor or I can think like one – prescribing medicines to family members, friends and neighbors who are too lazy to see a doctor.
5. I get a headache after long hours of shopping but I still love to go shopping anyway.
6. I think that seeing a horror movie means paying just to scare myself to death.  Tsk, tsk.