I went home for the weekend (that's right, all the way home...! For my monthly dose of sunlight and sanity, as I like to say). It was lovely and warm (although too warm, really), though I think it snowed yesterday afternoon after I left. I ate lots of red chile, and cooked some very interesting things. Our theme for the weekend was the Cafe Pasqual's cookbook, so we made: a fantastic mango-beet salad (two of my favorite things in the world) and roasted brie with whole roasted heads of garlic (Yikes! Fantastic, as long as everyone eats them, so that everyone smells like garlic). We also made portobello tacos for dinner one night, with fresh corn tortillas from Alicia's. I eat portobello tacos from the Tijuana Taco cart here at school often, and they're delicious, so I thought we could give them a try. They came out really well, sauteed with onion, coriander, and cumin, served with salsa, fresh guac, and shredded cabbage, as well as cilantro rice, also courtesy of the Pasqual's cookbook. Graham also made mung beans, at my behest, also with sauteed onions and spices--one of my favorite things to eat.
When I returned, yesterday, it finally seemed a little bit less cold here. The days are longer. The highs are in the 40s and 50s all week (maybe that doesn't seem like much, but really, it is). I am so excited about the thought of warmer weather coming I could cry. I remember I saw the first crocuses on February 10th last year.
Heard a crow call today;
First time.
Aqui viene el sol.
Clouds move quickly
bells toll
No te vayas, solecito.
A smile grows from nowhere
I smell Earth again.
A plane drones in the sky,
makes a summer sound.
In the end, it is always the sun who wins.
