The Jewish Couple

That's us, the Jewish couple down stairs. Our new roommate Brian has taken to calling us that, and jokes that I cook like his Jewish mother. For the second time this season he came downstairs to find us making soup (cause its damn good and finally getting cold down here). He said in a Jewish mother accented wine, "I was just telling my mom that the Jewish couple downstairs is making soup again!!!" Well, soup we made from start to finish! For the first time we used a chicken carcass to make the broth first and then we made a really yummy vegetable noodle soup. So while he might make fun us, he's jealous after its made and he wants some.
While we are making our own stuff at home most of the time and saving money on food, we have begun to splurge on one thing. We have stopped buying the longest loaf ever of crappy white bread for 7 pesos and instead we are buying a shorter, more satisfying loaf of multi grain.
I read A Tree Grows In Brooklyn a long time ago, but a few images have stuck with me after what must be almost decade. The way the father always had his pants perfectly hemmed, that they read from the Bible and Shakespeare everyday and that no matter how poor their family was the mother always let her daughter have a cup of coffee in the morning even though she never drank it and it always ended up in the drain. At one point in the book her friend chides her on how wasteful this morning routine is, and she responds that they may be poor, but things are so bad that they can't waste a cup of coffee. Something struck me about that. No matter how poor you are you need some sort of luxury. For us, this luxury has now become our yummy bread that has an actual taste. Things are getting better bit by bit.