Rice and Beans (Day 2)

The day started with Mass. It is always fun to have Mass here because it seems like one's own personal Mass. I know that is not a theologically correct statement to make, but when it is just you and the priest....when he says, "The Lord bless you!" and you respond, "And also with you!" in this setting, you had better mean it.

Today's recipe: one splash of soymilk, one splash of water, cinnamon, and honey makes a nice cereal topper, especially when trying to conserve soymilk. Of course, "making it last" may not be the best mantra when one has no refridgeration.

Massive cleanup of the kitchen today that took most of the morning. Again, Domond seemed surprised. I am regularly used to throwing dinner parties so I like things to look nice for people (the added OCD-bonus always helps). Fortunately (or unfortunately) Father Alan is equally disposed towards cleanliness, symmetry, and entertaining. Needless to say, it took most of the morning.

Spent the majority of the afternoon trying to get the computer up-and-running. Finally.

Went with Domond to the two supermarkets. It was a crazy trip--there are no traffic lights in Haiti, so one seems to drive pretty much where one pleases. The U-turn in bumper-to-bumper traffic is a pretty common (and, needless to say, complex) maneuver. We sat at one intersection for about 10 minutes. Patience-building exercise. At least I wasn't driving.

Bought some ice at the Star 2000 Market, so I had a cold drink. Simple pleasures.

Father Alan started rearranging bookshelves in the gathering room. Our vision is to reclaim it as a Catholic chapel with a place for reposition of the Eucharist, an altar and ambo, and other spiritual artifacts. We are surrounded by such a great crowd of statues--made by Moise, a Haitian artisan; it is amazing how one can decorate. Since tomorrow is Pentecost, we will try and get the room set up and bless the house. This house (and its occupants) have seen such turmoil, it will be nice to help clear the spiritual air a bit with a blessing. I may even get to burn some sage and incense....

I tried to cook some rice and beans for dinner, but the rice was super-absorbant and way outran the beans. About the beans: they were leftover from the great kitchen cleaning. Daniel and I made the mistake once of trying to slowcook old beans in a cooker, which was basically a waste of water and electricity. So was this adventure, because I had to keep adding water to the mixture to try and cook the beans. After bringing the pot to a boil three times and simmering for an hour, the beans (which we had soaked, by the way), simply were not soft. We added some tomatoes and onions so that we would have something the consistency of beans. The beans added a nice crunch.

This brings up a dilemma: at home I hardly waste food, but in Haiti, one, by necessity, must conserve everything, and many people in the city may not get to eat every day; does one then suffer through a badly-cooked meal.

Yes.

And eat the leftovers for breakfast.