Since I returned from the metro after a weekend recharge at home with our families, I decided to read one chapter daily from a book I bought before our flight back to Manila. And mornings aren’t complete without a hot cup of sikwate which reminds me of childhood and family.
I also fried the saba just as I liked: thin, crisp, and slightly burnt. If you know me, you know.
Backstory about the book:
While waiting for Dad, I went inside BOOKSALE to pass the time. And just when I entered with my eyes rolling all over the place (because bookstores always get overwhelming the first time, don’t they?), I stopped to scan the bookshelf on my left. Immediately I zeroed in on a book that was leaning against a stack of hard bounds because it had a word “Jesus” on it. Just when I lifted it up to read the synopsis, another Christian book was behind it, as if they were both waiting for me to pick them up at the right moment.
Just when I was still checking out their prices and having an internal debate (more like justifying) whether I should give in to my buying impulse, I saw my husband calling me out from the shop, telling me it’s time to go.
So in a rush I bought the books and ran to my husband. Carrying them with me felt right too, as if somebody left the books there (like an afterthought) for me to find.
I started reading Coffee, the World, and Jesus, but Not Necessarily in That Order by Ron Demiglio while waiting for our flight back to Manila. It was a light read. Flipping pages at the gate also felt nostalgic because I usually read from my six-year-old eBook reader during my travels. The book is something you’d enjoy one chapter at a time while sipping a hot drink. So reading it suits well in my morning routine—no rush.
I guess the unseen hand with my decision to buy two physical books was having a bookshelf back in the apartment (thanks Amira). I wouldn’t do the same without it; I’d probably stick to eBooks.
Backstory about the sikwate:
Sikwate is what we call a hot cup of chocolate from pure cacao tablets (which we call tableya).
Growing up, we mostly had tableya in the fridge (thanks mama Belen), which we could conveniently use for a hot chocolate drink (usually in the morning, especially on rainy days) and for making champorado. I could remember as a kid how I wanted to use the manual grinder to grind the tableya for the champorado. Oh, champorado afternoons! How as a kid I would run back home (after playing with my neighbors from the next lot) to a hot bowl of champorado which my auntie makes for afternoon snacks.
Now that I’m thirty and know better about the ratio of water and tableya tablets for my liking, I decided to keep making it part of my morning routine (until supplies last). Well, I now know where to buy good ones from home and mama Belen (my loving mother) and ate Rem (my generous sister) are all out with their support just so I could bring some of them back in the metro.
I have enough in my stash to last me about 60 cups. And you know how small a cup is.
I’d probably stick to drinking a cup of sikwate (without sugar) as my husband does with coffee because I could enjoy the serotonin kick without the caffeine and palpitations.
One day, I might sell tableya to my friends too (the ones I grew up having and now enjoy, which are from Davao del Sur). 🤔
jessa 