"Vegetables, I think..." - by kelly klein
After
six months of fantasizing about inexhaustible quantities of fresh fruits
and vegetables, I am in a veritable heaven. Ladakh, at 12,000
feet, in the arid rain shadow of the Himalayas, has a very short growing season
and little cultivable land, and as a result, very few culinary choices. Nepal,
on the other hand, despite my preconceptions, is an emerald jungle. Now I find
myself besieged with options, albeit new and unknown. Traveling and living in
foreign countries, at times, requires a great deal of faith. I buy and I eat,
trusting that it is both edible and nutritious. But what is it?
Four
new vegetables. Sorry I cannot tell you what they are called as I do not speak
the language, nor do I recognize them. So, I cannot tell you what they are in
any language.
Yesterday,
I found a little old woman, sleeping under a banana tree beside her wooden cart
of vegetables for sale. A young man awakened her when he noted my interest. She
rose to the intrusion with a radiating smile. I proceeded to pick up a
vegetable and make the sign for “What is it?” She would say something, which,
of course, I immediately forget. I then would act out just eating it raw and
she would shake her head no and mime peeling it and putting it in a pot on a
stove. We followed through this charade with each new veggie, and with each I
was directed to peel and cook. One, a small prickly green pod, she showed me
how to open it and remove the seeds, before cutting and putting into the
imaginary pot.
I
picked out several of each unknown as well as many familiar ones. She carefully
loaded one group at a time onto a balance scale with a weight of one kilo (2.2
pounds) on the other end. The scale of course immediately indicated that I
needed more to balance it out. Well, that’s a hell of a lot of veggies for a
single person. There is no way I could consume a kilo of each vegetable. When I
indicated less, she produced the weight for a half-kilo. Still too much. So I
suggested less again. She produced a small bag filled with sand that apparently
represented a quarter kilo, or so I assume, and put that on the balance. Ah,
much better. I wasn’t too concerned about getting a fair shake for my money, so
I would just indicate that it was fine, even though I clearly could have more
to balance it out. Picking up some small jalapeno chilies, I laughed. I certainly
didn’t want a quarter kilo, just maybe four. She laughed and just motioned for
me to take them. So in the end, I bought a batch of these four different
unknowns, along with cauliflower, tomatoes, lemons, garlic, fresh ginger,
cilantro, and, shoot, what is the English word? It is berejena in Spanish…oh,
yea, eggplant, as well as these amazing string beans that reached easily two
feet long.
Having
completed the transaction, paying with bills that do not use roman numbers,
another story, I filled my backpack with a load of colors and textures, and it
cost all of $1.10. We both smiled, happy with our nonverbal exchange. She is my
new vegetable teacher. I give her all the business I can. Of course I can’t
resist buying from the vegetable man who uses his bicycle as his mobile store,
but he is rarely around.
A stir-fry
of those four unknowns with chilies, cauliflower, beans, eggplant, garlic,
tomato, fresh ginger and whalaa! I have dinner. Trying to distinguish each one,
savoring a piece in my mouth, chewing gingerly, I truly cannot discern a
difference one from the other, but no worries. A full plate of food it makes,
delicious, and fresh, and I assume nourishing.
...feeding our bodies is something that requires certain thought, not only from the standpoint of health and nutrition and surely how much it costs, but also we are what we eat...the experience of yours written above also sheds light upon 'food for thought'...from the earth to the eater...the process involved...and giving thanks for our food and feeling a connectivity to that which allows us to basically remain alive...and the way you describe the 'non-verbal' communication brings to mind an aspect to the phrase 'actions speaks louder that words' kinda thing...that this interaction symbolizes something 'special' going on here compared to the 'normalcy' if the transaction took place using words...btw - can you get your hands on some ground tumeric or dried mint? - have room for spices in your backpack?...oh, i seem to be living vicariously thru you right now...
ReplyDeletep.s. i also like how the 'clickable' advertisements on this page have to do with nutrition...
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