I keep seeing cockroaches. In the street, on the metro…They’re not really there, but it always takes an extra second after my head has remarked, “Oh, a cockroach,” for it to subsequently think, “No it’s not. I’m not in Lima anymore.”
That’s not to say there aren’t cockroaches here, but there certainly aren’t cockroaches here like there are cockroaches there. I lived on a street for a month as it was being torn up and having the pavement and sidewalks replaced. So besides the daily noise and being woken up at 7am by big machines backing up, I saw a lot of what the street unearthed. Even in non-construction areas, the critters are everywhere. They’re big and black and scurry and are generally disgusting, but you get used to them. They never bothered me and I never bothered them. So it didn’t take long before my head stopped exclaiming, “Oh! Cockroaches!” and started just plain noticing. Every now and then my shoulders would kick in and shrug, if I was feeling particularly apathetic.
I’m not hallucinating cockroaches in Montreal. I realize after a half second that it’s just a little pile of dust rolling across the subway floor, or a rock someone kicked into my path. But the first time it happened it wasn’t the actual cockroach (which wasn’t a cockroach) that bothered me – it was the fact that I simply acknowledged that it was (rather, I thought it was) a cockroach and paid no attention.
It takes a long time for the body to re-adjust – I’m slowly losing my tan, I use Spanish words in French sentences, and sometimes also in English sentences, I try to kiss people only on their right cheek (Peruvian style) instead of two (Montreal style), and I say hello to absolutely everybody I know in a room instead of keeping to myself. In Peru I don’t think there’s such a thing as “keeping to oneself.”
Some things, however, go fast: My expectations of sun and heat are long gone. My need for a siesta is squashed like a butternut. And my mood has plummeted along with the Vitamin Sun (I think smart people call it Vitamin D3).
Now, there are great things about being back, too. The other day it snowed, big fat flakes that stick to your eyelashes without a trace of wind. It was beautiful. It was fluffy. It was relatively warm. I had a tire d’érable – a “maple pull” – a line of maple syrup poured on packed snow and rolled up into a maple taffy popsicle. I went to my favourite market and let the servers get stressed out about how crowded it was and exclaim in French how we’d just have to wait and they were sorry. No one apologizes for making you wait in Peru. I cook hot, comforting Indian food with spices and equipment I can’t get in Peru: black cumin seeds, asafoetida, mace, and others toasted and ground in my spice grinder. I can make my own dairy-free ice cream in 20 minutes. I’ll get to celebrate with the rest of the city when spring finally, well, springs, and we all sit on terrasses (patios) in the 15-degree “heat” and sip a glass of wine as though it’s scorching and we need something to cool down. I’ll get excited about fiddleheads and rhubarb, the first spring vegetables up here.
But for now, I’ll stare out the window at the softly falling snow and make the most of the last few big pots of Indian-inspired lentil dal soups and mixed bean chili I make, heaped with digestion-aiding bay leaves, Peruvian achiote, aji amarillo chili peppers, turmeric, mace, ginger, coriander seed, cardamom, cloves, cinnamon, paprika, and Peruvian mountain salt. And I’ll suck it back one body-warming, soul-comforting bowl at a time.
Red Lentil Dal with Broccoli, Peppers and Toasted Coconut
2 cups red lentils
6 cups water (or 2 cups water pus 4 cups vegetable or chicken broth)
1/2 tsp turmeric
1 tsp achiote (optional)
1″ fresh ginger (or 3/4 tsp ground)
1 slice mace (I use dried, whole slices, but you could use grated or 1/4 tsp ground. If you use whole, remove it before serving)
1 bay leaf
2 tsp paprika
1 tsp dried dill
1-3 whole dried chili peppers, seeds removed if desired (to taste)
1/2 tsp ground coriander seed (optionally toast with cumin and cardamom seeds – not whole cardamom pods, just the seeds inside – on a small skillet for a few minutes. Then cool and grind)
1/2 tsp ground cumin seed
1/4 tsp ground cardamom seed
2 cloves
1 two-inch piece cinnamon (optional – some people really don’t like cinnamon)
1/2 – 1 tsp salt
1 head broccoli, separated into florets, tender parts of base slices thinly (peel the base if tough)
1 red or green pepper, diced
2 tbsp coconut flakes (or “dessicated coconut”)
Rinse the red lentils in cold water and stir for 30 seconds. Pour off cloudy water (use a strainer to catch any runaway grains), add more water, and rinse and stir and pour off again. Repeat until the water isn’t cloudy anymore. Add 6 cups water (or water and broth) to lentils along with turmeric and bring to a boil. Skim off scum and lower heat to medium-low. Add all remaining spices except coconut. Simmer uncovered for 15 minutes. Add broccoli stems. Cook 5 minutes. Add broccoli florets and red pepper. Simmer 5 minutes longer, or until lentils and vegetables are tender.
Toast coconut in a small skillet over medium heat for up to 5 minutes, shaking pan occasionally until coconut is aromatic and browned on all sides. Use to garnish individual bowls of dal. Serve with rice or dinner rolls.
*Note: You can toast all the whole spices in a small skillet before adding them to the dal if you want.
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