Joaquin and the Mustard Seed
Funny who you meet when you walk a dog. I don’t think I fully understood this particular phenomenon until yesterday, while walking with my friend M and her young boxer.
I know for a fact that I would not have struck up conversations with the ex- maximum security prison guard, the very polite, skinny little girl, and the tourists from Georgia – one of whom just finished a tour in Afghanistan.
Or even Joaquin. Or, more likely, probably not Joaquin.
What was immediately striking about Joaquin was that on a warm summer afternoon he had a fake fur-lined detachable hood tied to his head with a black shoestring. The hood was stuffed with white tissues that contrasted with his dark, serious eyes. As he stroked M’s boxer, he proceeded to instruct us on his version of how to meditate.
He became quite distraught when he noticed that M had not been paying attention to his wisdom and he began to firmly warn her of the dangers of allowing oneself to get distracted and unfocused.
I was enchanted by him. He was holding onto an old bicycle tied down with stuffed black garbage bags on the front and back ends. He was painfully skinny. He was intense.
“One never knows in what form our wise teachers will appear,” I thought to myself.
Joaquin had a lot to share and as he droned on and on it took effort to try and make some sense out of what he was saying. Even harder to pull out of the conversation gracefully. After another five minutes, we were waving goodbye to him and walking away, while he called out to us to look for him in his usual spots in town.
A short while later I was walking to my car and out of the corner of my eye noticed Joaquin sitting on a bench near the parking lot. I groaned inwardly, not wanting another long conversation about something that he felt I needed to know.
“Maybe he won’t notice me,” I wished to myself.
Of course he spotted me and his open look of joy at seeing me again left me feeling ashamed of my selfish thoughts. This time I needed to learn about mustard seeds.
“Do you know what a mustard seed is?” he began and without waiting for my answer, informed me that it was the tiniest seed in existence. Tiny but with tremendous power.
He instructed me to get myself a mustard seed and on a dark, star-filled night I was to hold it up to the sky to find the one star that perfectly matched the size of my mustard seed. When I found it, I was to make a wish about the dreams for my life and then plant that mustard seed.
“That tiny mustard seed will grow into a giant plant – thousands of times bigger than its original tiny seed!” he exclaimed with amazement as he stretched his arm way up above his head.
And so, too, would my dreams grow and manifest, he assured me with a serious stare from his dark eyes. Then he laughed and once again asked me to seek him out at his favorite spots in town.
I thought about him and mustard seeds my entire drive home and recalled an Indian recipe I used to make regularly when I lived in Toronto. It was the first time I’d ever cooked with mustard seeds and I adored that recipe! The next morning I found it in an old Anna Thomas cookbook, tweaked it and shared it with friends later that evening.
And my mustard seeds and I are waiting for a dark, star-filled night!
Joaquin’s Mustard Seed Vegetable Curry
3 cups cubed butternut squash
4-5 Tablespoons grapeseed oil
1 Tablespoon mustard seeds (black seeds are authentic, but yellow ones will work)
1 medium onion, slivered
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 teaspoons turmeric
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon coriander
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 large head cauliflower, trimmed into small florets
2 cups fresh green beans, cut into 1 1/2- inch pieces
2, 15- ounce cans chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1 1/2 cups water
1/2 teaspoons salt, and more to taste
2 large tomatoes, chopped
Juice from 1 lemon
1/2 cup fresh cilantro, roughly chopped
How to make Joaquin’s Mustard Seed Vegetable Curry:
Preheat oven to 375 F.
Place butternut squash cubes onto 2 baking sheets and toss with a small amount of grapeseed oil to lightly coat.
Roast until nicely golden and barely cooked, about 10 minutes.
Remove from oven, season with salt and let rest.
In large stockpot heat remaining Tablespoons grapeseed oil over medium-low heat. Add the mustards seeds and sauté for a few minutes until they start to pop. When they finish popping, add the onions and garlic to the pot, stirring and sautéing for about 5 minutes until fragrant and softened.
Add in the turmeric, cumin, coriander and cayenne pepper; stir mixture well and cook for one minute. Add in cauliflower florets, the green beans, salt and the water, stirring until well-mixed. Cover pot with a lid, bring to simmer and simmer the curry for about 5 minutes.
Add in the butternut squash and chickpeas, cover and simmer for another 10 minutes. Add in the tomato and the lemon juice; taste and add additional salt if needed.
Just before serving, stir in the fresh cilantro.
Serve with steamed brown basmati rice or cooked grain of your choice.
Makes 8 generous servings
