As I reheated the last of the beans and salsa verde, I realized that this is probably the last time I'll be able to make both these things in the same way. Mainly, because I combined different recipes to make these things and don't remember how I did it. But also, because I don't know if I'll have the motivation or time to make dishes like this again. This attitude is what makes Sunday nights depressing sometimes, because you think the past two days will be the last time you will be able to do a, b, or c, before you're sucked into another work week.
In a bowl, I set a layer of black beans, followed by a layer of pico de gallo, and topped it off with some salsa verde and goat cheese - two things I usually wouldn't have if I weren't cooking for other people.
With no left over rice at hand (a rarity), I settled for a piece of whole wheat bread to dip and eat with my layered combination of whatever was left in the fridge. It needed to be dry, because I heard it's important to maintain balance.
Some hibiscus and sorrel tea was steeped simply to change things up. And like alcohol and other vices, this tea was saved for the weekend or special occasions. It turns out that it is the weekend, and I guess receiving a new issue of the Walrus in the mail was a special occasion.
On Sunday morning, it was almost like I wanted to prep myself for what was to come for the next five days. I settled for a breakfast I usually make myself in the 15 minutes I reserve for making and eating breakfast on weekday mornings.
Sweet breakfasts weren't doing it for me lately, but I didn't know how soft and spongey gluten-free bread was. I wouldn't have known if my family wasn't on a health kick. So I reverted to a childhood breakfast I never had, but heard others had - bread, peanut butter, and banana slices.
Yellow label tea, apparently the best tea, is always what's in the teapot as if it were there by magic. So I had to pour it into something that was equally nostalgic - my Little Mermaid mug.
The Hidden Keys was also a discovery at the WOTS festival in September. In different words André Alexis said that this book was inspired by Treasure Island, which is sort of a children's book. I say sort of because my opinion is that it was a children's book once upon a time. The language is now too far from what children are used to so I think it has entered the classic literature category. If the term "children" is ever associated with it, it would only be seen on a college or university Children's Literature course syllabus.
If you like mysteries and puzzles you will probably enjoy this book. Although, the selling point for me so far is that it takes place in Toronto. I read a good chunk of this book on a TTC bus. As I read, I would pass the same intersections as the the characters in the book. I was reminded of the coincidences the kids were experiencing - such as when the bell would ring for the end of recess as soon as they finished reading the sentence, "and then the bell rang." The amount of books that have that line in it becomes less surprising in an elementary school library, when you remember that people tend to read books with characters that are going through experiences that are similar to theirs.
While I wasn't reading this book, I listened to the bus driver and a passenger talk about how expensive, overrated and unfriendly the city is. The same bus driver let a woman clearly undressed for freezing rain and under the influence of a substance that wasn't as clear, ride the bus for free. The same passenger, who was also a nurse, called her "dear" and told her to have a seat.
It may be expensive, and a little overrated, but I wouldn't say it's entirely unfriendly.
It may be expensive, and a little overrated, but I wouldn't say it's entirely unfriendly.
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