Friends! Hello. Happy Friday and happy long weekend. What is it the kids say? *slams laptop shut til Tuesday*?
It’s been a strange, sad week around here: on Sunday I said goodbye to my cat, Sherlock. It was time, and the right call; still, my apartment is so quiet.
Sherlock was a wonderful cat. He was almost two years old when I adopted him from the Washington Humane Society and we had 15 happy years of snuggles and conversation together. He had a grumpy little face and a raspy noisy voice and a gentle, friendly, forgiving disposition; he loved belly rubs and herding me into bed and sharing his opinions, loudly. He was an excellent ambassador for catkind and surprised many people by making them his friends. He did not care about food at ALL except for the dregs of my popcorn, and that one time when his best friend was a cranberry. He came to check on me every time I sneezed. He was a good boy and a good friend, and I miss him.
And finally, a quick PSA, since I feel this isn’t common knowledge: If circumstances allow, you can choose to have your pet pass at home, for a gentler and more comfortable experience for everyone. I’ve heard great things about Lap of Love, a national org providing in-home end-of-life care for pets; local East Bay folks, I worked with Dr. Lew at Beloved Cat and she was incredible. She cared so well for Sherlock and for me and truly made a very hard day a little bit easier. May none of us need these services anytime soon, but I was glad to have the information when the time came; maybe it will ease the experience for you someday, too.
Anyway. Whatever you and yours are up to this weekend, I hope you’re all healthy and well. I think you (and that includes me, especially this week) are doing great.
What to Cook: Cheesy, Spicy Black Bean Bake
I have not had the bandwidth in recent days to think much about books or movies or much of anything else to recommend, but what I do have for you this week is a recipe that is currently saving my life, in the Barbara Brown Taylor sense.
I think easy-dinner queen Ali Slagle’s Cheesy, Spicy Black Bean Bake is a top-shelf back-pocket recipe; we’re talking fifteen minutes, a few pantry ingredients, and almost no prep between you and a pan of gooey, smoky, deeply spiced deliciousness. Just this week it rescued me when another dinner plan was thwarted by a mushy onion—which was just as well, since I didn’t really feel like cooking very much anyway. I’ve been scooping my cheesy beans into tacos with some pickled onions and sweet-hot jalapeños and sliced avocado (thank you, Super Bowl leftovers), but I can also vouch for eating this dish straight from the pan, as is. And maybe you prefer less smoky, more lasagna-y vibes? There’s also a white-bean version with even fewer ingredients. I think either one of them could, in fact, save your life.
I'm so sorry to hear about Sherlock; he sounds like and utter delight.