Decisions, decisions. Some of them are easy to make, some of them will keep me up at nights, splitting hairs and weighing a mountainous list of pros and cons. Some I actually enjoy deliberating on, some I enjoyed in the beginning but am now losing steam. Some make my forehead pound. Decisions – not a personal strength but something, as an adult I have to make every day. And these days there seems to be more of that than ever!
I’m a Libra you see, and decision-making is not something that comes easily to me. I’m not a huge believer in things zodiac but I can say this, what they claim about Librans being indecisive, and being able to see all sides of a story or question (some sides even purely hypothetical and not very likely), is 100% on the ball when it comes to me. I need to dissect every single possibility and permutation before making a decision...a long and sometimes painful process. This goes for everything from life-changing choices to what I want from a menu!
Thank goodness there are some decisions that I actually enjoy pouring over. Not that I totally abhor decision-making, I understand it comes with that thing called “being a grown up”, but it’s nice to know that there are some that give me less wrinkled-forehead moments than others.
Like what kind of beans to buy.
These may seem like regular munggo beans (mung beans) to most but they’re not. They are actually lighter in color and slightly longer than the common munggo. The reason I know this is because when I saw them at the market they sat side by side with a bag of the usual green, roundish munggo, so the difference was apparent. Plus I eat my weight in munggo every month, so I should have learned something about these beans by now. I found them at the stall of my favourite organic veggie & herb grower at our neighbourhood Saturday market (Gil Carandang at the Salcedo Market – such a treasure trove!). He was busy with another customer so I discussed the merits of the beans with his son. He knew they were a different type but wasn’t quite sure of the name – he did mention that he liked them better and they had been having it for dinner. After a few back and forths I decided to buy a small bag full and went away quite pleased with my purchase.
These are the kinds of simple choices that help me de-stress from the bigger more “grown-up” choices we all have to deal with. It may sound trifling but let me tell you, therapy does not get any cheaper than a 250-gram bag of beans.
No recipe for today – I used up various leftover bits for this batch of munggo. I prepared it the same way as I always do, using garlic, onions, tomato, and a combination of smoked and dried-salted fish as the flavorings. Filipino dried-salted fish (daing) is wickedly potent and does wonders in flavouring munggo – you can use dried shrimp (hibe) as well. I added malunggay (moringa) leaves at the last moment.
Happy weekend everyone! I hope you have something nice and relaxing planned :) Me, I will be heading to the market to unwind over some produce related shopping :)
UPDATE 7/26: Thanks to a nice commenter, Bea, I now know what the beans are! They are called tapilan or rice bean and although a relation to munggo, they are not the same. To Manila residents: Bea also sells a wonderful selection of natural, eco-friendly products (lovely soaps and more!) at the Sunday Legazpi market...you can also check out her stuff here.