Spicy peppers and good friends

Today I burned a possibly fantastic lunch into a black crispiness while I attempted to multi task and finish laundry as my food slowly burned into unrecognizable that son solidified into a black substance at the bottom of my skillet. My hands were on fire, from chopping massive amounts of hot sakay peppers that are far more potent than anything I have ever encountered in the states, and I did my laundry with a little too much excitement enjoying the feeling of cold water on my red and inflamed skin. The worst part was I had taken precautions against the very thing I was suffering from. I had gone into my med kit and found a pair of latex gloves that figured would protect me from the oils I had seen cause severe pain to other friends when they had prepared the stuff. But, I forgot to prepare the garlic first and took off the gloves when it came to peeling the three heads I had bought for this little experiment. Oils apparently still on the cutting board or the blade of the knife got onto my skin and I felt the oil begin to irritate my skin and the fire began to spread. Last time I had attacked only one small pepper and had accidentally touched my face after washing my hands and felt the burning spread across my eyelids and forehead and promised myself never to make that mistake again. This time I took on at least 60 small green peppers with my giant clever, latex gloves, and straight posture to put as much distance between myself and the cutting board. Now, an hour later, I can still barely touch my hands to anything without feeling like they are on straight open flame. It is a fantastic experience to have and one I’m sure will cause a great deal of laughter with my Malagasy friends tomorrow. In the mean time, my dog lays on the floor full of the black crispiness I couldn’t get myself to eat, as I sit in front of the fan with my hands gingerly tapping this keyboard fantasizing about ice, snow, cool ocean water, and milkshakes. What can I say… life doesn’t get better than this.
The food should have been thin sliced carrots and onions simmered with garlic which I then added pork in a honey glaze to. It ended up black crispy on top of rice with tomato slices. Not so exciting but dinner looks to be better. Greens with pork and onions…. I don’t know how it will taste as I have never attempted to make it before but I have recently fallen in love with the green assortment that we can find here in Madagascar and I am slowly attempting to figure out how to make them delicious! There are 6 main types of greens found here and at least 2 dozen less easily accessible strains to be found in the country. They are delicious and after two months of carrots, tomatoes, and onions my taste buds are craving any greens they can find. So let the experimentation begin.
Last night was a curry dinner that made me proud and boosted my hopes in my cooking education here. Until today of course. Although I do find that it is mainly the result of me being distracted by the burning skin covering my hands and wrists and the laundry and my dog, who slowly gets larger and larger every day. On an exciting note however, I do get the chance to go eat with my friend who runs a juice and liquor epicerie in town and has slowly been taking me in to her family. Her name is Bridgette, a wonderful woman who laughs and smiles more than anything else, loves when I come to talk to her, and has a small litter of children already well on their way through the education system. Whenever I walk into town I find myself at her house, sitting in the shade of her trees and listening to the Malagasy music she blasts all day. Her house is on the edge of one of the arms of the market as well so the assortment of people that travel past her house to listen in or join the conversations we share are pretty amazing. Our friendship had started when I first got into town, she helped me haggle and select a pot for my house and a few weeks later I found myself stopping by each day just to say hello. Traveling with me to market my first month in found us in the midst of question after question as she helped me find the best butcher and choose the best selections of pork for a meal. Last month when she got sick I helped her rehydrate with a little ORS ( oral rehydration salt) solution I made for her in a bottle of fresh water and quickly found myself invited in for meals, conversations and drinks as I make my way past her house each day. It’s a building and constantly changing friendship but it’s an awesome part of my day as I make my way in and out of markets. Now I am a friend of the family and look forward to many more conversations and days spent eating and laughing with her and her children.
As I think about it now and as the heat slowly dwindles from my fingers I may ask her next time to make my sakay for me. It would burn so much less. Or, even better, maybe I’ll have her teach me how she does it and avoids the hours of discomfort that follow. There are so many amazing recipes here in this country I can’t wait to learn them all.