Habits

It's been lovely these last few days. The sun is shining, the birds are singing and I haven't had to wrestle anyone into a snowsuit in the last few weeks. We even applied sunscreen today. What a March! Let's hope it lasts and doesn't turn around and slap us in the face. All these warm days make me want to drink beer and eat chips. It really doesn't take much for me to have those feelings so it may not be entirely because of the weather. I have been known to indulge even on the darkest, coldest day.

There was a period in my life when I had chips for dinner every night for about 8 months. Now I'm not a complete slob. They were nachos chips, and there was salsa and cheese on them. It seemed somewhat complete at the time. I was in university and continually slotted myself into the 4:30 to 6:30 classes. By the time I'd get home, either due to poor planning or bad eating habits, nachos always seemed like the logical and most desired dinner companion. And frankly they seem like a damn good choice these days as well. It just doesn't seem right to get in my jammies, watch TV and slobber over a plate of nachos while my kids are eating broccoli at the table. So for them I'll resist and wait until they all move out. I'll happily fill my empty nest void with chips once they are gone.

Aside from the classic nachos platter I also love my mango salsa. It's a bit more upscale from my younger days, and healthier. I've used canned corn for the recipe but only because corn isn't in season yet. This recipe is great for leftover corn.

Mango Salsa

1 398 ml can of black beans
2 mangoes finely diced
1/2 red onion finely diced
1 398 ml can of corn
2 tsp of rice wine vinegar or to taste
juice of 2 limes
handful of chopped cilantro

Drain and rinse the black beans and corn. Throw it all in a bowl, mix around and eat with corn chips and beer. Enjoy!