Popcorn

It is inevitable that when you go someplace new you will discover new food items that quickly feel indispensible. I’ve always been lukewarm on papayas, but the local ones here are to die for. The pineapples are also probably the sweetest I’ve ever eaten. Passion fruit, I’ve discovered, is pretty good. Lettuce can be harder to find but there are small heads grown hydroponically that are quite good. Marie at the farmer’s market makes something called Fijian “bread,” which doesn’t actually look anything like bread. It is made from coconut milk and plantains and comes wrapped in a large leaf of some kind. It looks like a large glue stick left too long in the sun, but is actually really tasty. Marie is also going to make some homemade coconut milk for us using the liquid from inside the coconut plus scrapings of the coconut meat. She says it is good with cooked taro leaves, which will also be a first for us.

The Indian influence is widely felt in the markets here as well. They have all sorts of crunchy snack foods with names like Chevda, Fried Ghana and Mix Bhuja. I’m a sucker for crispy munchies and like most of these, although Deborah complains that certain ones give my breath a pungency that no amount of teeth brushing will remedy. She swears it even oozes out of my pores. I tell her it’s to repel the mosquitoes but apparently it is she who is being repelled.

Another really good crunchy treat we’ve discovered are dried peas rolled in soybean oil and salt. I don’t even like normal peas, mushy little green phlegm balls that they are, but these dried ones are delicious (and addictive). Unfortunately for Deborah, her many food allergies and sensitivities have a striking correlation with the types of foods that are available here, and her health has been suffering as a result. We think the soybean oil on the peas is a problem for her, as are all the split peas and lentils (Dhal soup), wheat products, MSG in some packaged foods, lots of dairy (no rice milk or almond milk here), beer (more wheat) rather than wine, which is expensive here, etc.

Deborah also misses a good cup of coffee and ice cream, although we did find a shop that had ice cream cones. You don’t get to pick a flavor; it just comes as a three-colored variety – white, pink, and green. We couldn’t detect any difference in taste between the different colors. I mostly miss the almond milk and a good selection of cold cereals. The choices here are really limited. Bread is mostly boring white; none of the hearty multi-grain loaves that I prefer. One thing we missed until spotting it today in one of the grocery store is popcorn. Deborah cooked it up with Ghee (clarified butter, another Indian favorite) and it tasted like decadence.

The cat likes popcorn too. She continues to come around more and more, and doesn’t just take off as soon as she is done eating. She is a little less scared of us and more interested in exploring the house. We are now even able to pet her a little bit as she is eating. It’s progress.

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